Beans on Toast (The Proper British Way – Recipe by a Brit!)
Beans on toast has been eaten for years every day in the UK for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s a super simple dish, but it’s comfort food on a plate for many of us. I hope you’ll enjoy it, too!
If you’re from Britain, you’re probably wondering why on earth there’s even a need for a recipe to make beans on toast, am I right?
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However, if you see what is out there on Google when you search “beans on toast”, you too will be horrified! Recipes with so much misinformation about beans on toast that the steam was coming out of my ears! I knew I had to write about it and set the record straight, asap! So here we are.
Did you know that beans on toast is a dish fit for a Queen? Yep, Queen Elizabeth loves her beans on toast and has even attributed (joking, of course) that she caught Covid due to going two days without eating her beloved beans! If you’re interested, here’s the recipe for the Queen’s favorite “cake”: chocolate tiffin.
🇬🇧 Check out the recipe for Coronation quiche (for American kitchens) as well as how to plan an English party at my friend Cynthia’s site at What a Girl Eats! 🇬🇧
My friends know that Heinz beans are one of the very few ready-made, or processed foods that I eat. In fact, last winter, two separate friends both spotted a 2 kg can of Heinz Beans at the 99 cent store, and each of them bought one for me without knowing the other had done the same! (Some of you have asked about my puffin mugs.)
I still haven’t even opened one of the massive tins because how on earth will we go through two kilograms (almost 5 lbs) of beans with only two people in the house? 🤣 I’ll have to have a ton of friends over for a big Scottish breakfast. Then I’ll make some potato scones, and Lorne sausage, too!
And of course, pots of real British tea!
If you don’t already know that Heinz beans are an integral part of being British, maybe this fact will help:
“The United Kingdom eats more cans of baked beans than the rest of the world combined. A staggering 1.5 million cans of Heinz Beanz are sold every day in the UK.” – Fact.Cat
Sir Patrick Stewart claims beans on toast is the only thing he can cook! Methinks he needs to visit my site! 😝
And in case you’re wondering, yes, it’s eaten with a knife and fork: keeping the fork in the left hand and knife in the right, no switching back and forth, that’s the American-style.
What Kind of Beans do the British eat on Toast?
There’s really only one kind: Heinz Beans (sometimes spelled Heinz Beanz)! In fact, I remember a commercial/advert from when I was a little girl in Scotland which said “beans means Heinz!” However, the full slogan was, “a million housewives everyday, pick up a can of beans and say Beanz Meanz Heinz“. Pretty good, huh? No wonder they’re still a staple in almost every British household.
Sure you can make your own version of Heinz beans, but I highly doubt you’ll be able to capture the essence and flavor of this classic. The recipes I’ve seen online are a far cry from Heinz beans in a can, too. Heinz has five basic ingredients, while the recipes I looked at contain twice that many. I wonder if these recipe developers have even traveled to the UK! In ten years of recipe-sharing, I’ve never said, “forget making homemade, buy the can”, and I probably never will again, but if you’re British, you’ll understand!
Where did Beans on Toast Originate?
The creation of “beans on toast” was a marketing event by the Heinz company in 1927, and fared well during WWII. Surprisingly, Heinz Beans were first produced in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1895, and were exported to the UK beginning in 1904, albeit at a high price point. However, it wasn’t until 1928 that Heinz began producing baked beans at their factory located just outside London that the popularity increased in the UK due to the lower price. -Heinz.com/hk/en
British food gets a bad rap. Check out this list of English dishes for a primer on why so much of it is a myth.
What Goes with Beans onToast?
You can eat beans on toast on its own, but you can always serve it with an egg (usually fried, but there’s nothing wrong with soft-boiled, or coddled eggs). Some like to add some grated Cheddar cheese on top (you can always put it under the broiler, too). My dad would be very upset if I didn’t mention his way of serving Heinz Beans to the soldiers when he was a cook in the British Army, stationed in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.
He said the men loved it when he served them this way. He’d sauté onions until they were browned, and then added the beans to heat them. Dad still prefers his Heinz beans this way. I used red onions here, but his preference is white or yellow onions.
Beans on Toast is Perfect for Breakfast, Lunch, or Dinner.
Yes, you can eat beans on toast any time of day. It literally takes 5 minutes to make, and is full of protein. There is added sugar in the beans, but using good quality artisan bread instead of the typical British loaf will make it a bit more healthy. If you have bread and a tin of beans, there’s always something to eat! Just add a soft boiled egg, coddled egg, or your choice of egg, if you want to add a little more protein.
Beans on Toast (The Proper, British Way)
a classic British dish serves 3
FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW
- Put the Heinz beans into a small pot over medium low heat.
- Put the bread in the toaster, and make the toast as desired. (If you like, you can butter the toast, but I find it unnecessary as the beans are the primary flavor.)
- Stir the beans, and heat until almost boiling, but don’t allow to boil. (According to directions on the tin, this will affect the flavor.)
- Place the toast on plates (you can butter the toast, but skip it to keep it vegan), and spoon ⅓ tin of the beans over the top of each slice.
- Serve immediately.
- Preferably with a cup of hot tea.
Enjoy; you’re now closer to being an honorary Brit! 🇬🇧 This has to be the easiest “recipe” ever, right?
FYI: Heinz Baked Beans are sold in 69 countries around the world, so clearly there’s something about these beans!
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Beans on Toast (The Proper British Way - Recipe by a Brit!)
Ingredients
- 1 can Heinz Beans (made in England) 415 g/14.6 oz
- 3 slices bread
- 1 tsp butter (optional)
Instructions
- Put the beans into a small pot over medium low heat.
- Put the bread in the toaster, and make the toast as desired. (If you like, you can butter the toast, but I find it unecessary as the beans are the primary flavor.)
- Stir the beans, and heat until almost boiling, but don't allow to boil. (According to directions on the tin, this will affect the flavor.)
- Place the toast on plates, and spoon ⅓ tin of the beans over the top of each slice. Serve immediately, preferably with a cup of hot tea.
Notes
Nutrition
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There’s no such thing as “British toast”.
Where do you see “British toast?”
American here 🖐🏼 (who does not switch her knife and fork in her hands—did not even realize that was a thing) I always thought it was refried beans spread on toast which just sounded so gross. So to see it with the Heinz beans it made a little more sense, but still seemed pretty bland. Then seeing it on the plate as part of a rounded out meal with the tomato, eggs, sausage, etc. it actually looked appealing to me for the first time. You can tell your dad I know I would love it with the caramelized onion too. I’ve never seen red onions cooked, and they’re actually the only onion that I am willing to eat raw. At least here in the Pacific Northwest, red onions are always used cold for salads, sandwiches, gyros, etc., preferably sliced thin. I find sweet yellow onions to be the best for caramelizing. Thank you for sharing!
The ads on this webpage almost make it unbearable to be here. One question—in that photo with the plate of food, what are those dark brown circle things between the tomato and egg? And what is the sauce above it?
Sorry, it’s the only way I can make a living for the work I do to produce free recipes (read more here). To answer your question: the dark brown food is black pudding and the sauce is HP Sauce.
The original English Heinz Beans are available from Wallmart (shipping only) at least in the Philly PA area – 6 cans for $20.
Never had beans and toast, for breakfast or any other time. But I had about a serving of leftover chickpeas in the fridge, cooked with onion, garlic, ground beef and various herbs, along with some southern biscuits. So I heated the chickpeas in the microwave, split one of the biscuits and browned the two halves in butter on the stove, and fried an egg over easy in the same butter. Spread the chickpeas over the split biscuit, topped with the egg, and grated some cheddar cheese and raw onion over it. Surprisingly tasty and filling….
Cheese beano,s is another English version beans on toast then add grated cheese on top and place under the grill (broil) till cheese is bubbling and brown then add a couple of slices of cooked bacon on top of the cheese Enjoy we do
grew up with bean sandwiches with slice of onion and bacon family of english descent but never heard of of boxing day
Really, Boxing day is very popular in the UK. The sandwich sounds good!
I have a Scottish born and raised husband, so I always have at least two cans of these in my pantry! There are few stores that actually sell them, so when I find them, I’ll try to buy around five. Also, I have never eaten cold beans, and my husband makes fun of how I hold my silverware, lol. He does love his beans sans toast but with Soldiers and Eggs, so he can scoop it all together, I guess, lol. I don’t like soft-boiled so I am going to try your coddled egg recipe when I make his soft boiled eggs. HMMMMMM… maybe for Christmas brekky.
Actually, Heinz beans are readily available in the US. Most Americans seem to eat the beans cold. Our family eats cold Heinz beans on the side with cottage cheese, potato salad, and sliced tomatoes. I have never seen them eaten for breakfast. We used to make cold smashed bean sandwiches mixed with mayo and finely chopped onions when I was a kid. When I visited London in 2003 for the first time, I was shocked to be served scrambled eggs with beans rather than the usual US fried potatoes. In America, we do use one utensil at a time as we eat.
Not Heinz beans from the UK, though. The ones in the blue can are different.
I’m an American. I have never seen anyone eat beans cold!
I’ve never seen it either, Nicole, and been in the US almost 50 years.
I am American and I eat beans cold, hot, reheated, cold from the fridge. How ever they are eaten mostly depends on how cold or warm I am.
Cold beans are great on a hot day. And no need for toast, just put them on bread when it’s hot.
I grew up eating them both hot and cold. Breakfast of beans and toast, either hot or cold was commonly served the day after we had proper New England baked beans (made in an heirloom bean pot, of course!).
Congratulations for the really long article based on the most ridiculous and bad food coming from a stupid tin can. I think that whoever wrote this piece of “art” doesn’t know at all what does mean prepare food. What’s wrong with you people from UK? Why researching about the origins of beans on toast? Why at this point you are not making the recipe to make beans from scratch and you suggesting to use Heinz beans!!! What’s wrong with you people that even commenting with positive vibes? Why? Shame on you and shame on me that I ended up in this pile of art.
Shame on you for your rudeness and poor manners.
Congratulations on writing such a poor comment, “The Italian One”. It always humors me to see how easy it is to get an Italian’s knickers in a knot :D. And they think that rolling excessive carbs into every dish and calling it pasta is some kind of culinary achievement. Ew!
This was a fun article, I was curious to see if people prefer butter or not with their beans on toast.
Now, what about marmite with the beans, or is that too much?
shame on you for your rudeness
what a sad xxxxx you are… great article on a meal I have eaten for 80+ years. Fool!
Oh, on vacations my parents (we are American) would get some canned baked beans and we’d eat them cold for lunch on these trips. I love baked beans (in America we have many flavors of them, particularly with one or two blobs of bacon at the top of the can, or molasses flavor, or BBQ smoky flavor, onion flavor, etc.). We can eat them hot or cold but it seems to me that putting them on top of toast would be sort of overdoing it. The beans are filling in themselves. We’d use them as a side dish in America. On July 5th picnics we’d often have baked beans made from scratch, often using molasses for that deeper rich flavor, along with hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, potato salad, pickles, and other doodads. Watermelon and fruit pie for dessert. Heinz style is just some beans thinned tomato sauce. That is pretty boring but if it is what you grew up eating, then you love it. Or hate it.
Agreed, Virginia. A lot of food has nostalgic connections and it could be really boring, but oh so comforting and delicious all the same!
Americans don’t have July 5th picnics even if they’re held on July 5th.
I think that was simply a mistake of hitting 5 instead of 4 on the keyboard.