by Kate Vaynshteyn at www.babaganosh.org
Baked beans and cornbread are two delicious southern classics. Who doesn’t love a bowl of creamy, smoky baked beans or a big piece of flaky cornbread?
So what if we put them together?!
Our food blogger Kate turned our baked beans world upside down when she introduced us to this baked beans recipe that is almost a meal on its own.
The recipe starts off simple as a classic baked bean recipe using a whole jar of Randall Great Northern Beans. Bacon, onion, tomato paste, mustard and cumin help give the beans a little depth of smoky and zesty flavor, but we hit it with a little apple cider vinegar for a little extra bite.
Then things get a little crazy! Mix and pour your favorite cornbread mixture over the beans in a skillet or casserole dish. Toss it in the over to cook the beans and solidify flavor while a fluffy and flaky crust of cornbread forms on the outside. Oh my goodness… just look at it!
Once it’s done, scoop, cut, grab, whatever way you have to do to try a bite of these deliciously unique baked beans. Baked beans are a great summertime recipe, but the fluffy and warm cornbread layer makes this recipe great warm-up food when the temperature drops in the fall and winter. This recipe is the epitome of comfort food! Not to mention, this dish will visually impress your family and friends, making you look like a master chef. You don’t have to tell them how easy it really is though!
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tbsp. + 2 Tbsp. fresh oregano leaves, minced
- 1 6-oz can tomato paste
- ¼ cup spicy brown mustard
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 4 1/2 cups of Randall Great Northern Beans, drained
- 1 package cornbread mix, plus ingredients listed on the package (typically eggs, vegetable oil, and milk)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to the temperature required on the cornbread package, typically 350-375F.
- In a large (12-inch) oven-safe skillet, cook the diced bacon slices over medium heat for about 3-5 minutes, or until halfway cooked. Carefully drain/remove the extra grease. Add the diced onion and minced garlic, and continue to cook until the bacon is fully cooked and the onion softens.
- Stir in 2 tablespoons minced oregano leaves and the next 4 ingredients (through the brown sugar), and mix well to create a sauce. Gently stir in the Randall Great Northern Beans until the beans are covered in the sauce.
- Prepare the cornbread mix according to the package, stirring in the other 2 tablespoons of fresh diced oregano into the batter. Gently spoon the cornbread mix on top of the skillet and spread with a spoon. Bake according to the cornbread package instructions, typically 20-40 minutes, or until the cornbread is fully cooked. Remove from heat and allow to cool 10 minutes before serving.
Want some more baked bean recipes to chow down on this summer? Download a copy of our free cookbook!
