New club captain George Furbank doubled up early on, with Fin Smith and Fraser Dingwall also scoring during the first half of the Mobbs Memorial Match at cinch Stadium at Franklin's Gardens.
The trio, as well as fellow international star Ollie Sleightholme, were withdrawn at half-time to keep them fresh for next Friday's Gallagher Premiership opener at Bath, but Saints pushed on to plunder two more tries against the Blues.
Charlie Savala and Tarek Haffar also dotted down on a night when the black, green and gold showed their class against their Championship opponents, who had several Saints players in their matchday squad.
Nathan Langdon was one Saint playing for the Blues, and the hooker, a summer signing for Phil Dowson's side, scored against his employers during the first period.
Bedford kept battling and they brought the likes of Jake Garside, Joel Matavesi and Jamie Elliott off the bench after the break.
But Saints ultimately had too much of a lead as their England men laid the foundations for a welcome win ahead of the start of their title defence.
Here’s the best of the action, captured by Getty Images photographer David Rogers...
