Baked Swedish Brown Beans
Submitted by kris
Traditional Swedish brown beans simmered with dark corn syrup, brown sugar, vinegar, and a cinnamon stick until thick and saucy. A Scandinavian comfort side that’s sweet, tangy, and deeply warming.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
12 hrsCOOK
2 hrsREADY
14 hrsBruna bönor, or Swedish brown beans, are one of those humble Scandinavian staples that punch well above their weight.
Dried brown beans get soaked overnight, then simmered for hours with a sweet-and-sour sauce built from dark corn syrup, brown sugar, white vinegar, butter, and a whole cinnamon stick.
The result is a pot of glossy, tender beans in a thick, syrupy sauce that balances sweetness with a sharp vinegar tang.
These are traditionally served alongside Swedish meatballs, but they hold their own as a side for roast pork, ham, or a simple weeknight sausage dinner.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak the beans for a full 12 hours. Shortcuts here mean longer cooking and unevenly tender beans.
- The sauce thickens naturally as the beans simmer uncovered. If it’s still thin at the end, crank the heat for 10 minutes to reduce it.
- Use a whole cinnamon stick, not ground cinnamon. It gives a more delicate, rounded flavor without turning the sauce gritty.
- These reheat beautifully and taste even better the next day once the flavors have had time to deepen.
Ingredients
Directions
Pick over and rinse the beans.
Add the water and soak the beans at least 12 hours.
Bring the beans and soaking water to a boil.
Cover the pan and simmer for 1½ hours.
Add the salt, vinegar, syrup, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon stick.
Stir to mix.
Simmer, uncovered, for 1 hour, or until the beans are tender.
The liquid should be as thick as a sauce at the end of the cooking period.
If the liquid is not thickened, turn up the heat for 10 minutes, or until the liquid is reduced.
Remove the cinnamon stick.
Serve hot.
Comments
Terrible Recipe. Riuned my beans and they take much much longer than this.