Baked beans will taste the 'best ever' if you add this 1 unusual ingredient

Most people make baked beans the same way every time and that is straight from the tin and warmed up in a pan or microwave. But there is one recipe out there that promises to completely change that. It starts with a few basic ingredients, but transforms the dish into something rich, smoky, sweet and unforgettable.

Some people even claimed they didn't know baked beans could taste this good, until they tried this method. The recipe was shared on The Pioneer Woman food blog and was originally created by Pam Anderson, a cookbook author and editor. It's now become a go-to dish for barbecues, family dinners and big gatherings for those who have come across it.

It uses three tins of pork and beans as the base, then adds green pepper, onion, barbecue sauce, brown sugar and vinegar.

But there's also one unusual ingredient that gives the beans a bit of a kick and helps balance the sweetness.

That secret addition is Dijon mustard, which blends with the sauce and lifts the overall flavour.

The blog says this is what makes them "sweet, tangy, smoky, saucy", and totally different to anything you'd get from a tin.

Once everything is stirred together, the beans are poured into a baking dish and topped with bacon.

They're then baked in the oven for two hours until the sauce thickens and the bacon turns crispy.

The result is a rich and sticky dish that's likely to go down a storm with anyone who tries it.

The Pioneer Woman wrote: "Bring these to a cookout once, and you'll be asked to bring them again and again."

You don't need to drain the pork and beans before adding them, the saucy liquid adds extra flavour during baking.

And if you can't find pork and beans in UK shops, standard baked beans will still work.

The dish can also be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for a couple of days, or frozen for up to three months.

The method is easy to follow and the result is a batch of beans that feed a crowd, perfect for BBQs, family meals or cosy nights in.

Ingredients:

• 8 slices bacon, halved
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 medium green pepper, chopped
• 3 x 28oz (approx. 800g) cans of pork and beans (or baked beans)
• 3/4 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar or distilled vinegar
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard or 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Method:

Preheat oven to 160C (325F) and move rack to lower-middle shelf.

Cook bacon in a large frying pan until partly crisp and around ¼ cup of fat has been released. Set bacon aside on kitchen paper.

In the same pan, fry the chopped onion and green pepper in the bacon fat until soft (around 5 minutes).

Stir in the beans, barbecue sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and mustard. Let it gently simmer.

Transfer everything to a greased baking dish.

Lay the bacon strips over the top and bake uncovered for 2 hours, until bubbling and thickened.

Let the beans sit for a few minutes before serving.

The full recipe can be found here.