Years ago we went to a BBQ at a friend’s house. My husband sampled the beans she had made and kept offering them to me.

Well, full disclosure: I don’t really love beans.

I kept declining to try them, and finally did (just to shut him up. Y’all know the feeling!). Well, I’ll be! I actually liked these beans!

She called them Settler’s Beans and gave me the recipe. I’m not sure where it originally came from, but over the years, I’ve tweaked it and we now call them Cowboy Beans since I added BBQ sauce and chili powder to the recipe.

These are hearty enough to be a meal, but will also be a great compliment to lots of main dishes. They are also great to bring to a potluck. I’ve taken them to my church picnic for the last several years and the bowl is all but licked clean.

You can make them in a pan or in a slow cooker if you want them to stay warm for a while.

Feel free to halve the recipe if you aren’t making beans for a crowd. But at our house, the more Cowboy Beans, the better.

 

Brittney Lee is a native Arkansan with a love for bright lights and big city. She often escapes her 20-acre home south of Fort Smith to shop, eat, and catch a concert in the big city. She blogs about her life, her faith, her adventures, her dogs, and her country home at RazorbackBritt.com.