The Best Southern Baked Beans
![These beans may not look like much, but they are some of the tastiest I have ever made or had.](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Southern-Baked-Beans-FINAL-735x1024.jpg)
This is one of those times when a photo just doesn’t do justice to a dish.
But trust me when I say that these “Southern Baked Beans” are one of the very best bean dishes I’ve ever tasted.
And they are a cinch to make.
This keeper of a recipe is from “Cool Beans: The Ultimate Guide to Cooking with the World’s Most Versatile Plant-Based Protein, with 125 Recipes” (Ten Speed Press, 2020) by Joe Yonan, the food and dining editor of The Washington Post.
I am not the biggest fan of traditional baked beans. They’re just way too sweet, and frankly, I’d rather save the sugary part of my meal for dessert.
![](https://www.foodgal.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Cool-Beans.jpg)
What makes these Southern baked beans so miraculous is that they are not cloying at all, but deeply, profoundly savory with just a whisper of natural fruity sweetness from tomato paste. In fact, it’s rather astonishing the depth and complexity they take on, given how few ingredients are used.
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