Smoked Baked Beans on a Traeger Pellet Grill

Learn how to make smoked baked beans on a Traeger Pellet Grill!

We take you step-by-step through the ingredients and cookware you'll need, setting up your Traeger pellet grill, and smoking the baked beans to perfection!

 

Baked beans are a perfect accompaniment to any great BBQ meal.

Potato salad, deviled eggs, and macaroni and cheese, are all great too.

But if you want to throw a great barbecue, you've got to also have baked beans.

Thankfully there is no reason to run back and forth from the meat on the Traeger to the stove or oven inside to tend to the baked beans, because you can make smoked baked beans right on your Traeger pellet grill!

You can smoke them right alongside your Traeger smoked beef brisket, pork shoulder, ribs, or chicken.

Even if you've never made traditional baked beans, we've got you covered with step by step instructions and a list of exactly what you'll need to make great smoked baked beans on your Traeger!

 

What you Need to Make Smoked Baked Beans on a Traeger Pellet Grill

A Cast Iron Skillet

In order to make really great smoked baked beans on your Traeger pellet grill, you will preferably need a 12 inch cast iron skillet to smoke them in.

When it comes to using cast iron, like we do for everything from our smoked green beans to smoked peach cobbler, we like anything from Lodge, such as this Lodge 12 inch skillet for smoked baked beans.

It's already pre-seasoned and has the nice high sides to keep all those bubbly smoked baked beans contained.

The best part is you can bring it right from the Traeger to the table and serve directly from the cast iron skillet for a great rustic presentation!

 

Smoked Baked Beans Ingredients

Now let's talk about what ingredients you'll need to make the Traeger smoked baked beans.

You can choose from a variety of kinds of beans to use, but we would recommend the simple and classic Canned Pork and Beans you'll find near the canned beans and canned soups in almost any grocery store.

We found the canned pork and beans gave a very classic flavor and texture for the Traeger smoked baked beans.

If you are avoiding meat, and don't want to use classic pork and beans, use a soft bean like canned pinto beans rather than a grittier textured bean like black beans.

Make sure to drain the water from those types of canned beans first.

If you don't use pork and beans, you will need to double the sauce ingredients (ketchup, worcestershire, and mustard) since the pork and beans already come in a tomato flavored sauce that we are adding to in our recipe.

• ½ lb Bacon (8 slices regular cut, 5-6 slices thick cut)
• 1 medium Onion, diced
• 2-28 oz cans Pork and Beans (do not drain)
• ¼ Cup Ketchup or Chili Sauce
• ¾ Cup packed Brown Sugar
• 2 tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
• 2 tablespoon Yellow Mustard

As with all things BBQ, you can make adjustments based on your own preferences.

Our version is fairly sweet so cut the brown sugar down to a ¼ or ½ a cup if you want more savory smoked baked beans.

You can always add more sugar later as they cook if you want them sweeter!

 

The Best Wood Pellets for Smoking Baked Beans on a Traeger Pellet Grill

Smoked Baked Beans will absorb a fair amount of smoke flavor on the Traeger since they are a wet side dish.

They also have a fairly strong flavor profile on so they will hold up well to stronger smoke flavors like hickory unlike a delicate fish fillet or even chicken breasts.

If you are smoking your baked beans on the Traeger alongside some ribs or a beef roast, you will be fine with whatever type of wood pellet let you chose for the meat.

If, however, you are smoking the baked beans by themselves, we would recommend either hickory pellets or a good gourmet blend like our go-to favorite from Bear Mountain.

For the best results, store your unused pellets in a sealed room temperature container like this 20 lb pellet container rather than in the Traeger hopper outside.

Traeger pellets do not last forever, but will definitely last a LOT longer if stored indoors in a quality airtight container.

 

How a Traeger Pellet Grill Works

In order to cook ANYTHING well on a Traeger pellet grill, you need to first have a basic understanding of how a pellet grill works.

***Completely New to Using a Traeger Pellet Grill?  No Worries!****

We've previously covered how to start a Traeger, how to season a Traeger, how to change the pellets in a Traeger, and even how to troubleshoot a Traeger that won't ignite.

We also recently compared our two favorite Traeger models head to head if you're in the market for a new Traeger or to upgrade your old one.

Or hop over and check out this Complete Guide to Understanding How a Pellet Grill Works first if you are interested in learning more.

Otherwise, if you already know your Traeger inside and out, skip down to the recipe below!

 

Add your Hardwood Pellets

First, you add hardwood pellets into the side hopper.

The Traeger pellet grill automatically feeds these small wood pellets via an auger mechanism to a fire pot where they are burned up, providing both heat and smoky flavor.

The pellet grill automatically controls the flow of pellets depending on your temperature setting so that you maintain an even temperature throughout the entire cook.

 

How to Start up the Traeger

There is a specific start up process for the Traeger brand pellet grills you can read all about in depth here if you aren't sure how to fire it up the first time.

Otherwise, here is the basic process for how to start a Traeger before throwing on your food:

• Plug in the grill.
• Flip the power switch to ON and turn the dial to "Smoke".
• You will hear the fan kick on and the auger start to move and begin to kick pellets into the fire pot.  Your fire rod will begin to heat up as well.
• Leave the lid open for about 5-7 minutes until you start to see white billowing smoke come out of the grill.  This happens when the pellets are first igniting.
• Once a smoke is being produced, close the lid and change the temperature dial to your desired temperature setting.
• Allow about 10-15 minutes to preheat the grill.
• While you are waiting, make sure you've got the drip pan in place and the grease bucket hanging to catch any grease that comes out during the cook.  Use a grease bucket liner to minimize cleanup later.
• Put your grates on if they aren't already in place.
• Using a good bristle free grill brush, clean off the grill grates if there is any leftover stuck on food from the last cook.
• When the pellet grill comes up to temperature go ahead and put on your food!

Why Bristle Free Grill Brushes? 

Check out our Ultimate Guide to How to Keep your Family Safe by using ONLY Bristle Free Grill Brushes, along with a selection of some of our favorites!

 

How to Make Smoked Baked Beans on a Traeger Pellet Grill

 

Set the Traeger Temperature

The best temperature to smoke your baked beans on the Traeger is going to be 240°F.

Now, if you are cooking something else like pork butt or beef brisket "Low and Slow" and need to keep the temperature closer to 220°F, don't stress, it's fine, you can smoke the baked beans here too.

We just wouldn't recommend smoking the baked beans any higher than about 275°F on the Traeger as you will risk burning the sugars in the sauce on the bottom of the cast iron skillet.

The smoked baked beans will take about 3 hours so plan accordingly to time them to finish at the same time your main meat is finished resting.

Thankfully, in the cast iron pan the smoked baked beans will stay nice and hot for a long while even once you've taken them off the Traeger so you don't have to be perfect!

 

Cook the Bacon and Onions

First cook your bacon over medium heat in the same cast iron skillet in which you will be smoking the baked beans.

Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the skillet to a plate with paper towels to drain and lower heat to medium-low.

Next add your diced onion to the bacon fat still in the pan. Stir frequently and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.

Once the onions are cooked, push them to one side of the skillet and drain off the excess grease in the skillet from the other side.

 

Make the Sauce and Add the Beans

Next you will add the ketchup (or chili sauce), brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, and mustard to the onions in the skillet.

Stir well until combined.

Crumble up the bacon you set aside and sprinkle and stir into the sauce.

Next add the canned pork and beans and stir well to incorporate everything together.

Turn off the heat and carefully take the hot skillet out to the preheated Traeger pellet grill.

Make sure to always use well insulated grilling gloves when handling hot cast iron.  We like these ones from Vi Boos that protect up well over 1000°F!

 

Smoke the Baked Beans in the Traeger

Now it's time to smoke your baked beans in the Traeger pellet grill!

Carefully carry your cast iron skillet out to the Traeger pellet grill set to 240°F and put them in the smoker uncovered.

Stir every 30 minutes or so and rotate the cast iron skillet as needed depending on how evenly your Traeger throws off heat.

We liked putting ours toward the left side of our Traeger that tends to get a little less upward heat from the flame broiler directly underneath compared to the center.

Let the smoked baked beans cook for about 3 hours and don't stir for the last 30 minutes so that the top gets nice and brown.

You can also sprinkle some additional brown sugar on top during the last 15 minutes for more color and sweetness.

 

Best Ways to Serve Traeger Smoked Baked Beans

The best part about smoking your Traeger baked beans in a cast iron pan is that you can bring the pan right to the table to serve out of when they are finished!

Smoked baked beans go great with brisket, pulled pork, ribs, chicken, salmon, even lobster, or any other dish you can think of!

If you want even more side dishes, make sure to also check out our Traeger smoked corn on the cob, Traeger smoked mac and cheese, smoked baked potatoes, green beans, and cauliflower!

For something richer, you can indulge in some smoked sweet potatoes to accompany your meal as well and finish everything off with an out of this world smoked peach cobbler!

Enjoy!

📖 Recipe