Calico Beans are a variety of beans slowly baked in a casserole dish with bacon, ground beef, and a thick, tangy, sweet sauce.
It makes a great dish for cookouts, family gatherings, and back yard barbecues. These flavorful beans make a lovely side dish to hotdogs, hamburgers, and pulled pork.
"My grandmother used to make this. Couldn't find her recipe so thank you. Love these and everyone I make these for do as well."
★★★★★-Kathy Rae
Calico beans are sometimes called "Cowboy Beans, " and "Trucker Beans," and "Funeral Beans."
I imagine you could make these beans on a fire, hence a perfect meal for a cowboy that is herding cattle.
This is also a dish you could take to feed a large family for after a funeral. However, I am not sure where "Trucker Beans" came from. Do you?
I hope you love this recipe as much as we do. Enjoy! Xoxo ~Katie.
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Ingredient notes and substitutions
For this baked beans casserole, you need the following ingredients:
- ground beef-You can substitute with ground turkey or ground chicken, but beef is better.
- pork and beans or baked beans
- kidney beans-I prefer the dark kidney beans, but you can use light red kidney beans.
- butter beans- If you can find the large butter beans, I recommend those. If you can not find butter beans, you can use lima beans.
- mustard- Yellow is fine. If you want to use a hearty grain mustard, that would be good also.
- ketchup
- brown sugar-Dark is better, but you can use light brown sugar if that is what you have on hand.
- onion
- bacon-I use pork bacon, but you can substitute with turkey bacon.
(*Full recipe with ingredient measurements is located at the bottom of the post in the recipe card.)
Ingredient Tips
- Do not drain your pork and beans or baked beans! Their liquids add to the flavor and thickening of the sauce.
- If you want a little spice, add ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper or 1 teaspoon of red chili flakes.
- For a smokey flavor, one reader suggests adding 1 teaspoon of liquid smoke.
Steps
Follow these steps to make calico beans.
- In a large skillet, cook bacon until crispy. Crumble into pieces.
- Cook diced onion in 1 tablespoon of bacon grease.
- Cook ground beef and drain fat.
- Mix butter beans, pork and beans, and kidney beans together and add to a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
- Mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together.
- Mix in the sauce with the beans.
- Mix in the bacon, ground beef, and onion.
- Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.
Watch how to make
Additional Cooking Methods
You can cook calico beans in the slow cooker and on stove top.
- To cook in slow cooker or crock pot, follow the recipe, and instead of baking, add bean mixture to a slow cooker. Cover with the lid and cook on low heat 2-3 hours or high heat 1-2 hours.
- To cook on stove top, follow the recipe, cook bean mixture in a dutch oven or large pot covered, on medium heat to low heat for 30 minutes. Stir often so that they do not burn.
About the recipe
I was visiting my Aunt Sue this summer in Wisconsin and being the nosey recipe hunter that I am; I raided her recipes. She is a great cook.
Hidden among her recipe stash was this Calico Beans recipe. I took one look at the ingredients and knew I had to make this dish.
I did a hot dog cook off with a group of my friends and it was the perfect occasion to make the Calico Beans. Hotdogs and baked beans go hand in hand!
They were sooooo GOOD!!!! Every bite begged for more. They also disappeared pretty fast. It is a great crowd pleaser.
I now get asked for the recipe all the time. I really do think this is the best baked beans recipe ever. My Tomato Gazpacho recipe also came from Aunt Sue! It is DELICIOUS and perfect for a hot summer day.! Check that one out too!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Happy eating from my family to yours!
Please leave me a comment below if you make this calico beans recipe, tell me what you thought about it. I would love to hear back, and so would my readers.
Also post your picture of your beans on Instagram or Facebook, and tag @aforkstale with #aforkstale hashtags! I will share with my followers! xoxo!
📖 Recipe
Baked Calico Beans Recipe with Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef
- ½ pound bacon
- 15 ounces can drained butter beans
- 30 ounces can pork and beans do not drain
- 15 ounces can drained kidney beans
- ¾ cup ketchup
- 1 teaspoon mustard
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- small onion diced finely
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350. Cook bacon until crispy. Crumble into pieces.½ pound bacon
- Dice onion. Cook onion in 1 tablespoon of bacon grease.small onion
- Cook ground beef and drain fat.1 pound ground beef
- In a small mixing bowl, mix ketchup, mustard, and brown sugar together.¾ cup ketchup, 1 teaspoon mustard, ¾ cup brown sugar
- Mix bacon, beef, sauce, onion, butter beans, pork and beans, and kidney beans together and add to a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.15 ounces can drained butter beans, 30 ounces can pork and beans, 15 ounces can drained kidney beans
- Bake 40 minutes. Serve immediately.
Mark Redfern says
Excellent recipe. I had never included kidney beans before. Did you know that you can replace the mustard with ginger in equal measure. You still get a little kick, but the beans lose their boom. No more small portions for fear of embarrassment.
Kathy Rae says
My grandmother used to make this. Couldn't find her recipe so thank you. Love these and everyone I make these for do as well.