Good afternoon!
Thanks for the great response to the Glo Canada sale! There is one 25% off coupon left if you still want to get your hands on one.
Last night, I was not feeling motivated to workout. I decided to just put on my workout clothes and see where they would take me!
After a few minutes of sitting at my desk in my workout clothes (ok, ok 30 mins), I decided that it was now or never. I knew I couldn’t eat dinner right before a workout, so I used my delicious slow-cooking dinner as my bait. I figured the quicker I worked out, the quicker I could have dinner.
It was perfect running weather outside. The sky was a crystal blue and the air was crisp and cool. I could smell BBQ’s wafting through the air. To make the run more interesting, I decided to go on a ‘Canada Day Eve Running Tour’ of the neighbourhood. I saw lots of Canada Day flags and lots of cotton-tail bunnies. Before I knew it, I had done 4 miles in about 35 minutes, with a strong, sprinting finish. I felt so good when I got home!
If you feel like skipping a workout, just put on your workout clothes and then decide afterwards! Odds are you will end up doing some type of activity.
Oh and dinner was sooooo worth the wait! I made one of my favourite Canada Day recipes- Maple Baked Beans. This was my first time making a vegan version and it turned out better than I could have imagined.
Canadian Maple Baked Beans
[Adapted from here]
Ingredients:
- 4.5 cups cooked navy beans (approx. 3 (15-ounce) small cans)
- 1 large sweet onion, diced OR 1-2 green onions (I recommend sweet onions though)
- 3-4 tbsp blackstrap molasses
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons regular mustard
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 8 oz/1 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
- Handful of dried cranberries
- Maple butter, to drizzle overtop OR pure maple syrup
Directions: Rinse and drain navy beans. Slow-cooker method: Add cooked and drained beans into the slow cooker. Chop the onion and place the onion, molasses, maple syrup, mustard, vinegar, salt, tomatoes, and cranberries (optional) into the slow cooker and stir well. (Alternatively you can also cook these on the stove top or baked in the oven!). Cook over high heat for about 4-5 hours (however they can be eaten after just a couple hours of cooking), or cook them on the lowest heat setting for 7-8 hours. Make sure to check the beans frequently as I am not sure if this mixture will burn. After scooping into bowls, scoop on a bit of maple butter or drizzle pure maple syrup on top. Serves 3-4.
This has to be one of the easiest recipes out there! Just toss everything in, stir, and cook!
I think it goes without saying that the house smells amazing when this cooks! I used green onions instead of sweet onions because we have a little situation in our house right now…
We are currently being overtaken by green onions thanks to last night’s CSA!
I threw in some dried cranberries at the last minute. I loved the pop of red. They were great and got all juicy and plump after slow-cooking.
I dreamed of this on my run.
I took some maple butter and drizzled it on top.
I LOVED it. Every last bite. Actually, I had another bowl at 10pm last night! The maple butter was amazing on top.
Eric really enjoyed it too. He had the beans stuffed in a bun!
Lots to do to prep for Saturday’s market…..gulp! I will see you Friday AM!
Hello, although I am not vegetarian or vegan I recently discovered your blog and have tried several of your recipes (I liked the iron woman gingerbread smoothie.) I think it would be great if everyone could appreciate there are different types of diets and opinions on food and even though we are meat eaters, my husband and I are committed to providing our boys with lots of organic, fresh food and keeping junk/snacks out!! Anyway off my soapbox :) … I was excited to try this recipe and followed directions except that i used pinto beans. After soaking beans for 12 hrs and cooking for 10 hrs in the crockpot they were still hard (I even cranked it to high the last few hours.) Did this happen to anyone else? Is it because I used pinto instead of navy? Thanks in advance!
Hi there,
I’ve heard that beans can vary in cooking time based on how old they are – so in theory, older, drier beans can take a lot longer to cook. I would try soaking them in a big bowl of water overnight next time before cooking. That helps soften (and makes them easier to digest too!) Hope this helps.
thanks for your reply, however my beans were not old and as mentioned above, I soaked them for 12 hrs prior to cooking. A quick search on a few other food blogs found others had the same problem with similar recipes- I think baked beans may just not do well in the slow cooker because there is not enough liquid to “cook” them- I did not have this problem when cooking, say, plain black beans in water in the slow cooker. If anyone finds a solution I would be happy to hear it! Thanks.
I was coming on here to see if anyone else had an answer to this same problem! Soaked my navy beans first all night, then in crockpot for 10+ hours and still hard. Disappointing. The recipe mentions using cooked beans, but then also says put your soaked beans in the crock pot. So it’s confusing. Plus doesn’t mention any amount of water to use which obviously the beans will need. My next step is to add more water and cook on low overnight, but it’s crazy to make a recipe that would take 24 hours crockpot cooking time….
Hey Anne,
Thanks for your feedback! I’m so sorry the recipe was confusing for you to follow! What I meant was to cook the beans according to the package directions before making this recipe. The beans need to be cooked prior to throwing them into the crockpot. I’ve now update the directions so hopefully they read a bit more clear. I hope if you try this again with cooked beans you’ll have success! Unfortunately I don’t have a method of cooking them from scratch in the crockpot at this time. All my best.
I definitely will try again, I did end up cooking them overnight on low and am enjoying them right now for breakfast :) tasty! But will cook beforehand next time for potlucks, etc. Thank you!
I am going to make this for a potluck. Looks wonderful. I am planning to double the recipe and pressure cook my own white beans. I looked up maple butter and it gave 2 versions on wiki. The boiled down creamed maple syrup stuff ( so just the maple sugar) and then the other is maple syrup mixed with actual ‘butter’. Which did you use?
Hi LNB, I make sure I cook the beans before trying to mix them with other ingredients. I have never had good results using soaked beans with other ingredients without cooking them first. I heard that tomato products and salt can prevent beans from becoming as soft as they should. I highly recommend an instant pot pressure cooker. Love mine! Cook beans first and then use or freeze. ( there is an instapot group on fb as well!)
I have been looking long and hard for a good vegan baked beans recipe. Two weekends ago I threw out an enormous batch of terrible, terrible tasting baked beans from a vegan website. Last night I made these and they were DEEEEEEEEEE-LICIOUS!!! Thank you so much!!!!!
Hi!
Do we really have to cook the dry beans before we put them in the slow cooker, with the other ingredients? Why not put them dry in the slowcooker? I guess they would have to cook for longer?
Love your website and ideas, much love from Canada! =)
I made this today and not only was it extremely easy to make in my slow cooker, it was the most flavourful, hearty, perfectly sweet and savoury baked beans I’ve ever had. Simply DELICIOUS!! Perfect for the snowy day we had here in Toronto. Thanks so much for sharing this gem of a recipe with us! Definitely gonna be one of my go to’s from now on.
Hey!
I really want to make this but could you make it with canned beans instead of dry beans??
Thanks!
Hey Ang! I just wanted to point out that this is one of my all-time faves from your site and that I officially nominate it to be added to the app :-) And on that note…maybe you could add a monthly feature or something where readers can vote on recipes to be updated/added. That would be SWEEEET :D
What can you eat with maple baked beans?
Oh, excellent with cole slaw, pumpernickel/dark rye bread, baked squash and/or stir-fried strong-flavoured greens, eg, rapini, chard, collards, kale, beet greens. Also fine with eggs (if you eat them) and french fries — trad British “eggs, chips and beans”. A *big* salad and garlic toast. Tomatoes, eg sliced, soup or escalloped. Mashed potatoes. Toast, beside or under the beans. Veggie burgers, esp ones mainly grains/corn/stuff as you already have the beans. Just by themselves. I do not recommend them with ice cream, but that is only b/c I do not like ice cream.
I eat canned maple beans on a fairly regular basis, we have been eating them even more often since becoming vegetarian. I found this recipe through google, and was not disappointed. My husband was worried when I told him I was making a healthier version of the dish, but he approved when he tried them.
Hi Jen, Oh, I’m so happy to hear the recipe managed to win you both over!
Just made this tonight! Wow, so delicious! Thank you for the great recipe. I love all of your recipes and have both of your cookbooks. So many great recipes to nourish my marathon training and love of food.
Thanks so much for your kind words, and your support for my cookbooks, Kristina. I’m so thrilled to hear you’re loving them! Wishing the best of luck with your marathon training :)
Thank you for this one!
Made this dish for a house full of guests including children and all licked up the entire pot. So much flavour!!!!! Love the addition of the cranberries too. Might try adding come chili pepper flakes next time for a sweet chili flavour :)
I’m so happy to hear it was a hit, Colleen! Even with the little ones ;)
I googled a vegan baked bean recipe, and came here as soon as I saw it was yours. I cracked up at your opening about working out, etc. I’m almost 66 and it’s even harder now to get a workout in. But the beans, OMG, look wonderful, and my white beans are soaking as I write this. One thing about retiring is I get to cook my own beans and not have to eat ones out of cans! I strongly recommend it. As my other favorite vegan cookbook writer, Isa Chandra Moskowitz, puts it, ABS (always be soaking!).
Hi! How would you make this on the stove? How long and what setting?
Hello! Angela, do you have an instant pot version of this recipe?
I am French Canadian decent and grew up in a town where beans were a weekly Saturday night dish. I don’t ever remember beans made with tomatoes and cranberries but the rest of the ingredients were spot on. I made my dry navy beans in the Instant Pot then followed the recipe in the crock pot but I eliminated the cranberries. They were delicious. Next time I’ll try them without the tomatoes and the cranberries for my family to see if they replicate what I grew up with but I’ll also try them again with cranberries and tomatoes for myself because I’m always eager to try new experiences.