Mennonite Girls Can Cook is a collection of recipes which were posted daily for a period of ten years from 2008 to 2018. We have over 3,000 delicious recipes that we invite you to try. The recipes can be accessed in our recipe file by category or you can use the search engine.

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Calico Bean Bake ~ crowd size

This is a tried and true recipe that serves 30...one that we served many times at a fall barn party in years gone by.   Then we multiplied the recipe many times over...and served it at a church BBQ over the  years.  


  • 4 pounds beans in tomato sauce
  • 4 pounds red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 4 pounds lima beans or mixed beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 pound bacon, cut into small pieces
  • 4 cups chopped onion
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups ketchup
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 4 teaspoons prepared mustard
  • 4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 cup vinegar
  1. Fry bacon until crisp.  
  2. Saute onions and garlic until tender.
  3. Mix ketchup, sugar, mustard, salt and vinegar. 
  4. Combine all ingredient.
  5. Place in roaster and bake at 325° F for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
Serve it with BBQ'd farmer sausage or Bavarian smokies...add a salad and fresh bread...and you have the delicious meal.


If the party is over and there are beans left in the pot...freeze them in foil pans for another day.  They are just as good next time around!

from the kitchen of
recipe file ,

9 comments:

  1. AnnelieseOctober 6, 2011 at 8:28 AM

    I can't help but tell you that looks delicious! (even though it's morning) I like serving beans with pulled pork or enchiladas .. both great recipes for a crowd and this is easy to add.

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  2. AnonymousOctober 6, 2011 at 9:04 AM

    This looks sooooooo delish! Will be trying this one out :)

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  3. MellybrownOctober 6, 2011 at 1:35 PM

    I love baked beans, but what I really want to know about is that bread pictured in the background.... yum!

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  4. Judy October 6, 2011 at 6:13 PM

    Mellybrown...the bread is Bev's foccacia bread. It's also on the blog...http://www.mennonitegirlscancook.ca/2009/03/foccacia-bread.html

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  5. MargOctober 7, 2011 at 5:53 PM

    I tasted this and it's to die for...I will be adding it to my version of Pork N Beans

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  6. Donna BuxtonOctober 7, 2011 at 6:39 PM

    No suggestions or hints ~ am loving your blog ~ just a question?
    When you talk about 'pounds' of beans etc assuming you mean can measurements to make pounds??

    ReplyDelete
  7. B&B BruggeOctober 8, 2011 at 1:51 AM

    Delicious look and yummy recipes . awesome sharing for food i like it

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  8. Judy October 8, 2011 at 3:43 PM

    Donna...yes, pounds of beans means total weight of all cans. Total weight of cans of beans should be about 12 pounds (mix and match)...more or less.

    ReplyDelete
  9. AnonymousMay 3, 2017 at 9:58 PM

    I made these beans and they were amazing...served them with barbecued hamburgers, scaled down the amount a bit but will use the full recipe for our July 1st canada day celebration this year !!

    ReplyDelete

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