Sticky Barbecue Beans with Cornbread Crumble
Campfire Comfort with a Mexican Wink
Table of Contents
- ✨ Before We Begin…
- The Cook’s Mind
- A Note on Origin
- Ingredient Focus: Butter Beans
- My Favourite Way To Eat
- Serving Suggestions
- Multi-Purpose Recipe
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- What Will You Learn Whilst Making This Recipe?
- Handpicked to Go With This One
- Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
- Sticky Barbecue Beans with Cornbread Crumble Recipe
✨ Before We Begin…
This is a campfire supper made for the comfort of your kitchen — one pan, full flavour, and very little washing up. The beans are sticky and spicy, the cornbread is soft and golden, and the whole thing begs to be eaten warm, preferably with something chilled in your glass. It’s hearty, nostalgic, and completely plant-based.
‘Must be best food offer, of any genre, in Kendal. Hugely accomplished cooking and very much recommended.’
Tony P, Kendal; Food Customer
The Cook’s Mind
Make-Ahead
- The barbecue bean base can be made 2–3 days in advance.
- You could make the ‘dry mix’ and the ‘wet mix’ for the cornbread in advance.
Freezer-Friendly
- The beans freeze well. Add fresh cornbread topping when reheating.
- Avoid freezing the assembled dish — the cornbread loses its lift.
Rescue Mission – What To Do When Things Go Wrong
- If cornbread feels too wet, stir in extra flour 1 tsp at a time.
- If beans taste too sharp, add a splash more maple syrup.
- If the base sticks, add a splash of water and loosen gently with a wooden spoon. If you’re cooking this outside on possibly not your best non-stick, adding a disc of non-stick paper to the base of the pan will help you. Just be carefully when stirring so as not to rumple the paper.
Key Substitutions
- Swap butter beans for cannellini or pinto beans.
- Harissa can be replaced with smoked paprika and chilli flakes.
- Oat milk can be swapped for soy, almond, or any unsweetened plant milk.
Cooking Parlance
- “Let the purée change colour” means cook it until it darkens — this deepens flavour.
- “Cover with lid or foil” creates steam to help the cornbread rise and set without drying out.
A Note on Origin
A blend of cowboy bean nostalgia and skillet suppers, this recipe nods to both Southern and Mexican influences — but lives most comfortably in your own kitchen. It’s not traditional, but it’s rooted in comfort and adaptability, with a little heat and a lot of heart.
Ingredient Focus: Butter Beans
Plump and creamy, butter beans hold their shape in sauces and soak up flavour beautifully. Here, they anchor the skillet with substance and softness, playing foil to the smoky-sweet sauce.
✨ Big-hearted beans — creamy, mild, and mighty good-natured.
To Ingredient Focus: Butterbeans
My Favourite Way To Eat
Outdoors. After making and photographing the dish, I sat perched on the back seat with my beloved Georgia curled by the stove and gave thanks for the special moments together. Georgia enjoyed a few butterbeans.
Serving Suggestions
– Serve with a green salad tossed in citrusy vinaigrette.
– Add pickled onions and grilled corn for a tableful.
Multi-Purpose Recipe
This recipe has more than one life…
A skillet meal today, a wrap filling or brunch base tomorrow.
– Use leftover beans in a toasted sandwich or over nachos.
– Serve the cornbread dumplings alone with chilli or stew.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
It’s big-flavour comfort food made in one pan. The beans are rich, the topping is soft and savoury, and the method is easy. Perfect for lazy dinners, quick lunches, or slow weekend suppers.
What Will You Learn Whilst Making This Recipe?
You’ll learn to build flavour with spices and purée, how to cook cornbread as dumplings, and how to balance sweet, sour, and heat. You’ll also practise layering a dish from base to topping with a confident hand.
Handpicked to Go With This One
A few recipes that play well together — flavour friends, not just neighbours.
- Pasta Perfection for Summery Adventures (Adventure Cook Recipe)
- Ennerdale Herby Sausage Hot Pot (Adventure Cook Recipe)
- Tofu Cultured Cream
Waste Less: How To Use Up Your Ingredient Stash!
Got something spare — a handful, a spoonful, or the end of a packet? These tags help you find other ways to use it. It’s a small step toward cooking intuitively and wasting less❣️
apple cider vinegar, butter beans, chopped tomatoes, fresh garlic, fresh herbs, fresh lemon juice, fresh thyme, harissa paste, lemon, maple syrup, nutritious yeast, oat milk, polenta, red onion, tomato, tomato purée, tomatoes, wholemeal plain flour
Sticky Barbecue Beans with Cornbread Crumble Recipe
Sticky Barbeque Beans with Cornbread Crumble
This one-pan supper brings together smoky barbecue-style beans and pillowy vegan cornbread dumplings. The sauce is sweet, spicy, and tomato-rich, with maple syrup and harissa adding depth. It’s fast, filling, and just right for evenings when you want something warm and saucy with minimal fuss.
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Ingredients
Ingredients for the Cornbread
- 20 g polenta
- 40 g wholewheat flour
- 1½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp nutritious yeast
- 2 pinch salt
- 60 ml oat milk | or soy milk
- 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Ingredients for the Sticky Barbeque Beans
- 10 ml olive oil
- 150 g red onion | unpeeled weight; peeled and diced
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 cloves fresh garlic | peeled and finely grated
- 2 tbsp tomato purée
- 2 tsp harissa paste
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 sprig fresh thyme
- 400 g tinned tomatoes | chopped
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 235 g butter beans
- ½ unit fresh lemon | juice and zest
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp ground black pepper
Instructions
Make the Cornbread
- Mix the dry cornbread ingredients together. Mix the plant milk and apple cider vinegar together, add to the dry ingredients and mix. Form into dumpling-sized balls, ready to place on top of the sticky beans.20 g polenta, 40 g wholewheat flour, 1½ tsp baking powder, 1 tbsp nutritious yeast, 2 pinch salt, 60 ml oat milk, 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
Make the Sticky Barbeque Beans
- Heat the oil on a low heat. Add the chopped onion and a pinch of salt and cook to soften.10 ml olive oil, 150 g red onion, 1 pinch salt
- When the onions have softened, grate the garlic into the pan and stir. Add the tomato purée and stir it, allowing it to change colour (it becomes a darker shade when cooked). Add the remaining ingredients, mix and simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning.2 cloves fresh garlic, 2 tbsp tomato purée, 2 tsp harissa paste, 1 sprig fresh thyme, 400 g tinned tomatoes, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 235 g butter beans, ½ unit fresh lemon, ¼ tsp salt, ¼ tsp ground black pepper, 1 tsp smoked paprika
- When you're happy with the flavour, add the Cornbread to the top, cover with a lid or foil and allow to cook, 5-8 minutes.
Nutrition
Calories: 491kcalCarbohydrates: 94gProtein: 20gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 4gSodium: 1159mgPotassium: 1670mgFiber: 16gSugar: 33gVitamin A: 823IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 369mgIron: 8mg
Nutritional values are estimates only and will vary depending on specific ingredients used. Nutrition is per serving. Information is for the main recipe, not optional accompaniments.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
COPYRIGHT
© The Golden Polar Bear, 2025. Recipes and photography by Julia Savory. If you share this, please pass it along with kindness and if possible share a link back to this site. #ForTheAnimals
Photographed truthfully. If you cook it, yours will look like mine.
Next Steps?
You’ve got the full recipe — now take it further. Inside Black Labrador, you’ll find structured video courses and an ever-growing cookbook designed to help you cook with understanding, not guesswork. Learn, revisit, and deepen your skills at your own pace.
‘Totally recommend the cookery course. The meals are really tasty and full of flavour (not like most of the vegan mush I make for myself).’
Kerry B, Cumbria
