These sugar-free baked beans are sweetened with only apple juice and honey and are a wonderful side dish to any BBQ. One of the few times I love to indulge in bacon is when I make my baked beans. You can omit them to make this a vegetarian dish, but who are we kidding? The bacon adds such a wonderful flavor to this dish and takes it to the next level. Since it calls for bacon, I plan ahead and make bacon the day before and set aside several strips for this dish.
Every time I make any dish containing beans, I always start with dried beans. Soaking them overnight in water aids in easier digestion and decreased gas. Dried beans are also preferred because they are more nutritionally dense. They contain more protein, fiber, iron, potassium and magnesium and much less sodium than canned. I prefer using black beans because they have a creamier texture. However I have also used dried white navy beans in this recipe, which have worked well too.
Ingredients:
1 pound of dried black beans, soaked and cooked
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 can of tomato paste
2 cups of apple juice or cider, no sugar added
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup honey
2 tsp coarse dijion mustard
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp salt
6 stripes cooked bacon, chopped
olive oil for cooking
Directions:
1. To cook the beans, cover them with water and let simmer on the stove for 45-60 minutes or until tender. Stir occasionally.
2. When beans are done cooking, drain them and set them aside until ready to add to the sauce.
3. Heat 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a large ceramic pan on the stove on medium.
4. Add chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
5. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute, careful to not let it burn.
6. Add the rest of the ingredients except the beans and bacon and stir to incorporate well.
7. Stir in the beans and bacon, cover the pot and let it simmer on low for at least an hour, stirring occasionally.
8. You can continue to add small amounts of apple juice while it is cooking to achieve desired sauce consistency.
This recipe yields 10-12 servings.
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