Sweet Onion Beans, perfect with a sandwich or burger!

Sweet Onion Beans, because only one kind of beans to eat, just doesn't work at this house! A little bit sweet, with a little bit of onion.

Between the two of us, it is my husband who loves beans the most!

I have been developing recipes similar to the canned beans he is drawn to while we are shopping together. They are usually of a sweeter style of beans, things like Brown Sugar Beans or Maple BBQ Beans. And honestly it is not that he can't have store bought beans, it is more along the lines of avoiding the extra ingredients present in the commercially prepared beans. Because in all honesty, they just aren't necessary. 

To please us both, new recipes to enjoy!

I have worked hard on developing recipes for those same flavors of canned beans found in the grocery store, but made with whole food ingredients. Plus I won't lie, we can stay on budget better when we make more of our food choices, from scratch with ingredients we already have, ourselves. Our last trip to the store was the inspiration for Sweet Onion Beans. 

Beans and bread, how are they alike?

For this recipe for Sweet Onion Beans I decided to use the preprogrammed beans/chili button on my Instant Pot. And I think I can say that I probably won't use it again, for most of the recipes I cook. But to answer the above question, beans and bread are what I call living foods. In other words, food from a crop that can and does have a difference from year to year and crop to crop. I find that beans and whole wheat berries are a bit different from crop to crop and year to year. 

Why recipes are often just guidelines for the cook to follow.

And while the differences may be small, there are often slight changes needed when cooking takes place. As I said, I have noticed this with beans, whole wheat berries and even brown rice. Often the last bit of the old crop is different from the new crop just purchased when it is time to refill the pantry!  But these differences do occur from crop to crop and year to year. As well as how old the food may have been stored. This is especially true of beans. 

It turns out that for me, those differences are the main reason I probably won't rely on a preprogrammed button. Due to the crop and age of the product based upon storage, cooking may very well be incomplete. And there is the other issue, for pressure cooking just like pressure canning, altitude makes a difference in cooking time. The higher you live the longer you will need to cook the food...it doesn't seem to matter how long I have been cooking or how successful (or not, I do have bloopers!) I am, there is always something new to learn about food, ingredients and putting them all together. 

Some additional thoughts on this recipe:

For those who have a stove top pressure cooker, the cooking times will be the same. The only issue to consider is the high sugar content and possible scorching during cooking. 

This recipe for Sweet Onion Beans will freeze beautifully just like most bean recipes. I like to freeze them in containers that are easy to pull out so they can be dished up for lunches along with a sandwich.

Just like all our bean recipes, this one requires soaking the beans. You can do this the day before and then refrigerate until needed or start soaking them the night before and get them cooked that morning. 

 

Ingredients needed for this recipe:

• Navy beans
• onion
• salt
• molasses
• sugar
• ball park mustard
• catsup 

You will also need the following:

• Instant Pot 

or 

• Electric Pressure Cooker
• kitchen knife
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• kitchen spoon

Now we are ready to get started!

Sweet Onion Beans

adapted from Homemade No(Pork) and Beans

Originally posted 03.04.2024

1 pound Navy Beans, soaked and drained

1 medium onion

1 T salt

1/4 c molasses

1/2 c sugar

1 T ball park mustard

2 T catsup

3 1/2 c water

Peel and mince the onion. Add the drained beans, minced onion, salt, molasses, mustard and catsup into the Instant Pot cooking pan. 

Add the water, stir well. 

Attach the lid, close the vent, then set the cooking time to 45 minutes. 

When finished cooking, allow to sit for 10 minutes NPR.

Release the valve, and open the lid. If beans still seem a bit firm, you will want to cook them for another 5 - 10 minutes. 

To cook for additional time, reattach lid, close the vent and set time for the needed cooking time. When done, again let sit for 10 minutes NPR, before opening the cooker. 

Let cool, then package for freezing and or serving right away. 

Storage options for Sweet Onion Beans. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To store for longer periods of time, package in freezer containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.  

UPDATE:  For your convenience, a "copy and paste" version of Sweet Onion Beans has been included below. 

#wholefoodingredients

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Recipe featured on: 

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Printable "copy and paste" version:

Sweet Onion Beans

adapted from Homemade No(Pork) and Beans

1 pound Navy Beans, soaked and drained

1 medium onion

1 T salt

1/4 c molasses

1/2 c sugar

1 T ball park mustard

2 T catsup

3 1/2 c water

Peel and mince the onion. Add the drained beans, minced onion, salt, molasses, mustard and catsup into the Instant Pot cooking pan. 

Add the water, stir well. 

Attach the lid, close the vent, then set the cooking time to 45 minutes. 

When finished cooking, allow to sit for 10 minutes NPR.

Release the valve, and open the lid. If beans still seem a bit firm, you will want to cook them for another 5 - 10 minutes. 

To cook for additional time, reattach lid, close the vent and set time for the needed cooking time. When done, again let sit for 10 minutes NPR, before opening the cooker. 

Let cool, then package for freezing and or serving right away. 

Storage options for Sweet Onion Beans. Store covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To store for longer periods of time, package in freezer containers or freezer bags and freeze for up to 6 months.  

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