English Beans on Toast

Published on Wednesday, October 13, 2010, by Sarah Perry / Edit Post

"I like to read British mysteries," says DonShirer. "Strangely, the food most often mentioned in this genre is 'beans on toast,' evidently an everyday item used for breakfast lunch or dinner (at least according to the authors)." But good old American Boston baked beans on wheat toast leaves a lot to be desired. What's special about the English dish?

The key is to use English canned beans, like the widely available Heinz beans in tomato sauce in the blue can, says Kagey. "They're not the same as the brown-sugary ones that Americans often associate with baked beans," says Kagey. Branston beans are also popular. And the dish is "much improved through adding a little curry powder or hot paprika and eating on thick white toast," says LBJR09. "If having with English breakfast I like to cook in frying pan until the sauce thickens and you have to shake off the spoon." Top with a fried egg or grated cheddar to make the dish more substantial.

"We love everything on toast—eggs, tinned spaghetti, Heinz tinned macaroni cheese, beans, sardines, cheese, Marmite, jams, pâtés," says smartie of his British brethren.

Discuss: English beans on toast?

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  • Heinz Vegetarian Beans, what my kosher mom served us as a side dish, are close to the English version. I had the beans on toast thing on my very first trip to London when I was a college students back in 1970. It was all I could afford at the time. I was curious. The beans were exactly the same as the ones my mom served us with franks and "specials" at home.

  • Try a thin schmear of Marmite & buutter on the toast & top w/a poached egg. The most widely available brand in the UK is Heinz. They ate everywhere.

  • The best beans I ever had for breakfast were the Foul Mudammas in Egypt. The British concept of toast is bread, toasted and then chilled until it becomes a piece of roofing shingle. They even invented the toast rack - a device scientifically created to chill the toast. So many good things to eat in Britain for breakfast - choose wisely and avoid the toast.

  • On tour in Europe right now.
    Every breakfast buffet has English beans and roasted tomatoes, the tomatoes being another British standard.

  • Branston is the brand for me,

    piled on hot buttered toast and a dash of Worcestershire sauce if I am feeling daring.

    Just lovely as a tea meal or for a quick lunch.

    But then I am English LOL

  • Yup. Heinz baked beans in the blue can or GTFO. Serve it with a fried egg on top and Spam for the full Monty Python effect.

    I...WANT...MORE...BEANS!

  • Well, Velveeta was depression cheese and people still eat that.

  • The only way to eat Heinz baked beans is English student-stylee, ie cold and straight out of the can, in front of the telly.

  • Butter is essential too.
    And it's gotta be Heinz. They're totally different. I tried whipping up a batch of American-style baked beans for the house with a very authentic and flavoursome recipe, not one of us could really get into them.

  • I can't understand why a dish meant to provide protein during WWII is still popular today. I mean, you don't see the US using powdered eggs or milk anymore, right?

  • Every once in a while I still get a craving for beans on toast (I grew up in the UK). It ain't easy to find the right beans, even here in Toronto, and I imagine it would be harder in the States. When I do indulge my craving, my happiness at the sight and smell of the dish vanishes after about four bites max. By the end, I'm usually vowing never to eat it again. Then, about ten months later ...

    ...+READ

    Every once in a while I still get a craving for beans on toast (I grew up in the UK). It ain't easy to find the right beans, even here in Toronto, and I imagine it would be harder in the States. When I do indulge my craving, my happiness at the sight and smell of the dish vanishes after about four bites max. By the end, I'm usually vowing never to eat it again. Then, about ten months later ...

    The much better, just as British, on-toast dish is cheese on toast. Not to be confused with its greasy cousin, the grilled cheese sandwich. Grated sharp cheddar, mixed with a touch of milk, spread thickly on the untoasted side of a piece of bread that's deliberately toasted only on one side. Then under the grill/broiler for a couple of minutes, till it's bubbling and brown on top. Divine. I guess it's really Welsh rarebit, with milk instead of beer.-COLLAPSE

  • I'm an Anglophile AND a bean lover, but this particular combination leaves me cold. I suspect you have to grow up with it. I love boiled peanuts, but I find that few people raised outside of the lower South share my enthusiasm.