Crockpot Picnic Beans

I have had this recipe so long, I can't remember where it came from, but I love that it is so easy!  I just have it penned on a notepad sheet with no title or directions.  Probably adapted it to suit my needs.  Just throw it all together and plug it in.  Summer is technically over, picnic season is about done, but we're still having little heat waves here and there and doing baked beans in a crock pot means I don't have to heat up the kitchen with my oven or waste a burner.  The longer it cooks, the better they get - just stir every 30 minutes to an hour until it gets where you want it.  I started mine in the morning and let it go on low until we got close to dinner time, then turned it up to make sure they were ready, then back down to hold.  Wait, that sounds confusing.  Well, it just means the recipe will work, whatever timing you need it to.  Need them faster, cook on high for an hour or so.  Able to wait, cook on low for four hours or more.  Bacon is optional if you want them vegetarian.

The beans you can choose are flexible, if you don't like butter beans, try something else.  I prefer baby butter beans when I can find them, but used the big ones this time.  (Butter beans are actually the same as lima, shhhhh, don't tell.  Just get the creamy colored, canned ones.)  I use pinto beans for my other can, and you can also find cans of mixed tricolor or calico beans, which I have also used before.  Anything you would use in a baked bean recipe would work.

The most difficult thing for us is finding a good tasting BBQ sauce that does not have corn syrup or corn starch in it.  I actually found one this time and it was fabulous!  Lillie's Q Barbeque Sauce in Smoky Memphis Style Sweet.  See if you can find it locally, I found it at Haggen's in the Pacific Northwest.  Hubby is hard to please when it comes to BBQ, having lived in the South for quite a few years.  This one more than passed muster.

The recipe can be halved, just go for four cans of beans.  I used the slow cooker function of my instant pot, which was already out, rather than go get the crock pot out.

Crockpot Picnic Baked Beans

Serves 10 (can be doubled)

2 cans (15oz each) Great Northern Beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans (15 oz each) Black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) Baby Butter beans (or just Butter beans), rinsed and drained
1 can (15 oz) Pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1½ cups BBQ sauce
1½ cups salsa (I used picante sauce, medium)
½ cup brown sugar
½ tsp hot pepper sauce
8 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

Add all ingredients to slow cooker.  Stir gently to combine.  Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours, or on high for 1-2 hours.  Cook until heated through and flavors are combined, or until desired consistency is reached.  The longer the beans cook, the more sauce they will absorb and the beans will start to break down and get creamy.  It's up to you how much you want to let this happen.