I did not expect to love beans on toast. I was living in London, 22, and just out of college. My gastronomic sensibilities had yet to mature, but I had already developed an interest in farmers' market produce, artisan bread, and laborious recipes. So, when a friend came to my flat bearing a tin of Heinz baked beans, a loaf of white bread, and a bag of frozen chips (French fries), I was dubious. I figured this curious combination of chips, beans, and toast would join the group of British foods I tried once and never again (see: mushy peas).
My Edible Escape: Chips, Beans, and Toast
After popping the chips in the oven, we started on the beans. Canned baked beans are iconic in England. Cheap, filling, and easy to make, they have long been a staple of students and the working class. Heinz brand beans, with their signature bright green label, are considered by many to be the best (though recently we've heard rumblings of preference for Branston brand...). Different from American or Boston baked beans, the British version is not as sweet and more tomato sauce-based. That night, I also discovered that there is actually a technique to heating baked beans. Before pouring them into a pan, we shook the can vigorously to give the beans a softer consistency. And then I learned the number one rule: cook under a low flame and don't boil the beans (according to instructions on the can, doing so would "impair the flavour").
When everything was heated, we piled our plates with generously-buttered toast, crispy chips, and baked beans. A sprinkle of salt and pepper and drizzles of malt vinegar tied it all together. And what do you know, it was perfect. Hearty, comforting, buttery, and tangy. It was even fun to assemble each bite on my fork – a corner of toast, a morsel of potato, and the tomato-y sauce from the beans. I soon found myself making it again and ordering it in pubs (sometimes just beans on toast, without the chips). It became one of my all-time favorite comfort dishes.
Now, many years later, I live in Los Angeles and am a staunch advocate of local, seasonal, fresh food. But I would never give up chips, beans, and toast. I buy the green Heinz cans at British and Indian import shops. Sometimes I'm "good" and use whole wheat instead of white bread, but I'm always generous with the butter and malt vinegar. I have become one of those LA people who cries at the mere suggestion of rain, but I've found that I can bear rainy days here if I pretend I'm in London and have a plate of beans on toast. It lifts my mood and brings back memories of my time across the pond.
• The top image is of Tamarind and Thyme's baked beans doctored with shallots, chili sauce, and Worcestershire sauce. I happen to love the beans just as they are, but her recipe might be worth a try if you find them too boring. In England, it's also common to eat beans on toast with grated cheese or HP Sauce.
Related: Cooking with Leftovers: Bubble and Squeak
(Images: Flickr member su-lin used by permission, Flickr member Lilo Lil licensed under Creative Commons)
Comments (19)
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ohmygod... these are my favorite beans. I have to buy them at extortion prices at World Market, but sometimes you just have to have them... I also like making them w/a pile of sauteed mushrooms and a tomato. Don't ask. I really wish I could find a local supplier with better prices. (Milwaukee, anyone?)
view keltrue's profile
I love Beans on Toast.
view asmitherma's profile
So. so. so good. A little grated cheddar cheese doesn't hurt either...though not necessary.
view loverachel's profile
May I also suggest; now this is pure indulgence and not for the faint hearted;
add to the beans a huge amount of Cheddar cheese and lashings of tomato ketchup and Worchester sauce.
Three rounds of toast and lashings of butter....
Oh my shattered nerves, very edible indeed...
This is maybe why i have to run so much..
view bay1's profile
My family is Brit, so this is normal staple food to me. Beans on toast, beans and cheese on toast, glop (otherwise known as clean out the fridge stew) and butter and sugar sandwiches. (don't ask)
y.u.m.
view Limeliteshines's profile
I love this combination. It's the perfect cool night study food. And I agree that you have to get the classic blue Heinz can or it just won't taste the same. I was happy to find that my local Stop 'n' Shop stocks it, but it's in the 'international/ethnic foods' aisle, next to all the Brit stuff, rather than with the other baked beans.
view slowdown's profile
I remember the first time I was served beans on toast. I was a teenager in London, visiting with my family. OMG, it was delicious! It is a humble and brilliant dish.
view mobi's profile
I love beans on toast. I use Bush's Beans, a small step up from Heinz (though who am I kidding, canned beans are canned beans).
view TammyE's profile
oh. my. goodness! I used to do this when I was little all the time...in fact I wouldn't even eat beans without the bread...I had no idea I was being so English...
view missLL's profile
I love Amy's vegetarian baked beans and actually prefer them cold (best out of the can!) although I'll also eat them heated up. Definitely a comfort food, cold or hot. I've never had the on-toast version (yet).
view Pixie's profile
keltrue: The Heinz beans are on sale right now at World Market.
I was actually eyeing these for a purchase recently. It's a perfect travel flashback!
view sjh100's profile
Beans on toast is ok although I didn't like beans when I was little but can cope with them now. Spaghetti hoops with mini sausagues on toast on the other hand is amazing! If you've not tried it but even get the chance, really do! It's the best.
^._.^
view EmilyTheStrange's profile
discovered how great this combo was when i took a trip to ireland and scotland a few years ago. have a trip to london planned for the fall and am really looking forward to the beans on toast. (and the tea! oh, the tea!)
view gretchenalexis's profile
my personal favorite British bean dish is fairly similar to beans on toast with chips-- a jacket potato! nothing beats a baked potato with butter, heinz beans, and cheddar cheese. YUM. I too was introduced to this dish while studying abroad in London and eat it all the time. As with slowdown, my grocery store stocks them in the international section of the market.
view rach1007's profile
Thanks for the tip skh100... I'm definitely going there this weekend. Make room in that pantry!
view keltrue's profile
I have lived in Britain for the past five years, but wasn't introduced to beans on toast until I met my boyfriend 3 years ago. It might just be his favourite 'quick' food ever (though I've brought him to the dark side of home made burgers!).
There is also an obsession here with 'toasties' - basically just sandwiches heated up, toasted, and pressed together to make little triangular packets. Beans and cheese are great - though my ultimate toastie is cream cheese, pickled beets, and peanut butter. Sounds gross - but its amazing!
view agnosticfront16's profile
Having grown up in Yorkshire, beans on toast (or spaghetti on toast- I like Heinz Spaghetti Hoops- which are difficult to find in the US) is a staple.
I used to make cheese and baked bean toasties all the time, and in the UK Heinz even sells frozen pizza with their baked beans on it (which is essentially the same concept- bread, beans, and cheese) - delicious!
view fade on violet's profile
Heinz Beanz are not at all like American "baked beans".
They are more akin to American "pork 'n beans", with a little extra tomato sauce.
view ohjodi's profile
I haven't lived with my british father for years...but this made me sublimely happy to see others were fed "beans on toast" as kids!
It was my second favorite breakfast, bested only by "eggs and soldiers".
Nostalgia has kicked in big time and I think I'll be adding all these items to my next grocery list!
view Gilliebean11's profile