Baked beans: a pulse in a salted sauce

Baked beans are pulses with a sauce, and the evidence splits along that seam. For pulses as a food group the case is solid. A 2026 dose-response meta-analysis of 38 randomised trials in 2,095 adults, median dose 130 g a day for a median of six weeks, found LDL cholesterol 0.14 mmol/L lower and non-HDL cholesterol 0.22 mmol/L lower, with beans showing a straight dose-response up to one cup a day. Those trials used whole pulses of every kind, so the added salt and sugar of beans canned in tomato sauce sit outside that estimate. The one trial that fed the canned product itself and measured blood lipids is from 1990 and found nothing. Twenty men with mildly raised cholesterol ate the equivalent of six 440 g cans a week, which added 12 g of non-starch polysaccharide a day, and plasma cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides and glucose were all unchanged. The authors put that down to the beans being added on top of the usual diet instead of displacing fat. So what this page can give you is a category result plus one null trial of the can, not a demonstrated effect of baked beans on anyone's cholesterol.

The numbers, per 100 g

How much is actually in it

• Public Health England's 2024 salt reduction target caps baked beans in tomato sauce at 0.56 g salt, or 225 mg sodium, per 100 g, a level the British CoFID record (261 mg) slightly exceeds and the USDA home-prepared record (422 mg) nearly doubles. — UK food industry reformulation targets for 2024, category 7.1 baked beans in tomato sauce without accompaniments Evidence E source
  Maximum 0.56 g salt / 225 mg sodium per 100 g; category 7.2 with accompaniments: average 0.60 g salt / 240 mg, maximum 0.69 g / 275 mg
• In a survey of New Zealand supermarket products, dried legumes were the cheapest plant protein at NZ$0.30 per 100 g against NZ$2.57 for other meat-free products, fibre claims were the most common claims on canned and dried legumes, and only 12% of meat analogues reached a healthy Health Star Rating. — packaged foods database, New Zealand: canned legumes (64 plain, 25 flavoured), 23 canned baked beans, 21 dried legumes, tofu, falafels and 41 meat analogues, linked to 2019 Nielsen purchase data (n = 23 canned baked-bean products among 201 products) Evidence C source
  Dried legumes NZ$0.30 +/- 0.16 per 100 g vs other meat-free NZ$2.57 +/- 0.88; meat-free sausages highest sodium 643 +/- 148 mg/100 g; 5 of 41 (12%) meat analogues with Health Star Rating 3.5 or more

What a real portion looks like

• A cup of baked beans (260 g) carries about 1,017 mg sodium and 11.4 g fibre in USDA survey data, and sodium across the eight USDA baked-bean records runs from 1 mg (no salt added) to 475 mg per 100 g, against 261 mg in the British canned-in-tomato-sauce record. — USDA SR Legacy 173731 (Beans, baked, home prepared) and 7 canned records; CoFID 2021 record 13-532 (Baked beans, canned in tomato sauce), Public Health England, OGL v3.0; USDA FNDDS 2707390 (Baked beans) (n = 8 USDA records, 1 CoFID, 1 FNDDS) Evidence E source
  USDA 173731 per 100 g: fibre 5.5 g, sodium 422 mg, copper 0.159 mg; across records fibre 4-6.9 g, sodium 1-475 mg; CoFID 13-532: 81 kcal, protein 5.0 g, fat 0.5 g, carbohydrate 15.0 g, sugars 4.8 g, fibre 4.9 g, sodium 261 mg, iron 1.42 mg, folate 29 ug; FNDDS 2707390 per 100 g: sodium 391 mg, fibre 4.4 g; 1 cup 260 g
• Adding baked beans, cheddar, chilli or tuna to baked potato, pasta or toast consistently lowered the glycaemic index of the meal in 40 healthy adults, though the differences between toppings did not reach significance (P = 0.06 for potato and pasta). — 40 healthy adults (11 men, 29 women), staff and students at Oxford Brookes University, randomised repeated-measures design (n = 40) Evidence B source
  Toppings lowered the GI of each staple; cheddar brought potato, pasta and toast to GI 39, 27 and 35; between-topping differences P = 0.06, 0.06 and 0.39

What your body absorbs

• Fewer than half of adults eating half a cup of baked beans a day reported more flatulence in the first week, 3 to 11% reported it even on bean-free control diets, and the authors conclude that fears of excessive gas from beans may be exaggerated. — 29 adults in an 8-week randomized crossover of half a cup of baked beans versus canned carrots (study 2), plus two trials of pinto beans and black-eyed peas (n = 17 and 80) (n = 29 (baked beans study), 126 across 3 studies) Evidence B source
  Increased flatulence reported by under 50% on pinto or baked beans in week 1, 19% on black-eyed peas, 3-11% on control diets

What cooking and storage change

• Commercially canned baked beans gave higher glucose and insulin responses than home-boiled beans for the same 50 g of carbohydrate in 6 adults, matching a six to eight times faster starch hydrolysis in vitro. — 6 weight-stable adults, three 50 g carbohydrate test meals (glucose, canned baked beans, home-boiled baked beans) in random order after a 12 h fast (n = 6) Evidence B source
  Postprandial glucose and insulin: glucose > canned beans > home-boiled beans; in vitro starch hydrolysis 6-8 times higher in canned than boiled; pH 5.0 markedly reduced digestibility; total available carbohydrate unchanged

What it does to your health

• Across 38 randomized trials with a median 130 g a day of whole pulses (half to two-thirds of a cup) for a median 6 weeks, LDL cholesterol fell by 0.14 mmol/L and non-HDL cholesterol by 0.22 mmol/L, with a linear dose-response for beans up to 1 cup a day. — 2,095 adults in 38 RCTs (52 comparisons) of at least 3 weeks, searched to March 2025, GRADE moderate to high for lipid outcomes (n = 38 RCTs, n = 2095) Evidence A source
  LDL-C MD -0.14 mmol/L (95% CI -0.19 to -0.08), non-HDL-C -0.22 (-0.30 to -0.14), apoB -0.08 g/L (-0.13 to -0.03), HDL-C -0.03 (-0.05 to -0.01); beans: -0.25 mmol/L LDL per 0.5 cup (-0.48 to -0.02) up to 1 cup/d
• Eating an average of six 440 g cans of baked beans a week, adding 12 g of non-starch polysaccharide a day, did not change plasma cholesterol, HDL, triglycerides or glucose in 20 mildly hypercholesterolaemic men when dietary fat was not displaced. — 20 mildly hypercholesterolaemic men, randomized crossover of canned baked beans versus canned spaghetti (n = 20) Evidence B source
  No change in plasma cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides or glucose with a 12 g/d NSP difference (6.6 g soluble)

Safety, limits and interactions

• In the 2008 Canadian total diet study, canned baked beans carried 23.5 ng of bisphenol A per gram, below canned fish (106 ng/g) and canned corn (83.7 ng/g), and estimated adult intake of 0.052 to 0.081 ug per kg body weight a day was well below regulatory limits. — 154 food composite samples from the 2008 Canadian total diet study in Quebec City; intake estimates by age and sex group (n = 154 composites) Evidence C source
  BPA detected in 36% of samples; canned baked beans 23.5 ng/g; canned fish 106, canned corn 83.7, canned soups 22.2-44.4, canned peas 16.8 ng/g; adult intake 0.052-0.081 ug/kg/day
• Eating canned rather than fresh food raised urinary bisphenol A by 152% at 2 hours and 206% at 4 hours in 20 healthy volunteers, and levels returned to baseline within 24 hours, so canned-food BPA exposure is real but short-lived. — 20 healthy volunteers, randomized crossover of canned versus fresh food meals with a 1-day washout, urine at 0, 2, 4 and 6 h (n = 20) Evidence B source
  Urinary BPA +152% at 2 h, +206% at 4 h, +79% at 6 h versus pre-meal; canned vs fresh differed at 2, 4 and 6 h (P = 0.001, < 0.001, < 0.001); back to baseline at 24 h
• US labelling law allows a low sodium claim only when a food with a reference amount above 30 g contains 140 mg or less sodium per reference amount, so ordinary canned baked beans at about 390 to 420 mg per 100 g cannot be called low sodium. — foods labelled in the United States under 21 CFR 101.61 Evidence E source
  Regulatory threshold: 140 mg sodium or less per reference amount customarily consumed (reference amount over 30 g or 2 tablespoons)

Who this works differently for

• In 11 adults with type 1 diabetes on insulin pumps, dosing insulin by the food insulin index instead of carbohydrate counting for six protein-containing foods including baked beans lowered mean 3-hour blood glucose from 6.5 to 5.7 mmol/L without more hypoglycaemia. — 11 adults with type 1 diabetes on insulin pump therapy, six foods (steak, battered fish, poached eggs, low-fat yoghurt, baked beans, peanuts) each eaten twice, blinded randomized order (n = 11) Evidence B source
  Mean blood glucose 5.7 +/- 0.2 vs 6.5 +/- 0.2 mmol/L (P = 0.003); mean change -0.7 vs +0.1 mmol/L (P = 0.001); peak at 34 vs 56 min; hypoglycaemia 48% vs 33% (P = 0.155)
• Among 1,475 US adults in NHANES 1999-2002, bean consumers had a 22% lower risk of obesity and a 23% lower risk of a large waist than non-consumers, and baked bean consumption specifically was associated with lower systolic blood pressure. — 1,475 adults with a reliable 24 h recall in NHANES 1999-2002, three groups of bean consumers versus non-consumers, adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity and energy (n = 1,475) Evidence C source
  Lower body weight (P = 0.008), smaller waist (P = 0.043), 23% reduced risk of increased waist (P = 0.018), 22% reduced risk of obesity (P = 0.026); baked beans associated with lower systolic blood pressure; higher fibre, potassium, magnesium, iron and copper intakes

The bottom line

The number that moves most from can to can is sodium. Across the 8 USDA baked-bean records it runs from 1 mg per 100 g in the no-salt-added product to 475 mg, the British canned-in-tomato-sauce record sits at 261 mg, and at the US survey value of 391 mg per 100 g a 260 g cup works out at about 1,017 mg of sodium along with 11.4 g of fibre. Public Health England set a 2024 reformulation target for baked beans in tomato sauce of 0.56 g salt, or 225 mg sodium, per 100 g, which is a voluntary industry target and not a health threshold. US labelling law keeps the words low sodium for 140 mg or less per reference amount, and the reference amount for beans is larger than 100 g, so an ordinary can is far from qualifying. The pulse trials behind the LDL figure ran on whole pulses, not on this product. A cup of the ordinary canned kind brings that 1,017 mg of sodium with it, and the British record puts total sugars at 4.8 g per 100 g. Choosing the no-salt-added tin is the biggest single change available on this shelf. Canning is not neutral for the beans either. In 6 adults, 50 g of carbohydrate as commercially canned baked beans produced higher glucose and insulin than the same carbohydrate as home-boiled beans, matching starch that broke down six to eight times faster in the test tube. The same experiment found acidity at pH 5.0 cut digestibility sharply, so what a particular sauce does on balance is not settled by this. Six people and 1986 methods make it a direction, not a measurement of your dinner. The flatulence reputation, on the other hand, has been tested and is overstated: among 29 adults eating half a cup of baked beans a day, fewer than half reported more wind in the first week, and 3 to 11 percent reported more of it on control diets with no beans at all. Adding beans to potato, pasta or toast lowered the glycaemic index of the meal in 40 healthy adults, although the toppings did not differ significantly from each other and no separate figure for beans is reported. Two findings concern particular groups. In 11 adults with type 1 diabetes on insulin pumps, dosing by the food insulin index rather than by carbohydrate counting brought mean three-hour glucose from 6.5 to 5.7 mmol/L without more hypoglycaemia, and that tested an algorithm across six protein-containing foods with baked beans as one of them. Among 1,475 US adults in NHANES 1999 to 2002, bean eaters had a 22 percent lower risk of obesity and a 23 percent lower risk of a large waist than non-eaters, and baked beans specifically were associated with lower systolic pressure, with no size given. That is one day of recall in a cross-sectional survey, so the direction of cause is open. As for the can itself, the 2008 Canadian total diet study measured 23.5 ng of bisphenol A per gram in canned baked beans, under canned fish at 106 and canned corn at 83.7, with estimated adult intake of 0.052 to 0.081 ug per kg of body weight a day, below the regulatory limits of the time and measured on cans that are now old. A crossover in 20 volunteers showed a canned meal raising urinary BPA by 152 percent at two hours and 206 percent at four, back to baseline by 24 hours, for canned food in general rather than beans, and as a urine level rather than a health outcome. Beyond sodium and the lining of the tin, we found no study of baked beans in pregnancy, in children, or with any medicine.

Sources

1. bkbn-c5-11 · government target document
   7.1 Baked beans in tomato sauce without accompaniments...0.56g salt or 225mg sodium (maximum)
   Public Health England, Salt reduction targets for 2024, September 2020 · checked 2026-09-23
2. bkbn-c5-13 · cross-sectional survey
   Dried legumes were the cheapest plant protein (mean ± SD) purchase price = NZ $0.30 ± 0.16/100 g), compared with 'other' meat-free products (purchase price = NZ $2.57 ± 0.88/100 g). The most common nutrition claims on meat analogues were about protein content. Dietary fibre claims were the most common on canned and dried legumes.
   Nutr Diet, 2023 · checked 2026-09-23
3. bkbn-c5-01 · reference dataset
   FDC 173731 Beans, baked, home prepared: Fiber 5.5 g | Sodium 422 mg | Copper 0.159 mg (8 USDA baked-bean records: fiber 4-6.9 g, sodium 1-475 mg) || CoFID 13-532 Baked beans, canned in tomato sauce: Energy 81 kcal | Protein 5.0 g | Fat 0.5 g | Carbohydrate 15.0 g | Total sugars 4.8 g | AOAC fibre 4.9 g | Sodium 261 mg | Iron 1.42 mg | Folate 29 ug || FNDDS 2707390 Baked beans: Sodium 391 mg | Fiber 4.4 g | 1 cup 260 g
   USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy, FDC 173731; CoFID 2021 (Public Health England, OGL v3.0), code 13-532; USDA FNDDS 2021-2023, fdc_id 2707390 · checked 2026-09-23
4. bkbn-c5-06 · randomised crossover trial
   Cheddar cheese, chilli con carne, baked beans and tuna were added to baked potatoes, cooked pasta and toast to determine the effect on glycaemic response. RESULTS: No significant difference was found among the various toppings and baked potato (P=0.06), pasta (P=0.06) and toast (P=0.39). However, the addition of toppings to a carbohydrate-rich food had a consistent lowering effect on glycaemic index (GI).
   Eur J Clin Nutr, 2006 · checked 2026-09-23
5. bkbn-c5-05 · randomized crossover trial
   Less than 50% reported increased flatulence from eating pinto or baked beans during the first week of each trial, but only 19% had a flatulence increase with black-eyed peas. A small percentage (3-11%) reported increased flatulence across the three studies even on control diets without flatulence-producing components.
   Nutr J, 2011 · checked 2026-09-23
6. bkbn-c5-04 · randomized crossover trial
   Postprandial glucose and insulin responses were greatest to glucose, lowest to home-cooked baked beans, and intermediate to canned baked beans. Profiles of glucose and insulin responses to home-cooked beans were flatter and more attenuated than responses to canned beans or glucose, which correlates with the in vitro data showing a six-to-eight times higher rate of starch hydrolysis in canned beans relative to boiled beans.
   Am J Clin Nutr, 1986 · checked 2026-09-23
7. bkbn-c5-02 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Thirty-eight trials (52 trial comparisons, n=2095) with a median of 6 weeks and dose of 130 g/d (0.5-0.67 cup/d) showed that whole dietary pulses decreased low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (mean difference, -0.14 mmol/L [95% CI, -0.19 to -0.08]), non-high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (-0.22 mmol/L [95% CI, -0.30 to -0.14]), apoB (apolipoprotein B) (-0.08 g/L [95% CI, -0.13 to -0.03]) and high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (-0.03 mmol/L [95% CI, -0.05 to -0.01]) with no effects on other lipids.
   J Am Heart Assoc, 2026 · checked 2026-09-23
8. bkbn-c5-03 · randomized crossover trial
   The difference in total dietary non-starch polysaccharide (NSP) of 12 g daily (6.6 g difference in soluble NSP), was insufficient to alter the plasma cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglyceride and glucose concentrations in 20 mildly hyper-cholesterolaemic men. Thus, eating an average of six 440 g cans of this source of baked beans per week, large servings, does not lower the plasma cholesterol when dietary fat is not displaced.
   Eur J Clin Nutr, 1990 · checked 2026-09-23
9. bkbn-c5-09 · total diet study
   High concentrations of BPA were found mostly in the composite samples containing canned foods, with the highest BPA level being observed in canned fish (106 ng g(-1)), followed by canned corn (83.7 ng g(-1)), canned soups (22.2-44.4 ng g(-1)), canned baked beans (23.5 ng g(-1)), canned peas (16.8 ng g(-1)), canned evaporated milk (15.3 ng g(-1)), and canned luncheon meats (10.5 ng g(-1)).
   Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2011 · checked 2026-09-23
10. bkbn-c5-10 · randomized crossover trial
    Mean BPA concentrations at 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h after meals were 152%, 206%, and 79% higher, respectively, than mean BPA concentrations before meals. Urine concentration profiles of canned food intake showed that peaks were at 4 h, the increase diminished at 6 h, and returned to baseline levels at 24 h after intake.
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2019 · checked 2026-09-23
11. bkbn-c5-12 · codified federal regulation
    (i)(A) The food has a reference amount customarily consumed greater than 30 g or greater than 2 tablespoons and contains 140 mg or less sodium per reference amount customarily consumed; or
    21 CFR 101.61, Nutrient content claims for the sodium content of foods · checked 2026-09-23
12. bkbn-c5-07 · randomized crossover trial
    A total of 11 adults on insulin pump therapy consumed six individual foods (steak, battered fish, poached eggs, low-fat yoghurt, baked beans and peanuts) on two occasions in random order, with the insulin dose determined once by the FII algorithm and once with carbohydrate counting...Compared with carbohydrate counting, the FII algorithm significantly reduced the mean blood glucose level (5.7±0.2 vs 6.5±0.2 mmol/l, P=0.003) and the mean change in blood glucose level (-0.7±0.2 vs 0.1±0.2 mmol/l, P=0.001).
    Eur J Clin Nutr, 2014 · checked 2026-09-23
13. bkbn-c5-08 · cross-sectional survey analysis
    Additionally, consumers of beans had a 23% reduced risk of increased waist size (p = 0.018) and a 22% reduced risk of being obese (p = 0.026). Also, baked bean consumption was associated with a lower systolic blood pressure.
    J Am Coll Nutr, 2008 · checked 2026-09-23