# Vegetarian Baked Beans?



## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Hi gang,

After this last round of buying canned baked beans, I've decided to make my own. Having read numerous treatises on how to cook beans, and having done so a couple of times with garbanzos, I think I've got the general cooking process down pretty well. However, it would be great to get some flavoring ideas, and cooking techniques specific to making vegetarian baked beans, especially for making a nice, thick, flavorful sauce.

I'd also like to eliminate, or reduce as much as possible, the amount of sugar in the final dish. Which beans may best lend themselves to such a dish? Any thoughts or proven techniques for making some nice, rich, flavorful vegetarian baked beans? 

shel


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## chefswanny (Jan 16, 2008)

Hey shel!

Hope I can help. I was a chef @ a Natural Foods cafe/grocery for several years. Being from MA, I'm partial to Boston Baked Beans. I made a batch in the crockpot just this past Christmas for the family. Here is the recipe I used. It's very traditional and straightfoward. I substituted smoked tempeh for the traditional bacon. The tempeh lends itself well to the long cooking time involved and gives a nice smoky flavor.

*Vegetarian Boston Baked Beans*
1 lb. dry Great Northern beans, Navy beans, yellow eye, or other
dry beans, soaked overnight and drained (I prefer Navy beans)
 1 lg. onion
1/2 tsp. salt
 1 c. molasses
 1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. firmly packed brown sugar
 1/4 lb. smoked tempeh, chopped or grated
Method:
Preheat crockpot to lowAfter soaking the beans, place in a large pot, and cover with water. Bring to a boil and simmer for 45 minutes. Drain, reserving bean liquor.Combine salt, molasses, mustard sugar and Worcestershire (you can cut down on the brown sugar if you like but leave in the molasses as it adds loads of vitamins and potassium).
Place 1/3 of the beans in the crockpot with a small amount of the liquor. Top this with 1/3 of the molasses mix, then 1/3 of the tempeh. Repeat layers and cover beans with reserved liquid. Cook on low for about 9 hours until beans are tender.
I've also added a 1/2 teaspoon of ground cloves to this recipe for a slightly different flavor profile.

Hope you enjoy!


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## shel (Dec 20, 2006)

Thanks for the recipe and for the ideas, chefswanny.

shel


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## 123u123 (Jan 18, 2008)

:suprise:,enjoy it and thanks.


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