Root Beer Baked Beans with Bacon

By Foodiewife

From "Cuisine At Home Magazine" With smoky bacon, sweet root beer, and a buttery bread crumb topping, everyone’s sure to enjoy these appetizing baked beans. I recently made these beans, only I realized (too late) that I didn't have root beer extract. I continued on, and skipped the buttery bread crumbs, too. Still, these beans were a hit, as everyone went back for seconds. They are smoky, a little sweet and very flavorful. Plus, they are super easy to make with canned pinto beans. I'll be making them again-- and I just might have to find some root beer extract, this time!

Per serving:
180 cal; 3g total fat (1g sat); 3mg chol; 522mg sodium; 33g carb; 1g fiber; 7g protein

Ingredients

• BEANS:
• 4 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced
• SWEAT:
• 2 cups diced onions
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
• DEGLAZE:
• 2 cups root beer
• 2 cans pinto beans (15-ounces each), drained and rinsed
• 1 can tomato purée (10.75-ounces)
• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons each, Worcestershire sauce and cider vinegar
• 1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon each, Tabasco sauce, root beer extract, and kosher salt
• TOPPING, PULSE:
• 3 slices white bread, buttered
• 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, minced

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 425°F.

For the beans, cook bacon in a nonstick skillet until crisp; transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate and discard all but 1 tablespoon drippings.

Sweat onions, bell pepper, and garlic in drippings over medium heat until soft, 5 minutes.

Deglaze skillet with root beer and bring to a boil; cook until root beer nearly evaporated, 10 minutes. Stir in beans, tomato purée, ketchup, brown sugar, Worcestershire, vinegar, mustard, Tabasco, root beer extract, salt, and bacon; bring to a simmer. Transfer beans to a 2-quart baking dish.

For the topping, pulse bread in a food processor to crumbs. Add parsley; pulse to combine. Top beans with bread crumb mixture; bake until topping is toasted and beans are bubbly, 15 minutes.