Louisiana Baked Beans

My friend, Diana, sent me this recipe for “Louisiana Baked Beans”.  I’ve made lots of different baked bean recipes and I think this is one of the best I’ve ever made . . maybe THE best.  And, I’m not just saying that because it’s got “Louisiana” in the name!  🙂

Diana told me to only use KC Masterpiece original but it happened to be on sale at our grocery store and that means everyone and their brother had bought it so they were out so I had to use the “Honey” version.  It was fine but I’ll do as instructed and get original next time.

I made half a batch because it’s just the two of us.

I had just picked all the bell peppers in the garden to make stuffed peppers for the freezer so I used a poblano pepper and added about half a jalapeno pepper for a little spice.

Our store didn’t have Bob Evans sausage so I used Jimmy Dean.

I baked them in the oven .. not in the crockpot.  Actually, I made them in the morning, stuck them in the fridge and baked them before dinner.

The beans were delicious on Day #1 but even better when re-heated on Day #2.   This is my new favorite baked bean recipe.  I was telling Diana that when we were in MO, the grocery store had a little deli counter and they had the best beans.  I loved their baked beans but they were about $7/pound and Vince flipped out every time I bought them.  They had what I thought was brisket in them.  Vince said he thought it was ground meat but we both liked Diana’s recipe better than those from the MO grocery store!

Thanks, Diana, for sharing this recipe!

Louisiana Baked Beans

• 2 28 oz.cans Bush’s Baked beans
• 1 lb roll Bob Evan’s pork sausage
• 1 med-large onion, chopped
• 1 large green pepper
• 1 bottle Masterpiece original recipe BBQ sauce
• Yellow mustard
• Worcestershire sauce

Cook the sausage in a large pan and break it up as it cooks so it resembles hamburger. When the sausage is almost cooked through, I add the green pepper and onion and cook until it is not so crunchy but not so raw. Usually about 3-5 minutes with the sausage. You do it as much as you feel you want to.

If I am putting it in a crockpot, I drain most of the bean liquid from the can but not all of it. It is too soupy after adding the BBQ sauce, otherwise. I add about ¾ of the bottle of KC Masterpiece and 3 or 4 squirts of mustard and 5 or 6 shakes of Worcestershire sauce. Stir and taste. Adjust now if you think it needs more of anything because this is basically the taste of the finished product. Then I use a slotted spoon and add the sausage mix to the beans and stir. You could always drain them first and then dump them, either way, I just like too much grease or cooking liquid in there.

If you want to make a bit more, you can make 3 cans of beans and 2 lbs of sausage, (people love the sausage!) and adjust the sauce amounts.

That is it, heat and serve. Enjoy!