Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans
These Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans are an easy delicious recipe that takes baked beans to the next level. They’re loaded with beef, bacon, onions, bell peppers, three kinds of beans, and a tangy BBQ sauce that’s easy to make.
Cowboy beans are one of the best sides you’ll ever serve for any occasion. These beefy, BBQ beans loaded with bacon and zesty sauce are perfect for everything from potlucks to backyard barbecues, and everyone always grabs a double scoop!
Table of contents
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- You’ll only need a few basic, budget-friendly ingredients to make these beans.
- This is a slow cooker recipe that uses canned beans, so it’s double easy.
- It’s full of sweet, tangy, smoky flavors, and it’s always a good choice for any occasion.
🛒Ingredients
This recipe only takes a few basic staples you can find in your kitchen or local grocery store. We’ve listed them all here, but you can find their exact amounts in the recipe card at the end of the post.
- Ground beef – cooked and drained
- Bacon – diced
- Onion – diced
- Green bell pepper – diced
- Pork and Beans – undrained
- Canned northern beans – drained
- Canned Red Kidney beans – drained
- Brown sugar
- Ketchup
- Vinegar
- Mustard
🔪 How to Make Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans
This is an incredibly easy recipe made almost fully in the slow cooker. There’s only one extra step, and it only adds another few minutes!
Step 1: Cook the Bacon and Vegetables
Cook the bacon, onion, and green bell pepper in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the bacon is crispy. Drain the grease.
Step 2: Add Everything to the Slow Cooker
Add all the ingredients to a slow cooker and stir until combined.
Step 3: Cook
Cook on low for 4 hours. Garnish with parsley if desired and enjoy!
📝Variations
- Spicy: Add red pepper flakes or diced jalapenos for a kick of heat.
- Use BBQ Sauce: You can use your favorite brand of BBQ sauce, if you prefer.
- Substitute the Beef: Ground pork or chorizo work well in place of ground beef.
- Add Garlic: Try adding minced garlic, as well.
If you love baked bean recipes like this one, then check out our easy baked beans.
🥄 Equipment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large skillet
- Slow Cooker
🥫 Storage
Refrigerate these beans for up to 4 days in an air-tight, freezer-safe container. For longer storage, freeze them for up to 3 months in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag with as much air removed as possible.
To reheat the beans, defrost them in the refrigerator overnight if frozen. Then, place them in a pot and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until heated through. You can also place them in your slow cooker and heat on low for use later in the day.
Serve With
Serve these cowboy beans with all your favorite BBQ and backyard party foods. They pair well with everything from BBQ and smoked meats to all your grilled favorites and your other favorite summer sides.
💭 Tips
- Stop cooking the ground beef as soon as it’s no longer pink to avoid overcooked meat.
- There’s no need to add any fat to your skillet when cooking the bacon and vegetables, the rendered fat will be all you need.
- Be sure to drain the kidney and northern beans thoroughly to avoid excess starch and salt in the beans.
⁉️ FAQ
Cowboy beans are a southwestern variation of baked beans made with beans and ground meat in a sweet and tangy sauce. Other kinds of beans and meats may be added.
The liquid in canned beans is extremely starch and salty. It can easily change the texture of recipes and add too much salt.
Pork and beans give the recipe more flavor with less work. They’re already canned in a sweet, tangy sauce, so it’s easy to add just a few more ingredients to create the perfect sauce for these beans.
🍽 More Recipes
If you love easy slow cooker recipes like this one, then try some of our other easy meals.
🧾Recipe Card
Want to make this recipe? Print the recipe card below, or pin this recipe, so you can find it later.
Slow Cooker Cowboy Beans
Equipment
- large skillet
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground beef cooked and drained
- 1 pound bacon diced
- 1 small onion diced
- 1 small green bell pepper diced
- 45 ounces pork and beans not drained
- 48 ounces northern beans drained
- 48 ounces red kidney beans drained
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup ketchup
- 3 teaspoons vinegar
- 2 teaspoons mustard
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium high heat cook the bacon with the onion and green bell pepper.
- Cook until the bacon is crispy.
- Drain the grease.
- To the slow cooker add the cooked drained beef, bacon, onion pepper mixture, pork and beans, northern beans, kidney beans, brown sugar, ketchup, vinegar and mustard.
- Stir to combine.
- Cook on low for 4 hours.
- Garnish with parsley if desired.
- Serve!
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