Dump Meals

Beef

Baked Beans with Ground Beef

dumpmeals.com/recipes/baked-beans-with-ground-beef/

Canned pork and beans, kidney beans and browned ground beef in a sweet, tangy sauce, slow-cooked for a potluck.

Baked Beans with Ground Beef, served
A computer-made picture of the finished dish, not a photo of this recipe.
Serves
8
Prep
15 minutes
Cook
Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours
Slow cooker
5-quart

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Baked beans with ground beef is a hearty potluck dish that also works as supper with cornbread. Canned pork and beans do most of the work. Kidney beans add body, browned ground beef makes it filling, and ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire make the sweet and tangy sauce.

The beans are already cooked in the can, so the slow cooker only has to soften the onion and blend the flavors. The beef is browned and drained first, as with every ground-beef recipe on this site. The cooker then keeps the beans warm on the buffet table.

Serve with cornbread, hot dogs or a green salad. For a smoky flavor, stir in a few slices of cooked, crumbled bacon at the end. Leftovers keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days and reheat in the microwave until hot all the way through.

Ingredients

Into the slow cooker

  • 1½ pounds ground beef, browned and drained
  • 1 yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 (28-ounce) cans pork and beans
  • 1 (15-ounce) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • ½ cup ketchup
  • ⅓ cup brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Directions

  1. Brown the ground beef in a large skillet over medium-high heat, breaking it up as it cooks, until it reads 160°F on a food thermometer (no pink is not proof). Drain off the fat.
  2. Put the onion in a 5-quart slow cooker.
  3. Add the pork and beans with their sauce, the kidney beans, ketchup, brown sugar, mustard and Worcestershire. Add the browned beef and stir.
  4. Cover. Cook on low 4 to 6 hours or on high 2 to 3 hours.
  5. Check the center. It should be bubbling and read at least 165°F.
  6. Stir and serve.

It's done when the beans are steaming hot, bubbling at the edges, and read at least 165°F in the center. The ground beef was cooked to 160°F before it went in. Check with a food thermometer.

Leftovers go in the refrigerator within two hours. Reheat them on the stove or in the microwave until hot all the way through (165°F), not in the slow cooker. Slow cooker safety

Cooking for two

Use 3/4 lb ground beef, half the onion, one 28-ounce can of pork and beans, half the kidney beans, 1/4 cup ketchup, 3 tablespoons brown sugar, 1 tablespoon mustard and 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire. Use a 2- or 3-quart slow cooker, whichever the food fills at least halfway. Start checking at 3 hours on low or 1 1/2 hours on high; it is done at 165°F in the center.

More in Cooking for two in a slow cooker.

Tips

  • Leave the lid on while it cooks. Each peek lets out heat and adds cooking time.
  • On a buffet, keep the cooker on the warm setting. If it has been switched off, eat or refrigerate the beans within two hours.

Food-safety sources

  • Safe Cooking Temperatures, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension (UNL Food). Checked November 1, 2026.
  • Slow Cookers and Food Safety, USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service. Checked November 1, 2026 (address from a search result; the page itself blocks automated checks).

More beef

  • Pepperoncini Pot Roast Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Chuck roast cut into pieces with pepperoncini, ranch seasoning, gravy mix and butter. The dish often called Mississippi pot roast.
  • Beef Stew Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Beef chuck cubes, carrots, potatoes and celery in a beef and tomato gravy. Peas go in at the end.
  • Italian Beef Low 8 to 10 hours, or high 4 to 5 hours Freezer bag Chuck roast pieces in Italian dressing mix and broth, shredded for sandwiches with pickled pepper relish.
  • Beef and Broccoli Low 4 to 6 hours, or high 2 to 3 hours Freezer bag Thin-sliced beef chuck in a soy, garlic and ginger sauce, with broccoli added at the end. Serve over rice.