Bean and Bacon Soup

5 Reviews
ADD YOUR REVIEW
Photo: Antonis Achilleos
Prep Time
10 Mins
Other Time
15 Mins
Yield
Makes 4 to 6 servings
By Cynthia Nicholson
February 2005
RECIPE BY Real Simple

Lightly sautéed veggies and crisp bits of bacon are combined with canned beans to make an easy soup that takes away the chill on a cold winter day. Change the types of canned beans and vegetables used to make all kinds of interesting variations on the theme.

Ingredients

  • 4 strips bacon
  • 1 large carrot, chopped (about ¾ cup)
  • 2 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
  • 4 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 2 15 ½-ounce cans great Northern beans, drained
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

How to Make It

In a large Dutch oven or saucepan, fry the bacon until crisp. Remove and drain on paper towels. Let cool, chop, and set aside. Over medium heat, add the carrot to the pan drippings in the Dutch oven and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the celery, onion, and garlic, stirring well and cooking for 3 minutes more. Add the beans and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Let simmer for 10 minutes. Uncover and, with a potato masher or large slotted spoon, partially mash the bean mixture until it thickens slightly. Stir in the parsley, salt, pepper, and bacon. Serve hot.

Tip: You can substitute lima, cannellini, or borlotti beans for the great Northern beans in this recipe.

You May Like

Advertisement

Build-a-Meal

Find recipes with ingredients that you have on hand.

+ +

Read More

Advertisement

Ratings & Reviews

Roughleyme's Review

dburge
October 18, 2013
This is a great base for bean with bacon soup. Yes, the ingredients don't lend much to flavor but that's where the creativity kicks in. Now, I would never use water for my soups. I always use broth (chicken, beef, veggie or fish if seafood soup). I also added 1 teaspoon of fresh thyme, 1 bay leaf and let it simmer for 20 minutes to ensure the flavors were extracted from the herbs. I also added 4 cans of beans and used 32 oz. of chicken broth. I had a parmigiano-reggiano rind of cheese in my freezer waiting for this very moment that I made a soup that needed extra flavor. I let that steep in the soup to flavor it even more. I pureed about half the soup to get the thick, creamy consistency. This soup was so incredibly flavorful and comforting. Check out my blog and see the results. http://chefjencowen.wordpress.com/

SpikeyTheYorkie's Review

Derickls
May 29, 2011
N/A

Derickls's Review

ladywaffle3
October 14, 2009
Very bland, will not make again. relies completely on the bacon for flavor, so bites without the bacon don't have any flavor. needs some spices to improve

dburge's Review

Roughleyme
August 09, 2009
The was a quick recipe for a great soup. I think this could be better if left in the slow cooker so the beans cook down into to thicken the soup. I might try doing so next time.

ladywaffle3's Review

SpikeyTheYorkie
February 06, 2009
This was soooo bland!!! I was very disappointed. It looked like it was going to be tasty! If I was to make this again, I'd use chicken stock instead of water and up it to 3 cups, not 2. And I would definitely add more spices. It was very simple to make, which was nice.
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.myrecipes.com