Pellet Smoked Baked Beans

What happens when you combine canned baked beans, bacon, jalapeño peppers, onion, and a sauce that hits nearly all five tastes with a pellet smoker? Allow me to present your new favorite grilling side dish—Traeger smoked baked beans!

What to Serve with Smoked Baked Beans

I always like to recommend recipes in the same temperature range so you can throw mains, sides, and appetizers on the grill together. These beans cook for 2-3 hours at 250ºF. Here’s a handful of recipes that cook at the same temperature.

• Traeger Chicken Salad
• Beefy Queso
• Smoked Carrots
• Brisket Style Tri Tip
• Slow Smoked Whole Chicken

It’s also worth mentioning, lots of protein cooks like pulled pork, brisket, etc. will be in the 250ºF range on the smoker. So you could throw these baked beans on the grill near the end of your cook and be ready to party once the protein rests.

And finally, you can’t serve smoked BBQ baked beans without potato salad (which you could also smoke at the same temperature), mac n cheese, and slaw on the table as well.

Whatever you end up serving your beans with, I’d love to hear about it! Let me know how this one turned out in a recipe review or comment below.

And if you’re looking for more beans you can make on the Traeger, check out my borracho beans and charro beans next.

Servings: 12 Servings

Traeger Smoked Baked Beans

By Mason Woodruff

Bacon, jalapeño, and a sweet and spicy sauce form a super team with canned baked beans before going on a pellet smoker for a few hours to make an ultimate BBQ side dish.

Prep: 20 minutes mins

Cook: 3 hours hrs

Total: 3 hours hrs 20 minutes mins

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Ingredients

• ▢ 4 slices Bacon, diced*
• ▢ 1 Sweet Onion, diced
• ▢ 2 Jalapeño Peppers, diced (remove seeds and membranes to reduce spice level)
• ▢ ¼ cup Dark Brown Sugar
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Chili Powder
• ▢ 2 cans (22 oz each) Baked Beans**
• ▢ ½ cup BBQ Sauce
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Yellow Mustard
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce
• ▢ 2 Bay Leaves

Instructions 

• Preheat your smoker to 250ºF with the lid closed.
• Add the bacon to a large smoker-safe skillet at room temperature before placing the skillet over a medium heat. This allows the bacon fat to render evenly.
• Once the bacon is just shy of crispy, about 4-5 minutes, add the onion and pepper. Cook for 4-6 minutes until the veggies soften and begin to pick up a little color.
• Add the brown sugar and chili powder. Cook for 30-60 seconds, stirring everything together, until the brown sugar has softened and the chili powder is fragrant.
• Remove the pan from the heat and add the baked beans, BBQ sauce, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce to the skillet. Stir everything together, adding the bay leaves last.
• Smoke for 2-3 hours, stirring every 60-90 minutes, until the beans are thick and saucy and have developed a smoky flavor to your liking. Remove the bay leaves and serve warm.

Notes

*If you have leftover proteins like chopped beef or smoked pork, feel free to add that to your baked beans as a replacement or an addition to the bacon.

**I used Bush's Best Southern Pit Barbecue Grillin' Beans, which have bell pepper and a brown sugar and molasses flavor profile straight out of the can. You may want to add a bit more brown sugar and extra pepper or two if you're using plain baked beans.

You can adjust the spice level of this recipe by swapping jalapeño for milder peppers like green or red bell peppers or spicier peppers like serrano or habanero.

I tested this recipe using a Traeger Pro 575 with Traeger Pro Blend wood pellets.

Nutrition

Serving: 120grams (about 1/2 cup), Calories: 167kcal, Carbohydrates: 34g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 2g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 4mg, Sodium: 640mg, Fiber: 5g, Sugar: 18g

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