Baked Beans

Phaseolus vulgaris

Baked beans in tomato sauce are a pantry staple across Australia, most often associated with a quick meal on toast or as a side with a cooked breakfast. The beans are small, creamy navy beans (also called haricot beans) in a sauce that balances tomato, sugar, and a touch of spice.

Though they arrived in Australia as a convenience food, baked beans have become firmly embedded in the national diet. They’re a go-to for camping, kids’ lunches, and lazy dinners alike. Beyond toast, they turn up as a filling for jaffles, alongside sausages and eggs, or stirred into soups and casseroles for extra body.

Most supermarket shelves carry several brands and variations, including reduced-salt and reduced-sugar versions. Despite being a processed product, tinned baked beans retain a reputation as a simple, affordable, and reasonably wholesome meal.

Farmed
photograph to come — from twenty years of markets, farms and kitchens

How it's made

Dried navy beans are sorted, soaked in water to rehydrate, then blanched briefly. The beans are filled into cans along with a tomato-based sauce made from tomato paste, sugar, salt, vinegar, and spices. The sealed cans are then retorted — heated under pressure at high temperature — which simultaneously cooks the beans to a soft, creamy texture and sterilises the contents for long shelf life.

Nutrition (per 100g)

Energy 91kcal
Protein 4.8g
Carbs 13g
Fat 0.3g
Fibre 4.8g Sugar 5g
Mass Distribution

What it costs the planet (per kilo)

Carbon ≈1.2kg
Freshwater ≈200.3L
Land ≈2

≈ Estimated — worked out from a category-typical value further up its supply chain. Where this comes from →

Where it comes from

In the kitchen

Used as

soup/stew base

Goes well with
Classic dishes
  • baked beans
  • Senate bean soup
  • bean pie

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Where this data comes from

Nutrition data from

FSANZ

How it was calculated

Analysed

Full credits, licences, and methods: the sources page →

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