Quick Baked Beans with Mango

Summer is finally here, and we like to spend most weekends outdoors as much as possible, so that means my usual Sunday afternoon cooking time is cut short. This is fine by me - there's so much great produce now that it's easy to throw together a great meal without much cooking.

Tonight we're having veggie hot dogs, fresh corn on the cob, and baked beans. To save time here I've used canned vegetarian baked beans, which of course have more sugar and salt than I'd use if making them from scratch. So to cut that, I add a can of low sodium black beans. This adds some color contrast, stretches both cans to feed more people, and spreads out the sugar and salt a bit. Sometimes I leave it at this, but tonight I had a fresh mango, so I chopped that up and added it to the mix, along with some liquid smoke. Voila! Everyday, canned baked beans because a fun dish with minimal effort.

The idea to add mango came from Isa Moskowitz's Mango BBQ Beans in Appetite for Reduction. I've made these too, and they are quite delicious - a great vegan side dish to bring to a barbecue or Easter gathering. Those take a little longer, though, so tonight I've taken some help from prepared baked beans:

Quick Baked Beans with Mango 

1 large can vegetarian, low fat baked beans
1 1/2 cup or 1 can low sodium black beans
1 ripe mango, diced small
Liquid smoke, to taste
Hot sauce, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan, over low heat, until heated through.

Serves 4-6