Slow Cooker Baked Beans with a Kick

Slow Cooker Baked Beans are rich and spicy all at the same time.  This recipe utilizes canned beans instead of dried so the cook time is less.  That makes it nice that you don’t have to hurry in the morning to get the crock pot loaded.  You can put it on a little later after the house has calmed down or you are on a lunch break.  Of course, if you want to get it set up early and have one of those programmable crockpots then you can set it to start it’s cooking any hour you want and you’ll still have a perfect hot meal.  Right on time.

I must tell you, if I havn’t already,  my husband has a child’s palate.  Meaning he likes pretty plain stuff.   He does not like spicy so I leave out the Sriracha and he loves it.  You can leave it out for your kids too.  That is something you’ll have to take into consideration.  Heat or no heat.  Me?  If I don’t get to add it into the recipe I add a little splash of Sriracha in at the table.  The chili beans are a nice addition since they are already spiced up with great ingredients.  That also makes your preparation time much easier.  The beans blend great with the other flavors.

Beans are such a nice change from pasta or rice.  I think people forget about beans when they are planning their weekly meals.  It is easy to get stuck in a rut and even forget about those good old standards.  You could serve this up as a hearty lunch or dinner but it would make a wonderful side dish too.  Those chilly nights just got a whole lot cozier.