From Our State’s A Taste of Our State series. Click here to read or listen to contributor Sheri Castle’s column from the September 2025 issue.

I make these in a large cast-iron pot that can go on a grill or nestle in campfire embers to pick up the unmistakable flavor of woodsmoke — but they’re delicious in the oven, too.

My mom’s baked beans recipe taught me to mix multiple kinds of beans. It’s not unusual for Southern-style baked beans to begin with cans. We Southern cooks are skilled at doctoring up store-bought items to make them into our own homemade creations.

I most often use hot breakfast sausage in this recipe, although ground beef works well, too, as does pulled-pork barbecue or diced burnt ends to amp up the smokiness. Canned chipotles add another delicious dose of smoky flavor, but if that sounds too spicy, substitute 2 to 3 teaspoons of fragrant smoked paprika.

Makes 12 to 16 side dish servings or 6 to 8 entrée servings. Any leftovers freeze successfully.

4 ounces smoky bacon, cut crosswise into ½-inch strips
1 medium onion, diced (about 1 cup)
1 medium green bell pepper, cored and diced (about 1 cup)
Salt to taste
1 pound bulk breakfast sausage
2 (15-ounce) cans pork and beans, drained but not rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can butter beans aka giant lima beans, drained but not rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained but not rinsed
1 (15-ounce) can pinto beans, drained but not rinsed
1 cup thick, tomato-based barbecue sauce
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup unfiltered apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotles in adobo sauce

Preheat the oven to 325°.

In a large cast-iron skillet or pot over medium heat, cook bacon until rendered and crisp, about 15 minutes, stirring often. With a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to a bowl, leaving behind the grease.

Add onion, bell pepper, and a pinch of salt, and stir to coat. Cook, stirring often, until they start to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the sausage and cook until browned, about 5 minutes, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Stir in beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, dry mustard, and chipotles.

Transfer to oven and bake uncovered until beans are bubbling and the sauce is thick and syrupy, about 90 minutes. Stir every half hour. Remove from oven and stir in the reserved bacon. Let sit covered for at least 15 minutes before serving warm. The beans will continue to thicken a bit as they cool.