There’s something about bean soup that just feels cozy: nice and filling, warms you up on a cold day, and requires fairly minimal effort on the cooking front. I made this soup last year and then the springtime weather promptly returned with no time for me to post another wintery item.

With a recent cold snap here, I decided to resurrect this recipe and share it with all of you. Full of veggies, easily made vegan, and quick to throw in the slow cooker, this is a great meal for a busy week. Ditch the bacon (or use pre-cooked crumbles) and there’s almost no hands-on time other than chopping some veggies. I like to prep the veggies the night before, dump everything in the crock pot in the morning, and come home to delicious aromas and a hot meal. A quick puree with the stick blender and a side of bread and/or a vegetable and you’re good to go.

This soup is one I like to describe as comfortable. Nothing too snazzy with the flavors but it tastes great, fills you up, and is a healthy way to end the day. It keeps for at least a week and reheats well in the microwave, so don’t be afraid of a large batch even if you’re on your own to finish it off.

I personally nixed the celery in favor of zucchini, but if you have celery on hand throw it in there too. With it all pureed together at the end the flavors meld into one instead of a more traditional and chunky vegetable soup. It turned out fairly thick, great for topping with extra bacon, cheese, chives, or whatever else you like to throw on there.

Warm yourself from the inside out with a healthy and filling dinner, then maybe splurge on dessert.

Bacon Bean Soup

Adapted from Emily Bites
Makes about 2 quarts

Ingredients

8 slices bacon¹

3 (15oz cans) Great Northern beans, rinsed
1 can butter beans, rinsed
6-8 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 medium zucchini, diced (optional)
4 stalks celery, diced (optional)
4 cloves garlic, minced
32 oz chicken or vegetable broth
1-2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp parsley (fresh or dried)
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp sage
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

salt and pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Fry bacon or bake for 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees. Allow to drain, then crumble into small pieces. Set aside.
2. Add half the bacon and all remaining ingredients (except salt and pepper) to a slow cooker and stir gently. Cook on low for about 8 hours, or on high for about 4 hours.
3. Use an immersion blender to puree at least half the soup (I did all of it, but you can stop whenever you like the texture) in the crock pot, or carefully remove 3-4 cups of soup to a blender and puree, then stir back into the crock pot.
4. Taste soup and add salt and pepper if necessary. Top with remaining bacon and serve hot. Also delicious with a little grated cheese!

Notes

¹ It would also be great with cubed ham. Great way to use those leftovers! Or nix the meat entirely for a vegan/vegetarian option, it’s delicious that way too.