Calico Beans
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Our Calico Beans make a hearty side with a colorful combination of ground beef, bacon and four types of beans.
With the first bite you’ll think you’re eating regular baked beans. By the second bite you realize there’s a slight fresh flavor from the lima beans and celery that makes this old fashioned favorite unique.

Calico Baked Beans Recipe
Incorporating green Lima beans adds a subtle twist of garden fresh flavor that varies a bit from the other more traditional beans in this recipe. The same neighbor that shared her Cowboy Baked Beans also shared her Grandma’s Calico Bean Casserole and we’re grateful!
Calico fabric and calico cats have patches of varying colors – that’s the best way to describe this Calico Bean recipe. Using a variety of green Lima beans, white butter beans, deep red kidney beans and brown pork and beans gives the side dish a patch work look.

Oven, Slow Cooker or Electric Roaster
These old-fashioned Calico Beans can simmer and become tender in the oven for an hour, in a crock pot on high for 3 – 4 hours or on low for 4 – 6 hours.
We cooked a quadrupled batch of Calico Baked Beans for more than 100 people in an electric roaster at 350℉ for 3 hours.

Whether it’s our recipe or my friend Kelsey’s, Baked Beans are perfect Party Food for Feeding a Crowd because they hold so well on keep warm. Just stir every half hour and the beans will taste great in a buffet line or at an open house.
Ingredients Needed and Substitutions:
- Bacon – I typically use 1/2 a pound
- Ground Beef – We prefer lean beef
- Pork and Beans – A can of seasoned baked beans
- Kidney Beans – Fully or partially drained, but we do not rinse
- Butter Beans – A larger white bean that can be tricky to find, our local IGA carries a wide variety and stocks both regular and baby butter beans. The baby version is smaller and blends better with the other beans.
- Lima Beans – Green colored beans will typically be with the cans of green veggies instead of the other beans.
- Ketchup
- Brown Sugar – The original recipe calls for 1 cup, but we prefer 1/3 or 1/2 a cup.
- Onion – A common white or yellow onion works great.
- White Wine Vinegar – While distilled white vinegar can be substituted we prefer the white wine vinegar.
- Celery – Compliments the lima beans with a little more green flavor, chop finely or put in a food processor.
- Mustard Powder – A generous squirt of yellow mustard works fine too.

How To Make Calico Beans
Begin by browning the ground beef and draining the meat. Then fry the bacon and drain the fat.
While the meat is cooking chop the onion and celery.
Open all of those cans of beans. Drain the lima beans and kidney beans.

Pour the beans into a large mixing bowl. Mix well.
Add all other remaining ingredients and stir well.

Pour into a 9 x 13″ baking dish. Cover with a lid or foil.
Bake in an oven preheated to 350℉ for an hour.
Calico Beans For A Crowd
We made this recipe for a neighbor’s graduation party. They expected 200 people so we quadrupled the recipe. The calico bean casserole was very popular and we could have multiplied the recipe by 5 or 6.
Using a foil liner in the electric roasters made clean-up so much easier!
Cook at 350℉ in the electric roaster for 3 to 4 hours and stir every 30 minutes. Turn to keep warm while serving and enjoy!

Recipe Tips and Tricks
- For a thicker bean mixture the kidney, butter and lima beans can be fully drained. In our Crock Pot Baked Beans we do not drain any of the beans and that recipe is also delicious. So whether the beans get drained is not a critical issue.
- If doubling or tripling the recipe make sure to allow plenty of time to open all the cans!
- To prep ahead of time, brown the beef, cook and crumble the bacon, then refrigerate these items. The onion and celery can also be chopped and refrigerated 2 to 4 days ahead of time.
- If you are careful stirring everything can be mixed in the 4 quart or 9 x 13″ baking dish. Make sure not to splash beans too far up the sides or over the edges. I prefer to use a large mixing bowl.

More Delicious Summer Side Dish Recipes
Black Bean and Corn Salad is fresh, festive and perfect for potlucks.
Broccoli and Cheddar Cornbread uses a Jiffy mix to make a cheesy bread with a veggie.
Macaroni Salad for a Crowd pairs well with beans at family reunion, cookout, or graduation party.
Cucumber Salad wraps crisp cucumber slices in a creamy dressing.

Calico Beans
Author: JenniferIngredients
- 1/2 cup bacon chopped
- 1 pound lean ground beef
- 15 ounce can pork and beans
- 15 ounce can kidney beans drained
- 15 ounce can butter beans we prefer baby butter beans
- 15 ounce can lima beans drained
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1/2 cup celery chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Cook and drain bacon and ground beef. Drain, crumble bacon and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl mix together all ingredients.
- Pour into a 9 x 13" dish coated with non-stick cooking spray.
- Cover and bake for 1 hour.