How to Cook Beans in the Oven

Quicker Oven Beans are my new go-to whenever I want a low-effort side dish for dinner or meal prepping for the week. You'll add all the ingredients to a large oven-safe pot and bake in the oven until the beans are tender and flavorful. It's similar to my Crockpot Pinto Beans recipe, except we're using the oven.

Typically, cooking beans requires overnight soaking and anywhere from six to ten hours of cooking. This trick lets you make delicious home-cooked beans in just over an hour, and when you taste them, you'll swear they cooked for hours.

My favorite part about these baked beans in the oven is that you can season them any way you like. I used a pretty classic savory seasoning combination, but feel free to mix it up (check out the ideas below).

For more low-effort bean recipes, check out these Slow Cooker Borracho Beans and Slow Cooker Black Beans!

Key Ingredients For Baking Beans In The Oven

All you need are just a few ingredients to make this baked beans recipe! Here's what you need:

• Dry pinto beans: I personally like the heartiness of pinto beans. If you don't have any, black beans would be the bean closest to pinto beans in size and flavor. You could also substitute navy beans or great northern beans.
• Bay leaves: This is the 'secret' ingredient that you don't want to leave out. It adds depth of flavor and just the slightest floral notes to these baked beans.
• Jalapeno: This is entirely optional, but if you enjoy just a tiny amount of heat, adding diced jalapeno peppers adds a layer of spiciness to these baked beans in the oven that takes them from 'yum' to 'wow'.

Flavors You Can Add to These Beans

There are plenty of ways to dress up these beans to your liking! Here are some options:

• Fresh herbs: I used bay leaves, but you could also use thyme, rosemary, oregano, or even sage.
• Broth: For extra flavor, swap the water for chicken broth or vegetable broth. You can also add a bouillon cube to the beans before baking in the oven.
• Cooked bacon: Adding cooked bacon to the beans adds some serious smoky flavor.
• Veggies: I already added onion to mine, but you can add diced celery and carrots, canned diced tomatoes, bell peppers, or mushrooms if you like.
• Umami: Adding a dash of Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce can bring an intense umami flavor to the beans.
• Sweetness: If you prefer your beans a little sweeter, you can add some molasses or brown sugar to the beans before baking. This will help them caramelize and add a rich sweetness.
• Spices: Cumin, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and smoked paprika add earthy, slightly spicy flavors to the beans!

Do you have to soak beans before baking?

When you are making these quick beans in the oven, you do not have to soak them beforehand. Just make sure to give them a good rinse before cleaning off any debris.

Why are my beans taking so long to cook?

The most likely culprit is old beans. Dried beans that have been sitting on the shelf (or in your pantry) too long can be stubborn and take much longer to soften.

Also, beans need to stay fully submerged as they bake. If they dry out or the liquid reduces too much, they'll cook unevenly or stall. To prevent this, you can add hot water to the beans as they're cooking. Make sure to use water heated in a kettle or on the stovetop, and not cold water, as this will only increase the cooking time.

How to speed up bean cooking time?

If you want the beans to cook even faster, I have some simple methods you can use:

• Soak overnight: Soak the beans in cold water for at least 8 hours or overnight. This can speed up the cooking process to about an hour instead of 75 minutes or more.
• Quick soak: Add the beans to a pot of water and bring to a boil. Pull the pot off the heat and let them soak in the hot water for an hour before cooking to soften them up.

Can I use an Instant Pot to cook the beans?

Yes, you can absolutely cook beans in the Instant Pot. You don't need to soak them beforehand, either. Just rinse the dried beans, add them to the pot with about three times as much water, and pressure cook.

They'll take around 25 to 30 minutes with this method. After cooking, let the pressure release naturally for at least 10 to 15 minutes to avoid splitting the beans. From there, you can drain and use them right away or store them in some of the cooking liquid to keep them moist!

What To Serve With Beans

Here are some ideas for dishes to pair with these beans.

• Vegetables: Serve this bean recipe with grilled cauliflower, honey garlic roasted carrots, or honey-roasted sweet potatoes.
• Main dishes: Its simplicity makes it perfect for pairing with many different main dishes, including slow cooker pork, maple pork tenderloin, BBQ turkey breast, or slow cooker ropa vieja.
• Soups: Use these beans in your favorite soups for a depth of flavor! I love adding them to this Italian vegetable and bean soup or swapping out white beans in this sausage, white bean, and spinach soup. If using in a soup, slightly undercook them to al dente before adding to soups, as they will continue to cook in the soup.

Storage and Reheating

• Storage: I recommend storing the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days!
• Freezing: When stored in a freezer-safe, airtight container, they will stay good in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you're ready to use them, simply thaw them out in the fridge overnight, then heat them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.
• Reheating: You may find that when you store the beans in the fridge, they tend to get pretty thick. Try adding just a little bit of water when you reheat them, so they don't dry out. You can also heat them on the stove or in the oven (at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes).
• Leftover ideas: Have too many baked pinto beans? Make a quick batch of refried beans to eat with your tacos.