The smokey, brown sugar richness of southern and Boston baked beans takes a passenger seat to British Baked Beans. This version tastes exactly like you’d find at pubs and cafés across the pond. A lighter tomato-y base mixes with bits of spice and beans. The best part is, you don’t even have to bake these beans! They come together on the stovetop for quick, easy cooking.

Baked beans were seen as a filler food, a thing to expand the stomach and stretch the wallet without a lot of fuss. That was especially the case of canned goods, which led to an increased affordability and access to foods that were generally limited to certain seasons. Predating germ theory and an understanding of bacteria growth by fifty years, it is easy to say that canned goods came with a lot of risk of foodborne illness. Yet the global economic depression of 1873 saw an increase in can exports to England and the continent by companies like Borden, Heinz, and Campbell, increasing not just profit but also the use and familiarity with this way of food preservation. It was after this global depression that baked beans hit the market in a surprising way.

In 1886 Heinz made its debut release in Great Britain by selling its baked beans at the posh Fortnum & Mason department store, which was typically reserved for selling upper-end luxury goods. At the turn of the century the popularity of these baked beans grew and with it came an increase in production throughout the 1900s. During hard times in England, Heinz baked beans were promoted as a hearty, protein-packed meal, further ingraining baked beans into the everyday life of Brits. A British breakfast was once a display of wealth and fine cuisine, but an English breakfast is now a working man’s fry with beans taking the main stage.

These British Baked Beans are supposed to mimic the flavors of Britain’s Heinz baked beans but in an easy homemade way. Combine all of the ingredients (except the optional cornstarch) into a large pot and bring to a boil.

Reduce to a simmer, cooking to combine the flavor of the sauce and warm the beans through. If you want to add a bit more British oomph to these baked beans, you can add a bit of treacle syrup or golden syrup to the pot, but it’s not necessary.

Topped with some parsley, it gives a bit of freshness to the baked beans, and you’re done! British Baked Beans have a more gentle, soft taste when compared to the stateside BBQ baked beans we all know.

But this version from across the pond wonderfully highlights the delicate creamy notes of the beans. It’s mildly sweet and doesn’t make you want to lick a salt block.

It is almost neutral and lends itself to be mixed with other ingredients like tomatoes, mushrooms, and toast.

Try eating these British Baked Beans like the Brits and pile them onto hot buttered toast for a comforting way to begin or end your day!