Pork and beans have been an American staple for more than a hundred years.

This dish is commercially produced and packaged in cans. It is also very easy to prepare at home, and as its name implies, it consists of pork and beans. 

Pork and beans is usually served warm as a side dish.

The recipe for this dish may vary between cooks; additional ingredients such as tomato sauce, white vinegar, garlic, paprika, carrot, onion, and brown sugar can also be used to make this dish.

There are more than a hundred different types of beans, and if you don’t know what type of beans to use for your pork and beans, this post would help you out.

Best beans for pork and beans

Navy beans are traditionally used to make this dish. Navy beans are oval shaped white beans that have a smooth texture and a delicate flavor.

These beans take up the flavor of the surrounding ingredients in the dish, and the starch from the beans makes the sauce thicker.

Navy beans are often used as dried beans, although canned beans are also available and can be used for this dish.

When dried beans are used, the beans are first soaked in water to soften.

Other types of beans for pork and beans

If you don’t have navy beans, there are alternatives that you can make use of for this dish.

Any other white beans can be substituted for navy beans in pork and beans including cannellini beans.

Cannellini beans are also known as white kidney beans, they are quite larger in size compared to navy beans

They have a mild nutty flavor and may also take longer to cook compared to navy beans

Other types of beans that can sometimes be used to make pork and beans include pinto beans and red kidney beans.

Red kidney beans are about the same size as cannellini beans, although they are firmer in texture.

Pinto beans are beige with reddish speckles on their surface. They also have a deeper flavor compared to the other beans

Summary

Pork and beans are a savory dish consisting of beans, salt pork and pork fat in a tomato sauce. 

The beans typically used in this dish are navy beans, however if navy beans are not available you can substitute with any other type of white beans including cannellini beans.

Pinto beans and red kidney beans can be used as well.