8 Canned Baked Bean Brands, Ranked Worst To Best

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There's few sides that feel as quintessentially summer to me as baked beans. Although I prefer to craft everybody's favorite baked beans from scratch, sometimes I just don't have time for it — and when this happens, canned baked bean brands come to my rescue. Unfortunately, not every can of baked beans is as good as homemade, and some that I've had couldn't even be called edible. If you're in the same time crunch as I sometimes find myself in, it's important to distinguish the best beans from the worst if you don't want to be left disappointed.

Thankfully, you don't have to go through the hassle of trying every canned baked bean brand for yourself to see which provides the best overall value because I've done it for you. I was given the opportunity to try eight canned baked bean brands, available from various stores in my region, and report my findings here. 

I used my food industry background and other relevant experiences to primarily judge each option on its taste, while also bearing in mind consistency and any other notable aspects. Customer reviews were considered for items from each brand's line that I was unable to test personally. You can learn more about my methodology at the end of this article. Ready to discover which baked bean brand you should add to your grocery shopping list for your next cookout? Let's get into it.

I tried Dakota's Pride Original Baked Beans, which come from one of my favorite grocers, Aldi — they're the company behind some of my most loved Friendly Farms Greek Yogurts, and boast several cheeses I highly recommend buying. Unfortunately, these baked beans didn't join the ranks of Aldi private label products I highly recommend. Besides the original I sampled, Dakota's Pride baked bean line includes a maple and cured bacon option, as well as a brown sugar and hickory flavor.

One positive thing I can say is that these Aldi baked beans do feature the hallmark sweet and savory flavor profile that makes this type of bean great. Unfortunately, this was marred by moderate artificial tones that were just strong enough to ruin my experience. Then, there's the issue that the sauce to bean ratio here feels skewed. And, this lean into too much sauce makes the already runny liquid seem even more so. I can't recommend these in any good faith, no matter that they're naturally a bit more affordable than the larger brand names on this list.

Customer reviews and feedback found online confirm my belief that Dakota's Pride belongs at the bottom of this list. Tasting Table called this, "The Aldi canned baked beans that's not worth a single bite," while one person on Reddit wittingly called the maple and cured bacon beans, "Dakota's Shame." One customer claimed that while they do eat these, they use them as a base and add extra things to make them edible.

Steve and Ed's is the brand behind my favorite store-bought chili for hot dogs — and since that was my primary experience with it, I had high expectations for their Vegetarian Baked Beans that I sampled. Despite the low ranking here, my issue isn't that these are disgusting or even low quality. The problem is that this is a ranking of canned baked bean brands, and these just don't feel like baked beans to me.

Instead of the sweet and savory flavor I was expecting, these were a bit more spiced. By this I don't mean they packed any real level of heat, but rather that they leaned heavily into salt, pepper, and other spices instead of any notable brown sugar, molasses, or similar. Also, the sauce is thin, so that it feels runny instead of thick and hearty. I do appreciate that these are vegetarian, so they work for people who can't have meat-based options. However, I still wouldn't eat these again if given the choice.

Based on my own research, this vegetarian option is the only baked bean flavor in Steve and Ed's arsenal. Since that means I sampled the only option they had, I felt very confident placing the whole brand in seventh place.

I've seen B&M products on the shelf while shopping before, but I'd never grabbed a can to try. After this taste test, it's unlikely I'll be doing so again. As seems to be the theme for this ranking, the B&M Original Baked Beans aren't horrible, but they just fall on the lower side of mediocrity.

My primary issue with these canned baked beans was an overwhelming molasses flavor. It wasn't so much a too powerful sweetness, but a moderate bitterness that I didn't enjoy. There were some light earthy tones that the other brands didn't really have, which was nice, but I would have liked those to be less lost in the molasses. Texturally, the beans themselves are fine, but the sauce is runnier than I prefer. I probably wouldn't eat these again, despite a few redeeming qualities.

In addition to the original option I tried, B&M offers a wide range of other flavors — this includes bacon and onion, maple, Boston's best, country style, home style, and vegetarian. The Boston's Best Baked Beans have a 4.5 rating on Amazon, and the Bacon and Onion Baked Beans have a 4.4 rating. However, several people have complained that the quality of these beans overall have gone down in recent years. Since feedback was mixed and my own experience veered toward negative, I left these in sixth place where I had ranked them based on my taste test.

I feel like the Bowl and Basket Country Style Baked Beans went from being "a little sweeter," and veered into "this is so sweet it's making me feel nauseous" territory. So much so, in fact, that I could barely detect any savory notes from the bacon or natural flavor of the beans. One thing I could perceive is a slight bitterness among all the sugary notes, but it failed to create the complexity it should have.

Texturally, these beans were fine. The sauce was appropriately thick, coating the beans nicely instead of sliding off when scooped up. The beans themselves were consistently soft but not mushy. As it is, I wouldn't eat it again, and can't recommend them.

In addition to the country style flavor I tried, the Bowl and Basket line includes an original and vegetarian option. One person who tried the original flavor said they were better than they expected, praising the thickness and texture. Information on the baked beans themselves was really limited, but Reddit was conflicted on the Bowl and Basket brand overall. Some claimed all of the brand's products were disgusting to the point of making them sick. This person on Reddit said, "I really don't know what they are putting in this stuff but everything I have eaten from Bowl and Basket, it not only tastes terrible, it make my body feel terrible and often sick." As it stands, I would have placed this brand in sixth place based on my own testing, but moved it to fifth place after hearing other customer's feedback.

In my ranking of canned green beans, Hanover came in dead last against 12 total options. With this being my only memorable experience with the brand, I didn't have high hopes for the Hanover Brown Sugar and Baked Beans. Thankfully, I found myself pleasantly surprised. While these weren't my favorite option, they were the first in this ranking I could see myself potentially eating again.

My initial bite of these baked beans offered a moderately sweet flavor profile with a savory kick that's distinctly bacon. Thankfully, these were devoid of any artificial notes or overwhelming molasses tones, despite not having any real "wow factor" to set it apart from the highest ranked beans. Texturally, the beans were just slightly too soft for my preference, but they didn't quite verge on mushy, either. However, the sauce was fantastic, and I'd say this is a great budget option overall. I suggest serving this with a standard hot dog or hamburger setup — perhaps with standard accompaniments like coleslaw and potato salad.

Besides the brown sugar and bacon flavor I sampled, the Hanover line also includes country style, homestyle, and vegetarian options. Customer reviews on Hanover baked beans were severely limited, but I did find that they had a 4.9 rating on Instacart. Since there wasn't a ton of information, and what little I found was positive, I left Hanover in fourth place, where I'd originally placed it based on my own taste test.

I'd never heard of the Saucy Spoon brand before this, but since I have a marketing background in addition to my food career, I immediately fell in love with the name. It's super catchy and memorable — And, I thought the product is pretty great, too, so it's a double whammy.

These canned baked beans were very sweet, to the point where it was borderline too much. But, what stopped it from being too much was an intense savoriness with moderate smoky notes, which helped to balance everything out. The beans themselves were tender but not mushy, sitting in a thick sauce that stayed nicely on my spoon instead of dripping off. I think these specific beans would pair exceptionally well with barbecue chicken, and can definitely see myself buying them again.

There are other unique flavors offered by the Saucy Spoon brand that I'll probably try in the future, including Sweet Hickory, Spicy Roasted Chipotle, Jalapeño Bourbon, and Korean BBQ Baked Beans. One person said they keep these stocked in their home at all times, and one ranking online listed these as one of the best canned baked beans. The Sweet Hickory Baked Beans specifically were rated a 4.7 out of 5 stars on the Walmart website, with one happy customer who said, "I can't rave enough about Saucy Spoon Sweet Hickory Baked Beans!" This only further confirmed for me that the Saucy Spoon brand as a whole deserved to be in third place.

Here's another brand I wasn't familiar with before this ranking — and, I realized during this process that I had a very limited exposure to varying baked bean companies. Although the top ranked canned baked bean brand was familiar to me, the other two rounding out the top three were not, so I discovered quite a few fantastic new products along this journey.

The Apple Bacon Mesquite Baked Beans featured visible strips of bacon in the thick, silky sauce, which I really enjoyed because the bits of soft bacon are actually one of my favorite parts of baked beans. Like most beans at the top of this list, there was a nicely balanced savory and sweet combination, with definitive smoky notes. I believe this would be a great pairing for pulled pork shoulder, whether served alone, over rice, or as a sandwich.

In addition to the Apple Bacon Mesquite Baked Beans I tried, Clark offers several other unique options. These include Root Beer, Maple Chipotle, Peach Honey Habanero, Buffalo Style, and Chili Lime. The Maple Style is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars on the Walmart website, where one happy customer said that they're kept stocked in their pantry all the time. Since this is a predominantly Canadian brand, it was challenging to find many reviews. However, since what I did find was positive, I felt confident placing these in second place.

As a disclosure, this brand is the one I usually reach for when I'm looking for a quick fix to baked beans, whether I need them for beanie weenies or as a side for barbecue ribs. But, I hadn't yet tried the Bush's Best Maple and Cured Bacon formulation. Texturally, these create a nice contrast between the soft yet weighted feel of the beans and the silky, smooth texture of the sauce. The taste is predominantly a balance between sweet and savory, with moderate smoky notes. I believe these would pair exceptionally well with a honey brown sugar glazed ham.

In addition to the Maple and Cured Bacon flavor I tried, Bush's has an extensive lineup that includes a Zero Sugar Added, Sweet Heat, Brown Sugar Hickory, Original, Vegetarian, Country Style, Homestyle, Honey Sweet, Onion, Boston Recipe, Barbecue, and Organic varieties, among others. One ranking of eight canned baked beans listed Bush's in all three top spots, while one customer on Reddit said this is the only brand they want to eat: "If it's not Bush's baked beans I don't want it." On the Sam's Club website, the Original option has a 4.7 rating out of 5, with 7,506 ratings.

This positive feedback supports my belief that Bush's deserves the top spot, and I highly recommend grabbing yourself a can (or two) to try yourself. Once you do, you'll have zero doubt as to why they ranked as our top canned baked bean brand.

I chose baked beans for inclusion in this list based on their availability to me in the Vineland, New Jersey region where I reside. I tried each option on its own, without alterations. This includes not adding salt, pepper, additional sweeteners, mustard, or other additives I might typically use to "doctor" a can of baked beans. Taste was the primary driver in my assessment of each product, but consistency and smell also contributed.

In addition to those products I was able to taste personally, I relied on customer reviews to assess each brand's complete offering of baked beans. I considered the reviews from at least two sources per offering, and then placed each brand in order from lowest overall consensus to highest. This was then averaged with my own experience to assign a final placement.

Fifteen years of food industry experience and a great love of baked beans generally helped me rank each baked bean brand. Previous work creating articles for Daily Meal also helped me assign each can a ranking — this includes similar multi-brand rankings like this one ranking store-bought mozzarella brands and this one ranking store-bought chili brands for hot dogs. Although personal preference played a role in this ranking, I aimed to be as unbiased as possible about product quality.