Ever since my sister and I were little we always asked for these beans as “favorite beans” because as you have probably already figured out, they are our favorite beans. It’s a great side dish to grilled chicken, grilled pork, burgers, or BBQ and is an easy, cheap way to feed a family or small crowd. The best thing about these beans is you can change up the bean ingredients each time and they are still delicious!

Ingredients:
3 different cans of beans (featured here are Bush’s Grillin Beans “Smoke House Tradition” 22 oz can, Bush’s Best Black Beans 15 oz can, and Bush’s Best Pinto Beans 15 oz can) **I will say I always use a can of Grillin Beans and switch up the other two ingredients because I consider these a staple to this recipe**
1 sweet onion
1 jalapeno
2-3 cloves of garlic chopped
3-4 slices of your favorite bacon
1-2 tablespoons of your favorite BBQ sauce (optional)
Salt and Pepper
Olive Oil

1. I like to use my cast iron skillet for this side dish. If you don’t have one you need to get one because every cook should have a cast iron skillet, but if you must use a regular skillet that’s ok for now 🙂

2. Dice up your sweet onion and slice your jalapeno into rings. Place in saute skillet over medium to high heat with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Saute for 10-12 minutes or until it starts to caramelize and parts of onion appear golden. (Don’t rush caramelizing the onion because you’ll just burn it. This takes time. Sit down, relax, have a glass of wine. Are you a mom? Leave the stove top for a minute and go see what room of the house your child has destroyed. Hint: all of them)

3. Slice bacon into bite size pieces and throw bacon in at this time. Cook for about 5-7 minutes minutes before throwing in your chopped garlic. Cook another 5 minutes or so. Be careful not to burn the garlic and add olive oil as needed throughout saute process to keep moist.

4. Once bacon has been cooked and onion is fully caramelized, add three cans of beans to the mixture (do not drain beforehand). Turn heat down to low and allow beans to mingle with the yummy onion/jalapeno concoction for a few minutes while stirring to help them along. Give it a taste and see what you think. If you like your beans a little sweeter give them a healthy squirt of your favorite BBQ sauce. Personally, I like to add a squirt of Sweet Baby Ray’s Original BBQ sauce in there to take this dish over the top.