A bit sweet, a little savory and deliciously cheesy, that is how I like my baked beans. Baked beans is a hit in gatherings or any occasion especially when served with a really tender barbecue.
If you like making baked beans, it does not matter whether you used fresh beans to bake or used canned beans as it can both be delicious. Baked beans can also have a twist, you may add more seasonings or other ingredients to suit your taste. You can serve it with any meal or a side dish.
After a gathering you may find yourself with some baked beans leftovers or maybe you just intended to make some in advance so you can just reheat it. So, it is good to reheat your baked beans? Definitely. Baked beans can be reheated anytime. It is best to reheat it in an oven. It will only take you about thirty minutes to reheat it and presto, serve it hot and enjoy.
If you want to learn more tips or techniques on how to store and reheat baked beans, then this is the right article for you. We put together the simple and useful tips to help you in storing and reheating baked beans.
Your Guide to Reheating Baked Beans
Baked beans are popular during summer, but no one limits you from baking or serving it since it is one of the most delicious baked vegetable dishes anyone could like anytime. It can be handy and best served in get together with friends, housewarming event, or during some unannounced visit of relatives.
So, how do you prepare baked beans? Traditionally, baked beans is cooked or baked in an oven. Others use crockpots or bake it over a grill. You always have the preference to tweak the ingredients if you are baking your own beans. Some enjoy it with heavy cheese, others like it with onion toppings, and others like it meaty.
Here is a list of other ingredients you can add or use as toppings on your baked beans.
- Onions
- Bacon
- Hot dogs
- Chili powder
- Mustard
- Bell pepper
- Ketchup
- Celery
- Barbecue sauce
- Brown sugar
It easy to be creative with the flavors, toppings, or seasoning you want to add to baked beans. You can enjoy it whether it is baked using some fresh beans or just popped them out of cans.
Preparing Baked Beans
It is easy to reheat baked beans, so let us start with how to prepare or bake beans. Here is the walkthrough on preparing baked beans using the traditional baked beans recipe. It is important that you know the recipe of the food you want to store and reheat because that can also guide you in storing and reheating it properly, so it does not spoil.
Here are the simple steps:
- Prepare all the ingredients like bacon, onion, bell pepper, barbecue sauce, canned beans, distilled vinegar, brown sugar, and powdered mustard.
- Sauté all the vegetable ingredient. Sauteing vegetables is optional but it is commonly recommended.
- Cook the bacon. You may slice or dice it depending on your preference.
- Preheat oven to 325 for slow baking but set to 450 degrees Fahrenheit for quick baking.
- Place the beans together with your vegetables and bacon. Simmer it over a stove for a few minutes.
- Add the mixture of brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, and barbecue sauce.
- Layer it on a baking pan or tray but be sure to grease the pan first.
- Slowly bake it at 325 degrees for up to 2 hours or bake it at 450 degrees for quick baking in 30 minutes.
You can save time preparing your beans and ingredients if you like to bake it altogether. Just put all the ingredients and the beans in the baking pan and bake it. Sauteing and simmering are optional.
Storing Baked Beans
The number of servings you can make will depend on the amount you baked, but if you followed the recipe for baked beans, it could give you about 18 to 20 servings. In any case, having baked beans leftover is common so you just need to store it and reheat it.
You might not worry about the leftovers but if you prepared baked beans in advance for an occasion or gathering, then you also need to know how to store properly. You can opt to refrigerate baked beans or keep it frozen. Either way, you can still have great baked beans to serve after reheating.
Refrigerating Baked Beans
- Leave baked beans at room temperature until it has totally cooled.
- Put baked beans in a food container with tight lid, or in a dish and cover it with plastic food wrap or aluminum foil.
- Keep it refrigerated for not more than five days.
Freezing Baked Beans
- Let the baked beans cool at room temperature.
- Place baked beans in a food container with tight lid or scoop it into a heavy-duty freezer bag. Simply placing it in a dish and covering it is not suggested for freezing.
- Label the package with date and be sure to seal the package tightly.
- Keep it in our freezer for not more than nine months.
Reheating Baked Beans
It is very convenient to reheat baked beans after storage. It can be even simpler if you have an oven to reheat it. If you like to reheat just a portion, then a microwave can be the best choice too.
When storing baked beans, it will be easier if you freeze it in the oven-safe dish or food container so you can directly reheat it in the oven. If you freeze it in freezer bags or in typical food container, you have to thaw and transfer it to an oven tray before reheating.
Here are the easy steps for reheating your baked beans in your oven after thawing:
- Ready your oven by preheating it to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Place thawed baked beans in the oven tray or any oven-safe dish.
- Cover the beans with foil to seal in moisture.
- Reheat it for not more than 20 minutes. You may increment heating time by 5 minutes if needed.
It is as fast and simple as that and you can enjoy your warm baked beans.
Some tips for reheating baked beans can also be useful to be sure it is reheated evenly. You can follow this quick guide.
- Carefully mix the beans before putting in the oven.
- You can mix the baked beans at intervals during reheating time to be sure it is reheated well and evenly.
- You can add sauce or drizzle it with water if it has become dry and reheat it again for 2 minutes.
- Mix baked beans before serving.
Your reheated baked beans can never go wrong if you will follow our simple tips but be careful also not to get it burnt by over reheating.
Related Questions
We are happy if this guide can help you enjoy your baked beans whether reheated or freshly baked. Just keep in mind that you can still enjoy your baked beans leftovers even after refrigerating or freezing it, so you do not discard good food.
Here are additional information for you.
What kind of beans are used in baked beans?
The best beans used in baked beans are called navy beans. It is a bit time consuming to prepare the fresh beans for baked beans recipe, so most people choose to use canned beans.
Does baked beans have healthy benefits?
Baked beans are rich in protein, fiber, and other plant-based nutrients. They are good for lowering blood cholesterol and maintaining guts healthy. However, these health benefits can be reduced due to the ingredients added to the recipe. The sugar and sodium added to the recipe when taken excessively may cause or trigger some health problems.
Will baked beans give you gas?
Some studies claimed that beans can have some intestinal effects especially to some people so it is advised that when preparing any bean recipe, you must soak the beans overnight to reduce it content that causes increase gas in tummy or bloating. Also, eating beans in moderation like once a day instead of thrice a day may not cause bloating.
Can baked beans turn bad?
Any food can turn bad if not packaged and stored properly, or when it has been stored for prolonged period of time than its natural shelf-life.
If you were able to package it properly in an airtight container or vacuum sealed it before refrigerating, then you can be sure that it will remain safe to eat for a week or two. If you keep it frozen it can last for months. However, before reheating your baked beans if it has been stored for months, you still need to check its smell and appearance to confirm that it has not turned bad while stored, and still safe for you to consume.
