SLOW COOKER "YOU'LL NEVER MISS THE BACON" VEGETARIAN BOSTON BAKED BEANS

Slow Cooker

Provided by Kare for Kitchen Treaty

Time 18h15m

Number Of Ingredients 15

1 pound dried small white beans or navy beans
Water for soaking beans
1 medium yellow onion (diced)
1 medium green pepper (diced)
1 cup vegetable broth or water
1/2 cup molasses (I use Grandma's original)
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (more or less to taste)
3 teaspoons kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
5-6 dashes Tabasco sauce (optional)

Steps:

Soak. Rinse the beans and sort through them, discarding any beans that look "off" or any foreign objects. Place beans in Crock Pot and cover with 3-4 inches of water. You can also add them to a pot or bowl; I just like to use my Crock Pot stoneware because in the end that's one less dish to clean. Cover and let soak overnight or for at least 8 hours. Pour the soaked beans into a colander and rinse well. Rinse out the Crock Pot. Set soaked beans aside; you'll add them back to the Crock Pot in a minute.
Assemble. Add onion, pepper, broth, molasses, brown sugar, olive oil, dry mustard, smoked paprika, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper to Crock Pot. Mix until combined. Add back your soaked and drained beans and stir until combined. Add bay leaf.
Cook. Cook on high for 8-10 hours or on low for 12-14 hours. Note: Slow Cookers can vary, so the first time you make this, you may want check on it periodically and see if you need more broth or water after the first few hours. But don't worry, your beans shouldn't turn to mush! The molasses helps to prevent that.
Leftover beans keep up to three days refrigerated in an airtight container. They also freeze well.