No matter the season, we can always have a chilly, rainy day. On stormy days when the skies are filled with black clouds, the wind is blowing, and it is raining cats and dogs, we can find ourselves longing for something that will warm our hearts and hands. Not to mention the cold winter days! Fortunately, this 15 Bean Soup fits the bill perfectly for just such a time. It takes just minutes to prepare and cooks easily and effortlessly in your slow cooker. Your kitchen stays nice and cool, and yet you end up with a lovely warm soup that your family is sure to love!
This is the perfect recipe for the larger family, or for when you want to feed a crowd. Even if you are a smaller family, you will really enjoy the ease and comfort of this hearty, healthy, and delicious soup. It can easily be broken down into smaller containers when done and frozen, ready to pull out and reheat at a later time!
WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE 15 BEAN SOUP
You will be happy to know that this delicious and simple recipe requires very few ingredients. So, if you have a well-stocked store cupboard, you can easily be enjoying this tasty soup by the end of today. Moreover, one of the best things about using a slow cooker/crockpot to cook this recipe is that there is no need to soak the beans ahead of time.
On the other hand, if you do not have one and don’t intend to buy it, you will still manage to prepare this 15 beans soup. However, a little more work would be necessary.
| INGREDIENTS |
| 1 package of 15 bean soup mix, with the flavour packet |
| 8 cups of chicken broth |
| 1 leftover hambone with meat, or 1 pound of diced cooked ham |
| 1 large onion, peeled and chopped |
| 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced |
| 1 tsp chili powder |
| 1 (15 oz) can of diced tomatoes, drained |
| The juice of one lemon |
| Hot sauce to taste |
TIPS AND TRICKS TO MAKE THE BEST 15 BEAN SOUP RECIPE
If you follow my hints and tips there is no reason why your 15 Bean Soup cannot be the tastiest ever!
Prep Tips
- Read through the recipe several times before beginning to familiarise yourself with any ingredients and equipment. Moreover, it is very important to understand the techniques needed to make this recipe. Trust me, it can easily turn out a disaster!
- Then, assemble any ingredient you need, before beginning. This simple action is like a checklist and can help to prevent you from leaving anything essential to the recipe out. However, I always do this.
- Although I use chicken stock (or vegetable) for this soup do add the flavour, you can be inventive. Therefore, here it really depends on your and your family preferences. Especially, when you cook for your kids, try to add the flavors they love. In this way, this soup woul become their favorite!
- Rinse your bean mixture well, drain, and then check through it for any debris. There are often small stones and dry pieces of plant material in the bags of bean mixture. One thing you do not want to happen is for someone to bit down onto a small stone and break a tooth.
Cooking Tips
- Do not add the acidic ingredients until close to the end of cooking. However, you should add the other veggies only when the beans have softened. If you add the tomatoes and lemon juice too soon this can greatly hamper the softening of your beans.
- If you need to soak your beans, reduce the liquid required in the recipe by 1 cup.
- Lemon juice adds another level of freshness and helps to enhance the flavour of your soup broth. So, I use fresh lemon juice, but you can also use the bottled one. However, I recommend using it fresh if you have any lemon left in the fridge.
- You can often buy a ham bone or a ham hock from your local butcher to use if you do not have one of your own. Failing that, it is completely acceptable to use chopped cooked ham. Either way, your soup will still be delicious.
- This is a thick and hearty soup. My husband loves his soups this way! If you find your soup is too thick, feel free to add an additional cup of broth or stock to thin it out a bit.
- If you think your soup is too thin, a handy trick which you can use to thicken it is to remove a cup of the beans from the soup. However, you should do that only once they have softened. Then, puree them, using a blender or immersion blender, and stir them back into the soup for the last half hour or so of cooking. This also adds a lush creaminess to the finished soup. You can also mash them with a fork. My mother always did this, even when she was making baked beans.
PREPARATION STEPS
Step 1
First of all, rinse the soup mix in cold water and pick through it, discarding any unwanted debris. (sticks, small stones, etc.) Also, set the seasoning packet aside for later.
Step 2
Next, place the bean mix, onions, garlic, ham bone (or diced ham), chicken broth, and chili powder in a 6-quart crockpot. However, as I said before, if you don’t have a crockpot, you can use any other pot. You would just need to soak the beans ahead of time.
Step 3
Now, just cover and cook on high for 5 hours, until the beans are tender. (Alternately you can cook it on low for 7 to 8 hours.) However, if you don’t have that kind of time, try this minestrone soup instead!
Step 4
If you have used a ham bone, remove it from the crockpot. Then, chop any meat that has been left on the bone, discarding the bone. After that, just return the chopped meat to the crock pot.
Step 15
Now, just stir in the diced tomatoes, seasoning packet from the bean mix, and the lemon juice. Also, you can add hot sauce to taste. Finally, cover and cook for an additional half an hour.
Step 6
Serve hot, ladled into heated bowls. Enjoy your meal!
FREEZING FOR LATER THE 15 BEAN SOUP
All in all, the final result is beautiful and so delicious! Also, if you use the exact quantity of ingredients I advised you to, it will come out as more soup than you probably expected. So, I always divide it into single-serving plastic containers with lids and freeze it that way. I use flat containers that stack and store easily in my freezer.
My husband will often want some soup for his lunch or supper, and I may not feel like cooking the exact that moment. So, this trick comes really handy, sometimes!
Believe me, it is super helpful to already have some single-sized servings of soup in the freezer ready to pull out and thaw. However, I use the thaw program on my microwave to thaw it out. As you probably already know, the smaller containers thaw out quicker than larger ones. They also reheat easily in the microwave as well. Simply transfer the 15 bean soup to a larger-sized covered container and cook it for several minutes, stirring it every 30 seconds or so. Just do that until you have heated it to the temperature you desire!
WHAT TO SERVE WITH 15 BEAN SOUP
When it comes to serving the 15 bean soup, my husband really loves crusty bread or rolls with his soup. Also, if you spread the bread with softened butter it just goes perfectly on the side. However, I like crackers myself, but that is the Canadian Maritimer in me. I often crumble a couple of saltines on top and then butter a few to enjoy on the side. Moreover, if you are really want to create a special homey touch, why not bake a pan of your favorite cornbread to go along with it? Also, you can go a little further and cook cornbread muffins! A salad on the side is another great addition to what is already a delicious and welcome meal!
FINAL THOUGHTS
This truly is the perfect hearty lunch or light supper for those chilly days when you might just want something warm, comforting, and simply delicious! Not to mention, your family and friends are sure to enjoy this simple and tasty soup, and you will love the ease at which you can prepare it. Enjoy!
Last but not least, please feel free to ask any further questions about the ingredients list, the preparation process, or about anything really. I am always delighted to see how my readers really give their best to create a super delicious meal. Furthermore, share all your experiences with this 15 bean soup recipe in the comment section. We are all here to learn from each other!
15 Bean Soup Recipe
Marie
An old family favourite which is perfect to serve on a chilly day. It takes just minutes to prepare and cooks all day long and slow in your crockpot with little or no effort.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 10 minutes mins
Cook Time 5 hours hrs 30 minutes mins
Total Time 5 hours hrs 40 minutes mins
Calories 250 kcal
Ingredients
- 1 package of 15 bean soup mix with the flavour packet
- 8 cups of chicken broth
- 1 leftover hambone with meat or 1 pound of diced cooked ham
- 1 large onion peeled and chopped
- 1 clove garlic peeled and minced
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 1 15 oz can of diced tomatoes, drained
- The juice of one lemon
- Hot sauce to taste
Instructions
Rinse the soup mix in cold water and pick through it, discarding any unwanted debris. (sticks, small stones, etc.) Set the seasoning packet aside for later.
Place the bean mix, onions, garlic, ham bone (or diced ham), chicken broth, and chili powder in a 6-quart crock pot.
Cover and cook on high for 5 hours, until the beans are tender. (Alternately you can cook it on low for 7 to 8 hours.)
If you have used a ham bone, remove it from the crock pot. Chop any meat that has been left on the bone, discarding the bone. Return the chopped meat to the crock pot.
Stir in the diced tomatoes, seasoning packet from the bean mix and lemon juice. Add hot sauce to taste. Cover and cook for an additional half an hour.
Serve hot, ladled into heated bowls along with some crusty bread on the side.
Marie
Marie Rayner is a retired Chef, freelance writer, recipe developer, food blogger, and Cookbook author. She makes her home in Chester, UK, where she lives with her husband, Todd, and their much beloved English co*cker, Mitzie. Her motto is “Life is far too short to eat bad food,” and her goal is to share delicious and easy recipes which anyone can enjoy and cook in the comfort of their own home.
