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Homemade Bean and Bacon Soup

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This homemade bean and bacon soup is made entirely from scratch and yet just as easy! I soaked navy beans overnight and then simmered them with sautéed onions, carrots and celery in a light tomato and chicken broth. A one pot soup I know you'll love! Oh and my favorite part is the many pieces of Applewood bacon throughout! So good!
Course Soups, Stews & Chilis
Cuisine American
Keyword bacon, bean, homemade soup, navy bean, soup
Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time 2 hours
Servings 8 servings
Calories 330
Author Laurie McNamara

Ingredients

  • 1 pound dried navy beans
  • 2 quarts cold water
  • 8 slices applewood smoked bacon
  • 3/4 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1/2 cup diced carrot
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth plus more as needed
  • 8 ounces tomato sauce
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • teaspoons kosher salt more or less to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper more or less to taste

Instructions

  • The night before: sort through 1 pound of navy beans, discarding any broken peas and debris. Place into a large bowl and cover with 2 quarts of water. Cover and let the beans soak over night then drain. They will still be quite firm.
  • Place 4 strips of bacon into your (cold) 6 quart Dutch oven. Heat over medium and cook until crispy, turning every so often. Transfer cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate and repeat with the last of the bacon. Once cooled, coarsely chop the bacon and set a side.
  • Drain all but 2 tablespoons of bacon fat from the pot. Add in the onion, carrot, celery and a pinch of salt and stir to coat in the bacon fat. Cover and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Add in the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
  • Next, add in the beans, broth, tomato sauce and a pinch of sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Once the soup is at a boil, reduce to medium-low heat, crack the lid a sliver so only small amounts of steam can escape and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until beans are cooked through and are tender.
  • Transfer 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup to a blender. Remove the plug from the lid and carefully hold a kitchen towel over the hole while your puree the soup until smooth. Add the puree back to the pot with the remaining soup and stir until combined.
  • Add in half of the chopped bacon, taste and season with 1-1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, more or less to taste.
  • It may be necessary to thin the soup out with more chicken broth if it's too thick.
  • Ladle soup into bowls and top with reserved bacon pieces.

Notes

If using canned beans you will need about 3 (15 ounce) cans of navy beans. Drain and rinse the beans and add them to the sautéed vegetables. Use 4 cups of low-sodium broth (instead of 6 cups) and follow with the remaining ingredients. Cook for 30 minutes with the lid askew, taste and season to taste and adding more broth in the end if needed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 330kcal | Carbohydrates: 41g | Protein: 20g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 809mg | Potassium: 1029mg | Fiber: 15g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1497IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 4mg