We often buy things in bulk when they’re on sale. Â This time we stocked up on bacon. Â Todd and I both have a weakness of bacon. Â If we allowed ourselves, we’d be perfectly content eating bacon every morning for breakfast. Â But we don’t. Â In fact, we probably average once or twice per month. Â But I do cook a little more frequently than that with bacon. Â Even a little bacon goes a long way in adding depth to a dish. Â You don’t get a whole lot of fat and nitrates that way but you do get a lot of flavor. Â And oh what a flavor it is!
This is a simple, easy soup to make and it’s a great way to use up any beans you’ve had sitting in your cupboard. Â We try to rotate our food storage fairly regularly and had a ton of beans that needed to be used. Â So I’ve been making chili and various bean dishes to use them up. Â Beans are a great source of protein, they’re filling, inexpensive, and are pretty versatile. Â You can make bean flour, bean burgers, and my mom makes a killer bean lasagna, just for example.
Here’s a yummy a soup I threw together after reorganizing our food storage. Â Nothing fancy, just a good, hearty, flavorful, satisfying soup. Â I made a huge pot of it and it kept Todd stocked for work lunches for a couple of days and I froze the rest. Â Our 18 month old daughter sure loved it! Â She picked out the beans, tomatoes, carrots and celery and enjoyed every last morsel – several helpings of it.
This is a great comfort soup for a cold Winter’s night.
Let’s get started!
Soak the beans overnight in a large pot of water. Â When ready to use, drain, rinse and drain them again.
Fry the bacon until crispy. Â Add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until the onions are soft and translucent.
Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 2 minutes.
Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and all seasonings.
Add the beef broth. Â Stir to combine. Â Increase the heat and bring to a boil. Â Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. Â Add salt and pepper to taste.
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- 2 cups mixed dried beans, soaked overnight in a pot of water, drained, and rinsed
- 5 slices thick cut bacon, diced
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 6 cups beef broth
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
- ¼ cup tomato paste
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 large stalk celery, diced
- 1 large bay leaf
- ½ teaspoon dried thyme
- ½ teaspoon dried rosemary
- ½ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon salt
- In a Dutch oven or heavy stock pot over medium-high heat, fry the bacon until crispy. Add the onion and cook for another 5 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another 2 minutes.
- Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, beef broth, and seasonings. Increase the heat, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes or until the beans are tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
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Shannon says
I made this last night and it was delicious. The only change I made was add one more carrot and celery. This will be a keeper in the regular rotations, thank you : – )
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
That’s awesome, Shannon, thank so much for the feedback!
Susan says
This turned out yummy. Thanks for the recipe!
The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic! I love it when something so simple, like this recipe, turns out so satisfying.