Pork and beans muffins? The first time I heard about bread made from pork and beans, I thought yuck! Surely, someone was kidding. It sounded awful.
Then, I remembered hearing years ago about a fabulous cake baked with tomato soup and a chocolate cake made with mayonnaise. Hmmmm.
Well, I thought, anything can surprise you in the kitchen. Maybe it could happen. I discovered it's not only possible, but it's amazing! The muffins made from this recipe are pure awesomeness!
Incredibly, there is absolutely no bean taste. The beans impart moisture and texture to the muffins, making them dense and yummy enough that they don't even need butter!
The bacon in and on top of the muffins adds that salty, slightly smoky flavor that pairs exceptionally well with the sweet batter. And, when you put a wee bit of syrup and bits of bacon on top? Simply divine!
Prepare the bacon by frying or baking it in the oven like this.
And, while that's happening......
Grab a can of your favorite pork and beans in tomato sauce. VanCamps pork and beans are my favorite brand, but they don't pay me to say so!
Dump them in a bowl, undrained, and mash 'em up. You can puree them in your food processor if you want. I decided to keep a little of the texture for interest.
Mix your dry ingredients (except sugars) in a bowl and set aside. Add the eggs, oil, and sugars to the mashed beans and stir them up.
Now add the dry ingredients, blending only enough for everything to come together. If you use a mixer, stick with the lowest speed. Then, gently fold in about half that crumbled bacon.
An ice cream scoop was the perfect tool to fill the muffin cups about 2/3 full. I lined the muffin tins with paper cupcake liners to make them easy to serve.
I didn't use every bit of the batter for muffins. Since this was my first time making this recipe, I found there was enough extra batter for a couple of wee mini loaves to share and sample. The recipe will make eighteen muffins, but I only had two muffin tins!
Next, I drizzled a little pancake syrup on top of each because I discovered I was out of maple syrup! 😳 Next time, I will try the real McCoy maple syrup!
Finally, I topped each pork and beans muffin with a few bits of bacon and popped them in a 350-degree oven for about 25 minutes.
The pork and beans recipe muffins turned out better than I could possibly have hoped! Moist, sweet and salty, and delicious!
They went perfectly with the steak, baked beans, mashed potatoes, and coleslaw I served for our grandson and his girlfriend that night! (Liz is now his wife!) I called it a cowboy supper!
I shared the mini loaves with our daughter, who shared it with several people. One hundred percent gave it two thumbs up! I think this is what you call a winner!
This is a recipe I'll hang on to! It's fun when things turn out even better than you hope they will! These muffins are definitely on my shortlist now!
Did you ever try a recipe you weren't sure about, but it surprised you? What did you make? Once in a while, it's fun to try something adventurous, isn't it? These pork and beans muffins would taste amazing with my Easy Meatloaf or my popular German Sauerkraut Casserole.
A dense moist muffin with a tantalizing sweet and salty flavor profile. Keeps well.
If you liked this recipe, you are my people! So please share this post on your social media accounts like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest if you enjoyed this recipe today. It would really tickle me, and I'd be ever so grateful; thank you!
Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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