Easy British Baked Beans (High protein, vegan)
- Updated on Feb 12, 2025
These British baked beans are a staple in England and taste just like the real Heinz thing (it’s a Heinz copycat recipe).
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The UK version of beans are quite different from their counterpart in the US, which tend to be sweeter and have a BBQ kick.
These are savoury, tasty and pack a nice nutritional bang. They also happen to taste awesome, and we sometimes eat them as beans on toast.
This recipe came about as I used to bring over baked beans on the plane every time I went back to Britain.
One time I had them in a backpack and they forced me to throw away a 4-pack at security. What a waste!
I swore it would never happen so I went about perfecting this recipe!
I’ve kept our recipe nice and simple, too, so it’s easy to put together on a busy morning, whether it’s a weekday or weekend. It also tastes freakishly close to the original, meaning it’s always guaranteed to work.
As always, we use NO AI in our recipes, and our recipes are tested time and time again to make sure they really work well.
Here’s the how-to guide and ingredients. The beans are actually vegan, and it’s very easy to make them into a full meal like we do in England and Ireland. They also go really nicely with an Ulster Fry.
If you need an App with with a load of healthy, veggie meals built in, you can download the App here.
British Baked Beans – better than the high sugar version
Using simple white beans, like navy beans, means that you can create a dish that’s exceptionally high in both protein and fiber, as well as folate and magnesium.
What I’ve found recently that is by eating lots of fiber high content like beans (and chickpeas too) is that they’ll keep me feeling full for ages.
This is turn stops me craving snacks and sweet foods – by default it helps me keep the weight down.
There’s a reason they’re a part of The Vegetarian Protein Fix.
I don’t win anything by convincing you to eat more beans – but they just seem to be so damn good for you it would be silly to look the other way.
The final statistic that convinced me of the wonders of beans was the one mentioned here by WHFoods – that research shows diets high in legumes can reduce the risk of heart attacks by up to 82%!
That’s ridiculous. It’s harder to think of a reason not to eat them 😉
Ingredients
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- ½ onion
- 1.5 cups white beans, cooked (~1 can, 15oz/425g)
- 1 tsp thyme, dried
- 1 tsp sage
- ¾ cup tomato passata
- 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegetarian) (or 2 tsp white wine vinegar and 1 tsp maple syrup for every 2 tsp Worcester sauce)
- ½ tsp Tabasco sauce (skip if you like)
- Salt and pepper to taste
Bread and Tomatoes
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 2 slice wholegrain bread
- 8 cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Dice the onion and garlic, then fry both in olive oil.1 tsp olive oil, ½ onion, 1 clove garlic
- As soon as the onion starts to turn translucent add the white beans.1.5 cups white beans, cooked
- Now add the tomato passata, herbs, Worcester sauce, nutritional yeast and tabasco sauce.1 tsp thyme, dried, 1 tsp sage, ¾ cup tomato passata, 1 tbsp nutritional yeast, 1-2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce (vegetarian), ½ tsp Tabasco sauce
- Let it simmer for about 10 minutes and give it a taste test.
- Finish off with salt and pepper, if needed.Salt and pepper to taste
- BAM! Done. You just decoded Heinz’ Baked Beans recipe 😉
Tomatoes and Bread
- In a pan on medium heat the olive oil and chuck in the tomatoes. Toast the bread as you normally would. Season with a little salt.1 tsp olive oil, 2 slice wholegrain bread, 8 cherry tomatoes
- Done!
NOTES
- Make-ahead? Yes, prep the night before.
- Freezable? Yes! Baked Beans can be frozen.
Nutrition
Comments
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27 comments
Love beans and I can’t get tinned ones where I live (rural Italy) so I’m very grateful for this recipe but – WARNING TO ALL VEGGIES – it is not vegetarian… Worcester sauce has anchovy in it (at least the most famous brand of Lea & Perrins has – not sure about the others) 🙁
I’ll cut that out though and give the rest a bash!
Hi Juls! I did some research on Worcestershire Sauce while prepping this recipe. And yep, while it is true that some sauces contain anchovies, many don’t. In fact if you look at the lables of a couple of brands you be really surprised how different the ingredient lists are. It’s incredible. Either way, thanks for the heads up! I’ll double-check this post and highlight this better 🙂
I just use a good quality soya sauce to replace the worcestershire…. and add miel de caña.. the first press of local grown sugarcane. I also add a finely chopped stalk of celery, just adds more depth. 😉
I love baked beans—though I always doctor them up on the sweet side with some BBQ sauce! I remember them being served for breakfast when I was in London—I have to admit that I stick to beans for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is too early for me to have savory foods!
Haha I can eat beans anytime 🙂 but the bbq sauce is great, I agree! I think they actually made them like that for a while, though they didn’t sell too well unfortunately. Maybe it’ll come around again 😉
Homemade is the only way I’ll eat baked beans! I can’t stand it when they are ready made. This looks delicious and I love the white beans in it!
Really? I only went for Heinz Baked Beans until now. But in general I had them only very occasionally. That changed now hahaha
Very simple and healthy meal options for breakfast! My mother actually cook beans for breakfast, I never tried for myself:)
Ah, a taste of home! Being British of course I love baked beans and I love how quick yours are to make. Quicker than popping to the shop to buy some!
Deffo good to know how to make them yourself 😀
I’d fit right in in Britain, because I’d totally be down for baked beans for breakfast. Those look like perfection!
Haaa, thanks Linda!
Ha ha, too funny. I actually like baked beans! Your recipe looks delicious.