Baked Bean Muffins (Really!)
Hey, hi! So I’m in the middle of the craziness that is the Calgary Stampede, and have 8 shows down on the grounds this week – partly because I’ve been asked to do cooking demos for Bush’s Beans, sponsors of the Kitchen Theatre for the past 5 years. As you know, I’m a bean enthusiast, and always happy for an excuse to cook with them – and this time, I challenged myself to come up with something unique using their small pull-tab cans of baked beans, which are being handed out at the kitchen and at pancake breakfasts across the city.
I do love baking with beans, and canned varieties make a particularly smooth puree, so I started experimenting with muffins and came up with these. I pureed the whole batter in the blender (or food processor), so you only have to clean one “bowl”, and can pour the batter right into your muffin cups. And because the beans themselves have some fibre and starchy structure, you can get away with only using them and oats – there’s no flour in these. And yet they have a surprisingly light texture – they aren’t gummy at all, but slightly grainy, not enough to be heavy. W has been asking for them every day, surprisingly. If he only knew they were made with beans and oats…
I added some pumpkin puree thinking it would go well with the maple-spiked beans, and it does – they don’t taste pumpkin-y. But if you’re annoyed at the thought of opening a can of pumpkin to only use one cup, I froze the rest in half cup portions in a muffin tin, then popped the frozen pucks out into a ziplock freezer bag. Now it’s easy to pop out a puck and thaw it on the countertop or in the microwave to make a batch. I suspect a ripe banana would make a tasty alternative. And if you want to add raisins, nuts, berries or chocolate chips, just stir them into the batter right in the pitcher, after you’ve finished blending it.
Seriously – these are surprisingly good. I’ve made about a dozen batches so far this summer. These are mini versions in the photos – I made them as samples to give away at my Stampede demos. This recipe makes 48, and they bake in 15-18 minutes.
Baked Bean Muffins
AuthorJuliePreheat the oven to 375F. Put the beans (and the sauce they’re packed in), pumpkin puree or banana, brown sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla into a blender or food processor and pulse or blend until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
Add the oats, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt and pulse until the oats are fairly finely ground. Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes (the oats will soften a bit), and blend again. Take off the lid and if you like, stir in some raisins before scooping or pouring into the muffin tins.
Pour or scoop into greased or paper-lined muffin tins, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until raised, golden and springy to the touch. Makes 12 muffins or about 24 mini muffins.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375F. Put the beans (and the sauce they’re packed in), pumpkin puree or banana, brown sugar, milk, oil, eggs and vanilla into a blender or food processor and pulse or blend until smooth, scraping down the sides if necessary.
Add the oats, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder, baking soda and salt and pulse until the oats are fairly finely ground. Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes (the oats will soften a bit), and blend again. Take off the lid and if you like, stir in some raisins before scooping or pouring into the muffin tins.
Pour or scoop into greased or paper-lined muffin tins, filling them all the way to the top. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until raised, golden and springy to the touch. Makes 12 muffins or about 24 mini muffins.
We love Baked Beans, usually as a quick supper, on toast with a fried egg, and a salad on the side. Will definately be giving this recipe a tryout, thanks Julie.
Yes! Scrambled eggs and baked beans with toast was my mom’s go-to when we were kids. Total comfort food!
Hi Julie, what are the times you are at the stampede?
Sorry, just seeing this! My last show is tomorrow (Sunday) at noon.
Can it be real pureed pumpkin (with no spices or anything in it)? I did some last fall and could use it up this way!
your own puree will work. if already spiced I would omit spices in recipe.
Yes, that’s what it should be – just pumpkin puree! Although I suspect a ripe banana would work well, too!
Any suggestions on how to make it with fresh beans? I don’t buy canned beans…
If it were me, I’d make a favourite recipe for baked beans then use 3/4 cup for Julie’s recipe.
You could soak and cook navy beans, but I’d add a pinch of soda and cook them until they’re very soft, so that they puree smoothly. That’s the beauty of canned beans, they’re nice and soft and puree perfectly.
I love oats but they don’t love me…one of the few people that have a problem with them, although I am willing to give this a try. Any idea for alternatives?
probably any of the other flaked grains like quinoa would work
I made these with one ripe banana instead of the purée, delicious!
Awesome, so good to know!
had a taste today by my co-worker and am going to be making some !
I think these are great! I made a batch the day after I saw the post (after going to the grocery store to buy a can of beans). Delicious, moist, no beany taste. Thanks for being so creative!!
So glad to hear it!
I made these this morning and they were a hit! Thank you. It is always great to find a gluten free muffin that isn’t dry. The beans definitely keep it moist.
Thank you! Our family is gobbling these up! My kids and their friend were excited that I made these back to back days! My daughter is allergic to milk, so I used vanilla almond milk. I cut the brown sugar to 1/4 cup and it was plenty sweet (the almond milk is sweetened).
Just made these (actually, I’m making the 5 more I got after making the 12, using large baking cups).
I had to cook them for 30 minutes, and the toothpick was still not completely clean, but they’re moist, so I think that’s the way it should be. Very nice tasting and great that there’s no flour in them. Good for my diabetic husband (well, not as a meal, but the fibre is great) – so healthy with oatmeal and beans! I’m sure my grandsons will love them, too.
I wonder if I could substitute some of the sugar with applesauce? What do you think? I don’t like using stuff like Splenda.
After making some cauliflower fried rice for lunch, I’m feeling pretty good about how I’m looking after him 🙂
After looking at your pictures again, I have to admit mine didn’t rise; they’re pretty flat. Next time I’ll try the quick oats instead of regular. I didn’t blend in the processor after letting it sit (for more than a few minutes – I got on the computer).
I made these last weekend, using ripe banana and adding a fistful of chopped toasted walnuts. They’re very tender and moist, and Ill definitely make them again, especially because I feel so virtuous when I eat them! Thanks for another great recipe.
Oh oh. I think I put a whole can of beans in this recipe, not the small can; that’s probably why they sunk and were kinda crumbly. I wasn’t going to make them again, but I will using a small can (or half a can), and putting a banana in it, just to be fair. I might also try substituting applesauce for some of the sugar – just a 1/4 of a cup. Or, maybe I won’t. Just to be fair. 🙂
I made these with half a can of other beans, and they are delicious. Thanks so much!
You are amazing Julie. You make everything sound so good and easy. Hope I make it the same way.
Aw, you made my day!
These are really delicious! I had to use Hunts Maple Beans, but no matter. And I already use ground oats / oat flour for a wonderful banana PB muffin (no sugar, and yum!!); so I used that for these as well (2 cups which I ground fine first). I find it so amazing (and frustrating) how muffins you buy in bakeries and coffee shops etc. are so often not very good. Why, oh why? With recipes like these (and other great homemade ones), there is no excuse. Oh well, it’s very rewarding and cathartic to bake these at home. Thank you!
So great to hear it! and yes.. boo to bad muffins!
One of our provincial parks hands out these little cans of beans and although I always think we’ll heat them up when camping we never do. So when I saw this I was intrigued and slightly skeptical. I’ve made them twice this week and they are delicious and so darn easy!!! Thanks Julie!!
Oh and I had some homemade applesauce in the fridge that I needed to use up so I substituted the oil for the applesauce. And they turned out perfect. As mentioned in other comments, mine didn’t rise a lot – a fairly flat muffin, which is totally fine. The 2nd time I made them they came out of the oven with lovely high, rounded tops but fell as they cooled. No matter! Still delish!
Awesome! Yes, mine too… they kind of ranged in their peakness. And I made a LOT of batches in July! 🙂
Baked beans in the states must be different from your baked beans. On Bush’s Canadian website they have maple beans but on the US version, they only have maple bacon. And that’s all I’ve seen at my store. I’m guessing bacon would be a little weird in these muffins…