One-Pan Cowboy Baked Beans
This one-pan cowboy baked beans recipe is the kind of backyard meal that makes people pull up a chair and stick around for seconds. Smoky, sweet, and savory with a hearty mix of beans, BBQ sauce, honey, and meat – this dish is a whole meal in itself. It’s slow-cooked right on the grill in a foil pan, making cleanup a breeze and the flavor next-level.
The magic comes from letting the beans soak up all that BBQ and seasoning while the meat and bacon cook right on top. No mixing needed, just layer it up and let the grill do the work. Don’t worry, if you don’t have a grill, the oven works too.
Before you get started
If you’ve got time, soak your beans overnight to speed up cooking and get them extra soft. Use an aluminum foil pan that can take the heat . . . .grill temps get intense, and you don’t want anything warping or leaking. Keep an eye on the water level during the first cook so the beans stay boiling and tender.
Have all your ingredients measured and ready before starting, especially since you’ll be working with a hot grill. And yes, leave the meat and bacon raw when adding them—they’ll cook perfectly while the beans finish.
What You Need To Make One-Pan Cowboy Baked Beans on the Grill
You can find all the exact ingredient amounts in the recipe card, but here’s what you’ll need:
- Dry pinto beans and great northern beans
- Ground meat of your choice
- Thin-cut bacon
- Your favorite BBQ sauce
- Light brown sugar and honey
- Grilled Mates brown sugar and bourbon seasoning
- Cajun seasoning
- Water
- A disposable aluminum pan for easy grilling
How To Make One-Pan Cowboy Baked Beans on the Grill
1
Start by rinsing and draining your beans. If you’ve soaked them overnight, great. If not, no worries—it’ll just take a bit longer on the grill.
2
Pour the beans into a large aluminum pan and cover with about 8 cups of water. Set the pan directly on a preheated grill at 400 degrees. Cover the grill and let it cook for an hour, checking now and then to make sure the water doesn’t boil off. Add a little water if things get dry.
3
After about an hour, drain the beans. Add in the BBQ sauce, honey, brown sugar, Cajun seasoning, brown sugar bourbon seasoning, and about ½ cup of water. Mix well until everything is coated.
4
Now, take your uncooked ground meat and break it into chunks—don’t mix it in, just scatter it evenly over the top. Then do the same with the bacon: cut it up and spread it right over the meat layer. Again, no mixing.
5
Sprinkle a little more brown sugar bourbon seasoning over the top and drizzle with a touch of honey.
6
Return the pan to the grill, reduce the heat to 350, and cook for another 1 to 2 hours, depending on whether you soaked your beans. You’re looking for soft, flavorful beans with fully cooked meat and crispy-topped bacon.
One-Pan Cowboy Baked Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb dry pinto beans
- 1 lbs dry great northern beans
- 8-10 cups of water
- 1 lbs ground meat of choice
- 1 pack of thin bacon
- 20 oz bottle of BBQ of choice
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of Grilled Mates brown sugar and bourbon seasoning
- 2-3 tbsp Cajun seasoning
Instructions
- Rinse and drain your beans. (You can soak overnight to speed up the cooking process and make the beans softer)
- Pour into an aluminum pan, cover with 8 cups of water. Place on the grill at 400, cover and cook 1hr. Check sporadically to make sure they are not getting dry. If so add in a little water at a time to keep them boiling.
- Drain beans. Add in your BBQ sauce, honey, brown sugar, seasoning, and 1/2 cups water. Mix together
- Top with your uncooked grown meat, just break apart and spread around the top (don’t mix in)
- Then cut up bacon to put on top (don’t mix in either.
- Sprinkle a little more brown sugar bourbon on top and a drizzle of honey. Return back to the grill on 350 and cook for another hour-2 depending on if you soaked your beans. Beans should be soft, meat and bacon will be cooked! Enjoy!
