After a very long week, I definitely felt as though comfort food was the only thing I could do. It’s been a while since I made something that was just a simple, straight up comfort food, and that was exactly what I needed after a really long week. With these BBQ Beef and Beans, you’re going to get a perfect marriage between baked beans and beef chili.

They’re hearty and flavorful, they’re easy to prepare, and they can be either easy or as simple as you want them to be. If you’re interested in making them vegetarian or adding a higher vegetable content, please scroll down to find out how to do it!

Now Apronese is sending this delicious recipe for you to make yourself to treat your family for the weekend.

Make it Vegetarian

In order to make this dish vegetarian, you will need to replace the Worcestershire sauce with one made from a vegetarian source (Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies). Annie’s Vegan Worcestershire Sauce is one of the most popular brands available and can be found in many large supermarkets such as Whole Foods or other large grocers.

When you’ve changed your BBQ sauce to vegetarian, you just need to add one more can of beans to replace the ground beef. The pinto beans are a great way to have a nice trio of shapes and colors, but you could also double up the kidney or black beans if you wish.

Pump Up The Vegetables

It is usually my intention to incorporate vegetables into my dishes as often as possible, but today I just wanted to keep things as simple as possible in the kitchen.

Adding a few vegetables, such as diced onions, diced bell peppers, or even some shredded cabbage to the stew can be a nice addition if you want to balance things out. If you use shredded coleslaw mix, you just need a couple of handfuls added when you brown the beef, so this will do just fine.

Front view of a bowl of BBQ Beef and Beans topped with cheddar and green onion, and a fork lifting a bite.

Bbq Sauce Made at Home Vs. Store-bought

If you don’t feel like making your own BBQ sauce, or don’t have the necessary ingredients on hand, you can substitute 1 cup of your favorite bottled BBQ sauce instead of 1 cup of your homemade BBQ sauce. Since I had been working on my own recipe this week, I used that in this recipe.

BBQ Beef and Beans: How to Serve Them

In addition to serving it with brown rice, I also added some cheddar and green onion to the mix. You may also choose to serve this on a bun like you would for an sloppy joe or slider, or even on its own with some saltine or oyster crackers.

Close up of BBQ Beef and Beans in the skillet, topped with sliced green onion.

BBQ Beef and Beans

There is nothing better than serving this sweet, tangy, and savory BBQ Beef and Beans with rice and cheese for a delicious and comforting weeknight dinner that everyone will enjoy.

Author: Beth

Prep Time: 5 mins/ Cook Time: 25 mins/ Total Time: 30 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

  • 1 Tbsp cooking oil ($0.04)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
  • 1/2 lb. ground beef ($2.65)
  • 1 15oz. can kidney beans ($0.89)
  • 1 15oz. can black beans ($0.89)

Homemade BBQ Sauce*

  • 8 oz. tomato sauce ($0.25)
  • 2 Tbsp tomato paste ($0.10)
  • 2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar ($0.12)
  • 2 Tbsp brown sugar ($0.08)
  • 2 Tbsp molasses ($0.35)
  • 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard ($0.05)
  • 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce ($0.02)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika ($0.10)
  • 1/4 tsp garlic powder ($0.02)
  • 1/4 tsp onion powder ($0.02)
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper ($0.01)
  • freshly cracked pepper ($0.02)
  • salt to taste ($0.02)

For Serving

  • 4 cups cooked rice ($0.80)
  • 4 oz. shredded cheddar ($0.85)
  • 2 green onions, sliced ($0.22)

Instructions

  • The ground beef should be added to the oil in a large skillet and sauteed for one minute over medium heat, then added to the skillet. Continue to cook the beef until it is cooked through. If using beef that has a higher fat content, drain the fat before moving on to the next step.
  • The beans should be rinsed and drained well before being added to the ground beef. Once the beans have been added, the beef should be cooked through.
  • In a skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the ingredients for the Homemade BBQ Sauce to the skillet (tomato sauce, tomato paste, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, molasses, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, cayenne, and some freshly cracked pepper).
  • In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine the sauce ingredients and cook until they have combined and formed a thick sauce. Bring the sauce to a simmer and simmer the beef and beans, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and add salt if needed (I added 1/2 teaspoon).
  • In each bowl, place 1 cup cooked rice and top with 1 cup of BBQ Beef and Beans. Sprinkle 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese on top of each bowl and sprinkle on some thinly sliced green onion. Serve the BBQ Beef and Beans immediately.

*Alternatively, you can substitute 1 cup of your favorite bottled barbecue sauce for the homemade BBQ sauce listed above if you want to make this recipe faster and easier.

Nutritional

Serving: 1 Serving ・ Calories: 742.13 kcal ・ Carbohydrates: 100.15 g ・ Protein: 35.45 g ・ Fat: 21.73 g ・ Sodium: 1749.25 mg ・ Fiber: 13.63 g

The nutritional values shown here are only estimates. Please see our nutrition disclaimer.

Overhead view of a bowl full of BBQ Beef and Beans, served with rice and topped with cheddar and green onion. A bowl of green onion on the side.

How to Make BBQ Beef and Beans – Step by Step Photos

Cooked brown rice in the pot.

The beef and beans can be served with rice if you desire. In this case, begin cooking the rice in the morning so that it will be ready by the time the beef and beans are ready (cook your rice according to the package directions).

Minced garlic cooking in a skillet with oil. A wooden spatula in the skillet.

A large skillet can be heated over medium heat with 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and 2 minced cloves of garlic added to it. Saute on medium heat over one minute.

Browned ground beef.

It is time to add the ground beef and continue to sauté until the ground beef is cooked through. If it is a higher fat ground beef, drain the excess fat prior to moving onto the next step if you are using a higher fat ground beef.

Rinsed beans in the skillet with the browned beef.

Using one 15 oz. can of kidney beans and one 15 oz. can of black beans, rinse them and drain them, then add them to the skillet with the browned beef and stir together.

BBQ Sauce Ingredients in the skillet with the beef and beans.

In the next step, you will need to add the ingredients for your own homemade barbecue sauce (8 oz. tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons tomato paste, 2 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons molasses, 1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon smoked paprika, 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/4 teaspoon onion powder, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper, and a few freshly cracked pepper).

I suggest adding 1 cup of your favorite bottled BBQ sauce. You can see that the tomato paste I am using is covered in frost. As part of my routine, I usually portion and freeze my leftover tomato paste into individually portioned 1 Tbsp portions for later use.

Finished BBQ Beef and Beans in the skillet with a wooden spatula

Upon mixing the tomato sauce and the ground beef and bean mixture, stir the ingredients for a few minutes until everything is completely combined.

Lastly, allow the beef and bean mixture to simmer for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. After this time, taste the BBQ Beef and Beans and add salt to taste (I added 1/2 teaspoon).

Finished bowl of BBQ Beef and Beans served over rice and topped with cheddar and green onions.

It is recommended to place 1 cup of cooked rice into each bowl, top with 1 cup of BBQ Beef and Beans, some shredded cheddar cheese, and sliced green onions. Then, you can eat as much as you like!

Served with BBQ Beef and Beans with rice at dinner, the whole family gathered around a delicious meal, Apronese thinks everyone is very happy and happy. Remember to share your experience with this dish in the comments below.