5-Bean Casserole

There are some things that just scream Thanksgiving to you based on your experience. This recipe does that for me. We have always had it, for as long as I remember. I believe the recipe was passed down from my great aunt, I am not sure. What I am sure of is that as soon as I smell the sweet/tangy scent of apple cider vinegar mixing with the sweetener and onions I know that Thanksgiving has come.

This recipe is a crossover due to the fat used. It is true that you could use turkey bacon and omit the 1/4 c added oil that is suggested to make it an E. However, this recipe is a holiday celebration meal for me, so I leave it as a crossover. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

5-Bean Casserole ~ THM Crossover

Ingredients

8 Slices Bacon (If using turkey bacon you will need to add 1/4c coconut oil to the recipe)
2 onions, sliced very thinly
3/4 c xes sweetener or gentle sweet
1 tsp blackstrap molasses
1 tsp ground mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 c apple cider vinegar
1 14.5 oz can butter beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can red kidney beans or great northern beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can green beans, drained
1 14.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed
11 oz Amazing Baked Beans (or canned baked beans if you can find no sugar added)

Directions

Fry bacon until crisp. Remove bacon from the pan but keep fat in the pan. (If you used turkey bacon you will need to add 1/4 c coconut oil to the pan.)

While bacon is frying, mix dry ingredients together with apple cider vinegar and molasses. Add vinegar mixture to the fat (oil) in the pan and whisk together over medium high heat. (Be prepared for your sinuses to be cleared!) Add onions to the pan and mix to coat. Bring mixture to a boil. Cover pan, reduce heat to simmer for 15 minutes.

While onions are cooking crumble the bacon. Mix drained beans together with baked beans in a large bowl. Add half of the crumbled bacon. When onions are finished cooking, pour this mixture over the beans. Stir well and put into a 3 quart casserole dish. Sprinkle the rest of the bacon on top of beans.

Cover the casserole dish with lid or foil and bake at 350 for one hour.

(I actually made this a one – pot dish by using my cast iron Dutch oven for the whole process. Yay for less dishes! If you have a pan big enough that has a lid and goes from stove top to oven I highly recommend this method.)

Honestly, I like this dish best the next day after the flavors have had a chance to meld together. Therefore, I would really suggest getting this dish prepared a day in advance giving yourself more free time on Thanksgiving day! You can also cook this in the crock-pot if you’d like. In that case I would suggest cooking it on low for at least 4 hours, giving it that time to marry the flavors.

Be sure to keep checking back. I will be posting all of the recipes that I like to have on hand to keep me on track during the upcoming holiday season. I will eventually compile them all into a Holiday Menu post to be published on November 1st.