Description
This hearty slow cooker cowboy beans recipe is a flavorful comfort food dish loaded with ground beef, smoked sausage, pinto and kidney beans, and a tangy-sweet barbecue sauce. It’s the perfect slow-cooked meal for weeknights, potlucks, and backyard cookouts. Great for meal prep, easy to freeze, and irresistibly delicious!
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
12 ounces smoked sausage, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounces pinto beans, drained and rinsed
15 ounces kidney beans, drained and rinsed
15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup ketchup
1 cup barbecue sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
1. Brown the ground beef and sliced sausage in a skillet over medium heat. Drain excess grease.
2. In the same skillet, sauté chopped onion until soft. Add minced garlic and cook for 1 minute.
3. Transfer meats and aromatics to a slow cooker. Add pinto beans, kidney beans, and black beans.
4. Stir in ketchup, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, molasses, mustard, and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
5. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 3 to 4 hours.
6. Before serving, season with salt and pepper to taste. Optional: add hot sauce for heat.
Notes
This recipe tastes even better the next day as flavors deepen overnight.
You can substitute beans based on what you have on hand.
For added spice, use chipotle barbecue sauce or stir in jalapeños.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 to 8 hours
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1.5 cups
- Calories: 480
- Sugar: 15g
- Sodium: 890mg
- Fat: 22g
- Saturated Fat: 8g
- Unsaturated Fat: 13g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 42g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 28g
- Cholesterol: 65mg