Beans and Franks

Beans and franks are a classic comforting recipe made with hot dog weiners, canned beans in tomato sauce and crumbled bacon. Ketchup, mustard and a bit of brown sugar complete the tangy sauce flavor.

It’s a great side dish to serve at barbecues, picnics or potlucks, and the perfect no-fuss meal while camping. This recipe is also a family favorite cooked on the stove for busy to serve on chilly days.

Weiners and Beans

This is a classic childhood favorite that I loved as a kid. We would eat hot dogs and beans for lunches, for weeknight dinners, and anytime we were out camping. It’s one of the easiest meals to put together, it’s affordable, and tastes delicious!

• It’s a budget-friendly recipe made with only six ingredients.
• Serve it over white rice or inside hot dog buns, or on top of french fries!
• This is recipe is usually loved by kids, making it an easy weeknight dinner.
• It’s easy to make on the stove or in oven. Just dump all ingredients into a pot and heat together.
• This great recipe can be served with pork chops, warm crusty bread, baked potato, coleslaw, grilled corn, sweet potato biscuits, boiled eggs and macaroni salad.

Recipe Ingredients

BEANS: You’ll need two cans of baked beans in tomato sauce. This can also be called pork and beans in tomato sauce depending on the brand. These are made with navy beans.

HOT DOGS: Four hot dog weiners are cut into bite-sized pieces. Look for all beef wieners or pork frankfurters for the best flavor.

BACON: Three strips of cooked bacon are crumbled and added to the sauce. To save time, try store-bought real bacon crumbles.

SAUCE: Most of sauce comes from the canned beans. But a bit of ketchup, yellow mustard and brown sugar add really good flavor.

VARIATIONS: For different flavor add Worcestershire sauce or bbq sauce. Add veggies like green onion, chopped bell pepper, or white onion. A bit of chili powder or hot sauce will give it a spicy kick.

How To Make Beans and Franks

1. Cook bacon until crisp in a pan. Crumble into pieces.
2. Add canned beans, weiners, sugar, ketchup and mustard to a pot or oven-safe dish according to the full instructions in the recipe card below.
3. Mix together. Sprinkle the crumbled bacon overtop.
4. IN OVEN: Using a casserole dish, place in the oven and bake until hot and bubbling.
5. ON STOVE: Using a pot over medium-high heat, bring to a bubbling boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Stir then serve while warm!

Leftover beans and franks can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4-5 days for maximum freshness. These can be reheated in the oven, on the stove or in microwave to serve.

This recipe can also be frozen. Just add cooled leftovers to a freezer bag or silicone freezer container. For maximum freshness, store up to 2 months. But these can be stored longer as well.

Recipe Tips

• Chop the weiners into bite-size pieces so that they’re easy to eat. They’ll also heat up faster.
• Homecooked bacon tastes the best. But if you’re short on time, grab a bag of real bacon crumbles from the grocery and use those instead.
• Make a double batch and freeze half for a quick dinner on busy weeknights.
• Sugar can be swapped with monk fruit sweetener or stevia for a sugar-free alternative.
• Beef hot dogs can be replaced with pork or turkey hotdogs or cooked sausages.

More Easy Dinner Recipes

• Sweet and Sour Chicken Bites are very delicious.
• Meatloaf Muffins are a favorite with kids.
• Easy One-Pot Spaghetti has everything dumped into one pot and cooked together.
• Salmon Loaf is budget-friendly using canned salmon.
• Avocado Tuna Melt is perfect for sandwich nights.