Cowboy Calico Beans
This is a tradition at the table when my girlfriends and I go up north for a girls' weekend. The husbands and kids are left at home, but the slow cooker comes with us! —Julie Butsch, Hartland, Wisconsin
Ingredients
- 1 pound lean ground beef (90% lean)
- 1 large sweet onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
- 1 can (16 ounces) butter beans, drained
- 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
- 1 can (15 ounces) pork and beans
- 1 can (15-1/4 ounces) lima beans, rinsed and drained
Reviews
This is my first time attempting to use your website after signing up to receive the email recipe newsletters. I cannot even read the recipe in full after closing out multiple times because you have placed “TEXT INGREDIENTS” over part of the ingredients! So I can’t tell if a recipe I was interested in is something I have on hand. I don’t need to text every recipe to determine this! I have likewise had to continually X the aggressive, continual ads on your side interrupting the page experience. I understand sponsorship but this is well over the top, no other similar subscription do I have to hunt for the content vs appearing as an ad page.
I have made these for several years to bring to our Christmas potluck. The dish always comes back empty, so I always put a bit aside so I have some for later at home. Almost a meal in itself. Someone asked years ago the difference between lima beans - green in color - and butter beans - yellow in color. They are totally different in flavor. My recipe doesn't call for lima beans. Mine also calls for a tablespoon of molasses and bacon. Everything tastes better with bacon.
Great basic recipe, the best I've found. I added about twice the vinegar, since I like the tang, a couple teaspoons of smoked paprika and a good pinch of crushed red pepper. And, of course, BACON!
Wow! I normally don’t like bean things. I do eat Lima beans, sometimes Red beans in chili, but not a fan of all the others used in this recipe. But I made it following the recipe and it is great! More like a chili type meal and not a soup type. I loved eating mine with tortilla chips!
I made this but used 1/2lb of cooked bacon and a can of Bush Honey Maple beans. Unbelievable dish!
My Aunt Henrietta used to make these for all our birthdays. I do put in 3 cans of pork
Perfect recipe. Cooked these last night , we all enjoyed them. Would be great for a potluck get together. At first , after reading one of the comments, I ommited some of the brown sugar in fear it would be to sweet. But then had to add it back into the dish. This recipe has a perfect balance with the acidity and sweet. Just try it exactly as it is.
thanks for sharing recipe i would make again but too sweet i may leave out brown sugar :)
Fantastic. Hearty and sweet. I have some in my Crock-Pot for tomorrow's dinner.
MISSING INGREDIENT: B.A.C.O.N!!