Gordon Ramsay Adds One Spicy Ingredient To His Baked Beans

If you're looking for a way to make your next batch of baked beans a bit more unique and interesting, then look no further than Gordon Ramsay's method: Adding a kick of spice. As he explains on his Hell's Kitchen YouTube channel, "the individual taste of baked beans, they're somewhat bland, so I always like to make them a little bit more spicy. So, a nice finely chopped chili with the seeds." 

Ramsay starts by adding chopped chili into the hot pan along with other ingredients such as pancetta and diced red onion. He then stirs in brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce before adding the baked beans. You can follow Ramsay's recipe, of course — as we know it will be delicious. But you can also follow your favorite baked beans recipe and simply add in the fresh red chili pepper for a kick of spice, even if you're not cooking it over the stove like Ramsay.

A freshly chopped red chili pepper is not the only way to add spiciness to baked beans. You could also use a different type of pepper — in Tasting Table's recipe for fiery instant pot pinto beans, we add spice by using jalapeños or, for an even hotter addition, a serrano pepper. Also, keep in mind that, no matter what type of pepper you use, you can remove the seeds to make the heat a bit milder if you have a lower spice tolerance.

Another way to add heat is to turn to your spice rack. A little bit of ground cayenne pepper goes a long way, so all you have to do is add about ½ teaspoon into the mix to notice the spicy kick. Again, feel free to adjust the amount of cayenne based on your spice preferences. 

Or, you could add gochujang into the recipe to take the baked beans to the next level. The Korean red chili paste is the perfect way to add in some spice in a flavorful way — along with its spiciness, gochujang also has notes of earthiness and umami — and there's even some subtle sweetness there. Just like with cayenne pepper, a little goes a long way. All you need is one teaspoon to make a difference.