It’s cold outside, and winter bills are pouring in. When you don’t feel like going out to do the shopping (or don’t have much money in your purse anyway), this is a quick and easy comfort dish that uses up that iconic Aussie cheap food – baked beans.
Those tinned baked beans are based on Boston baked beans, except that they are made with a cheaper tomato sauce style soup. I actually think 85c for a can is a tad expensive. Yep, I’m frugal. I have been wanting to make my own for ages, except for the fact that I have trouble finding the navy beans you need. There are plenty of other fancy Italian beans, but I want the original.
In the meantime, I am using a tin of baked beans in this dish. The dish was inspired by a work colleague, who told me what their favourite frugal food dish was. I love people who share cheap recipes with me. Everyone has a secret recipe they used to make when they were a student, or that their frugal grandmother passed down or that they just like. I would so love to hear more – please drop me a line or a comment as I would so love to pass on your secrets:)
This recipe turned out to be a bit like huevos coreanos. I only realised that AFTER googling it for similar recipes. If you are making for more than one person, add more eggs. I was cooking just for me and wasn’t hungry so I only added one. This was still more filling than I realised so I ended up over eating. The quantities are for two people (with two eggs) but you can stretch it further with bread.
Ingredients
1 tin baked beans
1 rasher bacon, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 teaspoon oil
chilli sauce (optional)
1 – 2 eggs
Method
- In a cast iron frypan or some other fry pan that looks good (i.e. something you might make an omelette or frittata in), fry the bacon in a little oil until it it is crispy. Add the chopped onion and continue to cook for a further minute or so.
- Add the baked beans and stir to combined. Add chilli sauce (if using) to taste). Cook until it begins to bubble.
- Gently break one or more eggs on top of the baked beans. Place a lid on top of the frypan for a minute or so until the eggs are poached to the desired consistency. Serve over buttered toast or with sour dough bread.
Total cost (based on ALDI):
Baked beans 85c
Bacon 50c
Onion 15c
oil 5c
chilli sauce 5c
Eggs (assuming two) 60c
Total: $2.20, plus up to 50c for bread
Yum Serina, I love an egg with my baked beans too. This is perfect for Canberra’s cold winter mornings.
Excellent nutrition value too!