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HEALTHY BAKED BEANS (VEGAN)

baked beans on a plate with fork
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5 from 66 reviews

Healthy baked beans made with simple ingredients right in your Instant Pot or Slow Cooker. It’s a no-fuss recipe, just throw the ingredients in and let the cooker do the work!

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1 medium onion, diced
  • 2 teaspoons smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon EACH garlic + onion powder
  • 1 1b. dried small white beans (navy or great northern) (2 cups), rinsed and odd beans removed (not soaked)
  • 4 cups low-sodium vegetable broth (or half water + broth)
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup tomato paste (use a 6oz. can for extra tomato flavor)
  • 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
  • 2 tablespoons mustard (regular, dijon or whole grain)
  • 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1/2 – 1 teaspoon mineral salt, or to taste

Optional add-ins for variation:

  • Small jalapeno, seeds removed and diced (add a few seeds for extra heat)
  • Small green bell pepper, cored and diced
  • 2 – 4 tablespoons unsulfured blackstrap molasses

Instructions

(These instructions are for the no-soak method, if using soaked beans, see notes below)

INSTANT POT (no soak method):

  1. Press the SAUTE setting on your Instant Pot and add 1/4 cup water. When hot, add onion and saute for 4 minutes. Add the smoked paprika and garlic powder, cook for 1 minute, or until fragrant, stirring frequently.
  2. Next add the beans, broth, tomato paste, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, mustard, bay leaves, ground pepper and salt, gently stir until the tomato paste is dissolved completely and everything is well combined.
  3. Attach the lid, and make sure the vent is in the SEALED position. Push the PRESSURE COOKER button, and manually set at HIGH for 75 minutes (1 hour + 15 min) for beans that are just done. For softer beans, cook for 90 minutes (1 hour + 30 min). When done, let the steam vent for 20 minutes. Move the vent to open, be careful not to burn yourself as there may still be a little steam left. Remove lid and let cool a bit. Add salt to taste. Remove bay leaves and taste for seasoning. Transfer beans to a serving dish.
  4. Beans will thicken once cooled. If too thick, add 2 tablespoons of water at a time, mix well, and repeat until desired consistency.

Total cooking time with coming to pressure is about 2 hours and 5 minutes.

SLOW COOKER (no-soak method):

  1. In bottom of slow cooker, add the onion, beans, maple syrup, vinegar, 4 cups water/broth, tomato paste, smoked paprika, garlic powder, mustard, pepper, and bay leaves. Gently stir, until the tomato paste has broken up and dissolved.
  2. Cook on HIGH for 8 – 10 hours. Check periodically, adding up to 1/2 cup more water as needed (I’ve used up to 1 + 1/2 cups for 8 hours). You will also want to check for doneness towards the end so the beans don’t overcook. Add salt to taste.

Store: Keep leftovers in and airtight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. These freeze wonderfully, and will keep for up to 2 months in the freezer. Thaw before reheating.

Makes about 6 cups.

Serves 8 – 12

Notes

Soaking Methods:

  • Long soak: Add the beans to a large pot (or instant pot or slow cooker insert), pick through and discard any odd shaped or colored beans. Fill the pot with water, adding enough to cover the beans with an inch of water. Let soak on the counter for 8 hours, or overnight. You can also let the beans soak in the refrigerator if temperatures are high.
  • Quick Soak: If you’re in a hurry, place beans in pot and cover with 3 inches of water, bring to a boil for 5 minutes, remove from heat and let soak for 1 hour. Drain beans before using.

How To Cook Using Soaked Beans

  • Instant Pot: If soaking the beans, reduce liquids to 2 cups. Manually set the time for 40 minutes, instead of 75 minutes.
  • Slow-Cooker: Follow assembly instructions for slow cooker, reducing the liquids to 2.5 cups, and cook on HIGH for 4 – 5 hours or LOW for 8 – 10 hours. Check after a few hours, adding and extra 1/2 cup as needed if water burns away. Add salt to taste.

Use your favorite mustard. I used whole grain mustard here. I didn’t test regular or dijon, but I’m sure they’ll be great too. If you try them let us know in the comments.

These baked beans are not overly sweet. If you prefer sweet baked beans, add an extra 3 – 4 tablespoons of maple syrup after cooking when seasoning for flavor. Best to add at the end so they aren’t too sweet.

Nutritional values are estimates only. See our full nutrition disclosure here.

Find it online: https://simple-veganista.com/healthy-baked-beans-instant-pot/