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Wooden spoon scooping up calico baked beans.

My Mom’s Famous Calico Beans

Yield: 6 servings
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 55 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

  • 15-ounce can pinto beans
  • 15-ounce can white kidney/cannellini beans
  • 15-ounce can black beans
  • 8 ounces bacon, chopped
  • 1 cup chopped onion
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • ⅓ cup chicken broth
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider or red wine vinegar
  • 2 teaspoons dry mustard
  • 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional for a thicker sauce)

Instructions 

  • Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Lightly grease a 3-quart baking dish (see note).
  • Drain and rinse all the beans (you can dump them all in the same colander). Set aside.
  • In a large skillet, cook the bacon until crisp. Scoop the bacon with a slotted spoon to a paper-towel lined plate. Remove excess bacon grease from the pan, leaving 1 to 2 teaspoons in the pan to cook the onions in the next step.
  • Add the onion and cook over medium heat, stirring often, until softened, 4 to 5 minutes.
  • Remove from the heat and add the beans and cooked bacon.
  • To the pan, add the ketchup, brown sugar, broth, vinegar, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and cornstarch, if using. Stir to thoroughly combine the ingredients.
  • Scrape beans and sauce into the prepared baking pan. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 45 to 60 minutes.
  • Serve the beans warm. The beans will thicken as they cool.

Notes

Sauce: These beans are lightly sauced. For saucier beans, 1 1/2 all the sauce ingredients (except the cornstarch). 
Slow Cooker Variation: The beans, cooked bacon and onions, and sauce can be stirred together and cooked on low in a slow cooker for 3 to 4 hours. 
Baking Dish: I use a 3-quart baking dish for these beans which is a little smaller than a 9X13. If you are using a 9X13-inch, decrease the baking time by 10 to 15 minutes so the beans don't dry out.
Alternately, if you have an oven safe pan (like this one), you can use it to cook the bacon, saute the onions, and assemble the beans - and then cover with the lid and bake right in the same pan.