This recipe was passed along to us from a family cookbook on Lenore’s side under the name “Hot Bean Dish”, a generic title if there ever was one! After digging around a bit I discovered that this recipe is commonly known as Calico Beans, though this version really ups the bacon relative to other recipes I’ve found, a change that I wholly approve of.

Served as a side or a main, ideally with a nice dinner roll, the result is a hearty dish with an almost chili-like texture but a completely different flavour profile that’s quite a bit sweeter (if sweet-and-savoury dishes aren’t your thing, you might want to skip this one).

Ingredients

Amt Ingredient
1 lb Hamburger
1 lb Bacon, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 Onion, chopped medium
14 oz Molasses pork and beans
14 oz Kidney beans
14 oz Lima beans1
1/2 C Brown sugar
1/2 C Ketchup
2 T Vinegar
1 T Mustard

Instructions

The easiest way to execute this recipe is in a 3-4L dutch oven, however as with any classic casserole, you can always cook the ingredients, combine them, and transfer to a suitably sized baking dish.

  1. Preheat oven to 350F
  2. In a dutch oven, brown the hamburger, drain, and set aside
  3. Brown the bacon, drain, and set aside
  4. Cook onion over medium heat until translucent and just browning
  5. Return the hamburger and bacon to the dutch oven
  6. Add remaining ingredients and stir to combine
  7. Cover and bake until bubbling and heated through, about 1 hour

  1. If lima beans are tough to come by, or you prefer something else, feel free to swap out with a different bean. I do recommend a different colour, though, as they make the dish more attractive. ↩