Canned Baked Bean Makeover

[ChristinaMason]

I have a few cans of barbecue baked beans on hand that I'd like to do something with beyond the usual doctoring up, heating, and eating. Any suggestions for something creative to do with these? I think most have some kind of pork in them, for what it's worth.

I saw one idea for repurposing pork and beans into a salad (http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/2857... ). Do any of you have recipes or ideas for re-inventing baked beans into an entirely new dish?

[sunshine842]

warm them up and pour them over buttered toast for the British version of SOS -- beans on toast

I used to know someone who loved baked beans added to macaroni and cheese.

[Sonny_Funzio]

Baked beans go good with eggplant in various combinations. Sauteed or charcoal/char-grill roasted eggplant.

I also make a mean chili with eggplant as one of the main ingredients that also includes baked beans, black beans, onions, garlic, ground beef or shredded beef, a jar of spaghetti sauce, and typical chili spices including cumin and home-ground dried smoked peppers (such as chipotles) - ground in the spice mill.

[calmossimo]

Out of curiosity, what does your usual doctoring up consist of? I have a costco pack of baked beans but haven't gotten tired of them yet (I'm only 2 cans in).. but I'd like to step it up a little bit to see how you eat them without the complete repurposing.

[ChristinaMason]

Good ideas so far, looking forward to seeing others' suggestions :)

[seamunky]

mash them into non-vegetarian veggie patties. you might have to add a binder like breadcrumbs or oatmeal to soak up the sauce. add aromatics like onion and celery and the spices of your choice. pan fry the patties.

[4Snisl]

Second....maybe something like homemade veggie-ish burger patties. I'd personally rinse off much of the sauce and proceed with the beans.

Have 'bean' meaning to try this recipe for some time (sorry, couldn't help myself :):
http://www.thekitchn.com/restaurant-r...
(would want to incorporate the suggested tweaks by the commenter on 5-4-11)

[greygarious]

Make them into refried beans. Use them for bean dip. Use them as part of the topping for pizza or bruschetta. Make them into bean soup by adding canned tomato product, sauteed onions, sliced sausage/frankfurters, and broth of your choice. .

[hawkeyeui93]

Although I cannot figure out a way to get past the beans having barbecue sauce in proffering makeovers, maybe the Jewish dish cholent [stew made with protein, potatoes, beans, and barley slow-cooked for 12-plus hours] might work.

[othervoice]

This one dish that everyone loves, great at a summertime BBQ, or in the dead of winter.
Two cans Baked Beans (I usually buy vegetarian)
Bag of chopped, frozen peppers and onions
1 pound ground beef
Brown ground beef, add beans and peppers & onions, bake for 30 minutes at 350. Easy, fast and delicious.
If I want to change it up, instead of ground beef I saute a pound of bacon with the peppers and onions and bake the same way.

[DonShirer]

This sounds like something I dimly remember from my childhood, only I think it was served over macaroni. Sort of a Chileroni.

[katecm]

I guess I could see turning them into a soup or stew, though I'm not sure how different that would be. My favorite is to pour them into a baking dish, top with thinly sliced red onion, and then topped with bacon, and baked until the bacon is crispy. It's not a full-on makeover, but it's incredibly delicious.

[hawkeyeui93]

I like to saute red onions, bacon, and some sliced fresh jalepenos or poblano peppers before adding them to the beans (and baking for an hour).