Old Fashioned Settler Beans (Reviewed and Updated 10-23-2023)

Years ago when I lived in Alaska, I had a lovely friend named Kathy (Tebow) Sharp who incidentally happened to be the winner of the 1976 Miss Alaska competition.  Not being a fan of beauty pageants in general, I was more impressed with her generous and kind spirit and her culinary abilities. After sharing a meal in which she served Settler Beans, I was thrilled when she agreed to share with me her recipe.  It was the perfect dish for the cold Alaska winters and continues to be a great choice.  Settler Beans are perfect for potlucks and family get-togethers, as well as an easy dish to take to friends and neighbors.  They can be served as the main course or as a side dish.  

I have provided Kathy's recipe as it was given to me. I cook up a variety of dried, canned, and frozen beans that I have on hand instead of using prepared beans from the grocery store.  (Substitute approximately four pounds of pre-cooked beans for the canned beans in the recipe.)  I also use my homemade ketchup instead of the store-bought variety and use molasses instead of sugar. You can experiment with different types of meat as well.  I often use only hamburger, or only ground sausage because it is what I have on hand.  I usually cook this recipe in the crockpot instead of the oven.

Old Fashioned Settler Beans 

1/2 pound of bacon chopped

1 medium onion chopped

1/2 pound of hamburger

1/4 pound of smoked sausage sliced and halved

(2) one pound cans of pork-n-beans

(1) one pound can of kidney beans drained

(1) one pound can of butter beans drained

1/3 cup of brown sugar

1/3 cup of white sugar

1/4 cup of ketchup

1 tsp of liquid smoke

1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper

1 Tablespoon of dry mustard

Brown bacon, onion, hamburger, and sausage together.  Drain grease.  Thoroughly mix sugars, catsup, liquid smoke, dry mustard, salt, and pepper.  Add to meat mixture.  Combine with beans in a large casserole dish and bake covered at 350 for one hour.  

Enjoy!