Baked beans is a dish traditionally containing white beans that are parboiled and then, in the US, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. In the United Kingdom, the dish is sometimes baked, but usually stewed in sauce. Canned baked beans are not baked, but are cooked through a steam process.

Baked beans occurred in Native American cuisine, and are made from beans indigenous to the Americas. It is thought that the dish was adopted and adapted by English colonists in New England in the 17th century and, through cookbooks published in the 19th century, spread to other regions of the United States and into Canada. However, the connection to Native American cuisine may be apocryphal, as legumes such as broad beans and lentils prepared in various sauces had been established in European cuisine long before the Middle Ages. Today, in the New England region of the United States, a variety of indigenous legumes are used in restaurants or in the home, such as Jacob's cattle, soldier beans, yellow-eyed beans, and navy beans (also known as native beans).

Originally, Native Americans sweetened baked beans with maple syrup, a tradition some recipes still follow, but some English colonists used brown sugar beginning in the 17th century. In the 18th century, the convention of using American-made molasses as a sweetening agent became increasingly popular to avoid British taxes on sugar. Boston baked beans use a sauce prepared with molasses and salt pork, a dish whose popularity has given Boston the nickname "Beantown".

Today, baked beans are served throughout the United States alongside barbecue foods and at picnics. Beans in a brown sugar, sugar, or corn syrup sauce (with or without tomatoes) are widely available throughout the United States. Bush Brothers are the largest producer. After the American Revolutionary War, Independence Day celebrations often included baked beans.

Canned baked beans are used as a convenience food; most are made from haricot beans in sauce. They may be eaten hot or cold, and straight from the can, as they are fully cooked. H. J. Heinz began producing canned baked beans in 1886. In the early 20th century, canned baked beans gained international popularity, particularly in the United Kingdom, where they have become a common part of an English full breakfast.