Description
Hearty bean with bacon soup brings rustic comfort straight from grandma’s kitchen to your table. Smoky bacon and creamy beans blend into a soul-warming meal that satisfies you down to your toes.
Ingredients
Scale
Main Proteins and Beans:
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 3 cups navy beans, cooked (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
Vegetables:
- 1 small onion, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, diced
- 2 celery stalks, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
Liquid and Seasoning Ingredients:
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 1 cup water
- 1 (8 ounces/226 grams) can tomato sauce
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 0.5 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 bay leaf
- Salt, to taste
- Pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, chopped (optional, for garnish)
Instructions
- Render bacon in a spacious pot over medium flame until achieving a crisp, golden-brown texture. Extract the bacon pieces using a perforated utensil, preserving the flavorful fat within the cooking vessel.
- Introduce diced onions, carrots, and celery into the residual bacon drippings. Sauté the vegetable medley until they soften and become translucent, approximately 6-8 minutes.
- Incorporate minced garlic and briefly toast for 30-45 seconds to release its aromatic essence.
- Pour navy beans, chicken broth, water, tomato sauce, smoked paprika, thyme, and bay leaf into the pot. Elevate the mixture to a gentle, bubbling state.
- Reduce heat to a low simmer, cover the pot, and allow ingredients to harmonize for 22-28 minutes, enabling flavors to develop fully.
- For enhanced creaminess, extract approximately two cups of soup, transform into a silky purée using a blender, then reintegrate into the main pot.
- Fold the previously crisped bacon back into the soup, reserving a small portion for garnishing. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper according to preference.
- Ladle the steaming soup into serving bowls, crown with reserved bacon fragments and optional fresh parsley. Accompany with rustic, crusty bread for a complete dining experience.
Notes
- Swap regular bacon for turkey bacon to create a lighter, lower-fat version that still packs incredible flavor.
- Remove bay leaf before blending to prevent accidentally grinding tough leaf fragments into the soup.
- Enhance protein content by adding diced cooked chicken or ham during the final simmer for extra heartiness.
- Use vegetable broth and omit bacon for a complete vegetarian adaptation that maintains rich, smoky undertones through smoked paprika.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Dinner, Snacks
- Method: Simmering
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 6
- Calories: 240
- Sugar: 4 g
- Sodium: 800 mg
- Fat: 10 g
- Saturated Fat: 3 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 8 g
- Protein: 12 g
- Cholesterol: 20 mg