Pork And Beans Recipe
Love pork and beans? It’s definitely a comfort food type of meal, and this healthier version makes it even better!
Surf, sand and beans?
I’m a California girl. I grew up with the perfect “just-about-everything” where nature and the great outdoors are concerned. I’m a short, 3 hour drive from the snow in winter (Tahoe), the mountains, any time of year, are only about 20 minutes away and the beach in summer is only an hour’s drive west. You could say I live in a natural wonderland.
But even with such a variety available to me, I tend to gravitate towards the beach the most. I love the laid back atmosphere, the surfers, and the all-around easy-going life that the beach community has to offer.
So as you might guess, some of the food I grew up with has that “true California” influence. Barbecue, salads, Mexican feasts and all around, fresh foods (despite my German upbringing and culinary influences).
This dish was never a staple in my house. But I have to say that after finally making it myself, I kinda wish it had been! Pork and Beans are darned good! I believe it would even make a fantastic dish for a picnic at the beach (so long as you can keep the blowing sand out of it!).
ARE PORK AND BEANS HEALTHY?
A question like this is subjective. Everyone has their own ideas of what makes a “healthy” meal. Some don’t consider pork to be fit for consumption. Others will look at the sugar content and say it’s not healthy for that reason.
But keep this in mind. My goal here is to make a fairly unhealthy dish, healthier. My aim is to used unprocessed ingredients so that, at the very least, a dish like this will have more nutritional value. At the end of the day, if you want pork and beans, guess what? This recipe will be healthier than a good majority of the recipes out there. So it all depends on your goals and what you consider healthy.
NOTES ON THE BEANS:
Don’t drain or rinse the canned beans. Add everything from the can to your skillet.
RECIPES USED:
PORK AND BEANS RECIPE:
This recipe is adapted. I got the original recipe here.
Pork And Beans
Equipment
- Large Skillet
Ingredients
- 3 cups cooked and cut pork chops (cut into bite-size chunks)
- 45 oz. canned pinto beans (Three, 15 oz. cans - do not drain or rinse)
- 1 ½ cups diced white onion
- 1 cup ketchup (Recipe linked above to make your own. I used Organicville Ketchup)
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- 1 tbsp. molasses
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
Instructions
- Sauté onions in the olive oil until translucent.
- Add all other ingredients to the pan, and warm over medium heat, stirring frequently until everything is nice and hot.
- Cool slightly and serve.
Could you be more specific about what cut of pork you used? Otherwise, looks like a great recipe! I just don’t know whether to use tenderloin, ground, or hot dogs. LOL
Mandie – Oh sorry! I used pork loin chops.
I am so excited by this recipe. Have not found a pork and bean recipe without vinegar-a no no to us on the IC diet. Ketchup can be a problem for some because of the tomatoes-but I want to try and make a ketchup with yellow tomatoes this next year.
Thanks Gracious Pantry!
NK – Fabulous! That ketchup sounds really interesting. If it works out, please share the recipe!
I have lived in NJ my entire life except for college. My mom was a stay at home mom so she was Betty Crocker always cooking and baking. My dad had a huge garden in backyard that I never fully appreciated until recently. I hated shelling peas for 3 hours in hot June. I learned a lot about cooking and eating well from my mom. We ate more mild dishes and rarely ate out. No real specific dishes either.
Kimberly – What a great lesson about food growing up! I’ve missed my garden terribly since we moved. It’s such a blessing to have one!
I live in a suburb of Buffalo NY and I’m Polish. We have just about the best pizza around. I know they say NY has good pizza, but I believe Buffalo has the best. Every time I’ve traveled, I found the pizza was not as good as it is here – although I’ve never been to NY.
We also have Buffalo Wings, of course. Another popular food around here is a Friday Fish Fry which consists a plate of deep fried breaded or battered fish, french fries, potato salad (with mayo), macaroni salad (mayo, onion, celery, noodle, sometimes tuna or shrimp), cole slaw (cabbage, mayo).
Of course I grew up with Polish food like Polish Sausage (fresh, not smoked) with rye bread, pierogi, cabbage rolls, ham off the bone around Easter. My mom also made goulash (sp? – hamburger, noodles, red sauce, onion, green pepper) although she didn’t call it that. One thing that I used to LOVE LOVE LOVE as a child was just eating a bowl of plain white noodles every time my mom cooked pasta for something. I would still love to do that but I’ve pretty much only eaten brown rice pasta over the last many years. It’s the closest that I’ve found to white.
Sharbysyd – I love good rye bread. NOTHING like it in the world! That goulash sounds good too. I might have to do a goulash recipe here. When I was a kid, it was always white noodles with parmesan cheese. The thought of it still sends me into fits of cravings. lol.
Would this work in a slow cooker with dry beans?
Shari – I don’t believe so. It’s a “left overs” kind of recipe. It comes together pretty quickly. But you could certainly give it a try!
I am a “G.R.I.T.S.” girl (Girls raised in the South) and lived in a Cuban-Italian cummity. Needless to say, my fare was a huge variety of food choices from pastas and roasted pork to steaks smothered in gravy. Of course, second helpings were always encouraged! When I finished chemo last year for breast cancer, I had gained almost 40 pounds. Several diets later.. I have found a new meaning in healthy eating with Clean Eating. Thanks Tiffany for your website. It has been a valuable source for my weight loss quest. Started January 2011 and have gotten rid of 12.5 ugly pounds to date. HOO RAH for me!
Marie – That’s FANTASTIC!!! Keep up the wonderful work!!
I’m making this recipe in the Crock Pot using raw pork and canned beans. Don’t see why it shouldn’t work beautifully. I’ll report back to let you know how it was.
Linda – Fabulous! I look forward to hearing how it turned out!
OK, reporting back: I made the pork and beans in the Crock Pot. I didn’t cook the pork first, I just put all of the ingredients in the pot and cooked on low about 7 hours. It was fabulous! Seriously delicious. My husband raved about it. Thanks so much for the recipe!
Linda – That’s FABULOUS!!!! I’m so excited that worked out! Thanks for being willing to give it a try. Enjoy!
Hi saw your post on where you live and I had to comment, my dad and step-mom live in Lincoln California sounds like not to far from you.
Julie – I’m not sure! I don’t know where Lincoln is. Sorry!
In place of Maple Syrup I used Maple Agave Nector – Less Calories && Less Sugars && Same great taste!
Jenn – That’s wonderful! I can’t find it here without added sugar (which I’ll never understand), but I’ll keep looking. Thanks!
Is there something sugar free I can substitute the brown sugar for? And not Stevia etc? Maybe apple sauce? Orange juice?
Shari – There is no brown sugar in this recipe. I don’t use brown sugar at all.
I must say…I am back for more! This will be my second time using this recipe and we LOVE it!!
Christa – Awesome!!!! I’m so happy you’re enjoying my recipe!
this just looks sooooo good!!!
Trude – Thanks, enjoy!