Upgrade Your Cookout Baked Beans With This Juicy Summer Fruit

When it comes to any dish where beans are the main ingredient instead of being background fare, it's hard to beat baked beans. They're simple, savory, and deliciously sweet. The navy beans typically used in baked beans are mild and creamy, and they work well with classic ingredients like brown sugar and molasses. They're a great warm weather side dish, and the sugary notes pair perfectly with ripe summer peaches. When you blend peaches into the sauce, stir in some chunks, or even add in a scoop of jam, the flavors mix together extremely well.

Peach baked beans may sound a little unusual, but it's actually not too uncommon of an ingredient. Fresh peaches show up in a lot of baked beans recipes, alongside ingredients like bacon, bourbon barbecue sauce, and maple syrup. Peaches are a seasonal summer fruit that tastes best through August, so finding great fresh peaches shouldn't be an issue for a summer cookout. However, you can also use peach preserves, frozen peaches, or canned peaches.

When it comes to peach baked beans, there isn't a set ratio, so you should make them to suit your palate. About one fresh peach per can of beans is a good place to start, though you can add more or less depending on your preferences. If you're going with sweetened canned peaches, start with about half a cup since they're sweeter. You can even use peach pie filling or peach preserves, though these ingredients will add quite a bit of sweetness — treat them as you would sweeteners like honey or sugar, adding a spoonful at a time and tasting as you go. 

Whichever form of peaches you choose, they will blend easily with all the other ingredients you might add to upgrade your canned baked beans. Besides what has been mentioned already, feel free to add bacon, garlic, or any number of condiments like ketchup, mustard, or Worcestershire sauce. If peaches aren't your thing and you want something more acidic, you can also upgrade baked beans with canned pineapple instead.