Slow Cooker Beefy Calico Beans
Slow Cooker Beefy Calico Beans are thick, rich and full of bacon and ground beef. Perfect for cookouts and a real crowd pleaser!
The weather is finally getting a little warmer around here and that means time for BBQs, potlucks and more! Fun family get togethers filled with the smoky scent of burgers and ribs on the grills, and Friday night grill outs with BBQ chicken and hot dogs. Of course all those delicious grilled dinners need side dishes and I have the most the amazing side dish to share with you today sweet and savory calico beans cooked right in the slow cooker!
These crockpot calico beans are baked beans tastier, richer cousin and is a well received change when your going to your 1000th cookout with the same old baked beans. These are a major upgrade from the normal baked beans and every time I make them everyone goes crazy and they scrape the pan clean!
The combination of pork & beans, kidney beans, butter beans, bacon, ground beef, onion, brown sugar and bbq sauce all cook together in the slow cooker to create an incredible side dish or meal if you serve it along side some cornbread, yum!
Now onto these Slow Cooker Beefy Calico Beans! I love these so much because they are a crowd pleaser, easy to transport to BBQs and cookouts and they cook right in the slow cooker, so no heating up the kitchen with the oven or stove, yay!
Just a few ingredients in the slow cooker and you are on your way to the most perfect side dish that I know you will be making all summer long.
You will love this recipe because it is
- Easy and fast
- Crowd-pleaser
- Perfect for entertaining
- Slow cooker recipe
- Family friendly
How to make these slow cooker beans
- Full recipe below.
- Brown the bacon and onion.
- Brown ground beef
- Add the ground beef, bacon, onion, the beans, sugar, Worcestershire and BBQ sauce to the slow cooker.
- Mix together.
- Cook on low for 4 hours or high for 2 hours.
- Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients you need
- Full recipe below
- BBQ Sauce- use whichever is your favorite
- Ground beef- I like to use lean
- Bacon- this provides so much flavor
- Onion- I like to use a sweet onion for this
- Brown sugar- gives this dish all it’s sweetness
- Worcestershire- provides a savory flavor
- Pork & beans- the base of this dish
- Kidney beans- you can use the light or dark version
- Large butter beans- I get the large canned ones
This is the slow cooker I like to use –Hamilton Beach Slow Cooker
Can I use any other meat?
Yes! You could use ground turkey, ground chicken, ground pork or ground sausage which would be fabulous in this.
Can I use other beans?
You can! Always use the can of the pork and beans but you can definitely use any other beans you like instead of the kidney beans and butter beans.
What can I add to this?
You can spice this up with some red pepper flakes or jalapenos!
How to store the leftovers?
Just store this in an airtight container for up to a 4 days.
How should I serve these slow cooker beans?
These eat like a meal but I love serving them on the side of any grilled dinner and they are perfect for potlucks and BBQs.
Want more Slow Cooker recipes? Check out these!
Slow Cooker Beefy Calico Beans
Ingredients
Instructions
Gotta Try This….mmmm….
I’ve been Making this for YEARS, every function, holiday etc. The recipe has been in the family for probably about50-60years, of course it’s changed a bit over time with the convenience of store bought beans but it is a huge hit, even if your not a fan of beans! ❤️
It is so good and has been known to change some minds if people dont like beans
Been making this ever since I learned to cook I guess. It’s a family favorite. We like it with Lima beans and black beans. It can be a side, but if we aren’t taking it to a bbq or potluck, for us it’s a meal, served with biscuits or cornbread, and maybe a salad. I make it either in the oven or the crockpot. I like oven best!