The last time I made this soup was back in 2016, when two friends and I watched a marathon viewing of the Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life. Although, at the time, there were two alterations to the original recipe that needed to be made for allergies. My good friend Kelly is allergic to onion and garlic, so the soup had to be made without those two foods. Personally, having a long list of food allergies helps to understand and know that substitutions and omissions with foods is not altogether uncommon, and necessary. This Bean and Bacon soup is so easy to make for the massive amount of resulting flavor.

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Published December 4, 2021
Updated March 27, 2022
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Storytime

Bean and bacon soup is one of the easier soup recipes that I have made. It can be prepped and on simmer within half an hour. The longest wait time is cooking the onion and the bacon before it all goes together in a pot.

While eating, our three boys kept saying how delicious this soup actually was. Cooking for our family is one of my greatest joys. Knowing exactly what they are eating and knowing the most important ingredient is love, makes me feel comfort at the end of each day.

The other day, after bath time, all of the kids crowded onto our bed for a story from Tyler. These moments are so special, and I love to capture them! Matthew, our middle son, is not here because he literally ran out of the room rather than get his picture taken. Matthew hates having his picture taken just as much as he despises snuggles.

What you will need for this Bean and Bacon Soup

Making this soup is quite easy. At most, you will need to just dice onion, carrot, celery and garlic and then also cut the bacon into smaller pieces. One aspect of making soups, is that they pretty much do their own thing. You can cut, dice and load all of the ingredients into a pot and it will literally cook itself.

Typically, our pantry is stocked with just the basics for weekly meals. Lately however, I have been adding some more essentials and random foods to the storage. Having bags of dry beans is really a good way to stock up on a food that could be used in a variety of ways. With recent food shortages and limits on the number of some foods you can buy at a time, buying items that can be stored for a long time is really a way to stock up and save money. Dry beans cost a fraction of what canned beans will cost.

Below is a cost breakdown for each ingredient in this recipe for Bean and Bacon Soup

2 Tbsp oil $0.03
Bacon $4.09
3 cans beans $2.37
1 onion $0.25
2 celery stalks $0.10
3 carrots $0.25
2 garlic cloves $0.10
2 bay leaves $0.10

The total cost for this recipe for Bean and Bacon Soup is $7.29 for a 6-Quart pot.

Bean and Bacon Soup Recipe

Ingredients for Bean and Bacon Soup

Bacon
3 cans beans
1 onion
2 celery stalks
3 carrots
2 garlic cloves
8 cups water

Directions for Bean and Bacon Soup

1. In a sink colander, rinse the 2 celery and 3 carrots and then set them aside for later.

2. Secondly, place 2 Tbsp oil in a 6-Quart pot on the stove and heat on medium-high.
3. Then on a cutting board, dice 1 onion and cook in the pot.

4. Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch pieces and then place them into the pot to cook with the onion, until browned. Cooking time will vary depending on your stove and additionally how cooked you want the bacon to be.

5. On a cutting board, cut the celery in half, then slice small and add the celery to the pot. Dice the carrots and then add them to the pot, cooking it with the garlic, onion, carrot and bacon.

In July 2019, I went to an allergist because I had a reaction to eating an almond. After nearly a decade trying to figure out my oral allergy symptoms, having a reaction to almond was pretty frightening.

My results were very expansive. I am allergic to pretty much every tree fruit, citrus, strawberry, almond, celery and carrot. Because my allergy is related to birch and oak tree pollen, cooking the fruit and vegetables helps to reduce any oral allergy symptoms. Cooking and baking from scratch helps to have 100% control over what I eat, and that also helps to control my allergies.

6. Mince the 2 garlic cloves and then add it to the pot, cooking until fragrant.
Garlic, cooking, usually only takes 1-2 minutes until it gets fragrant. No one likes over-cooked garlic!

7. Open the cans of white beans and drain them, then pour the beans into the pot. These three cans were what was available at the grocery store this week.

I used two cans of Great Northern Beans and one can of Cannellini Beans. If you choose to use dry beans, make sure to soak them overnight or they will be chewy and crunchy, not yet soft enough for a soup with just a few hours simmering.

8. Measure and then add 8 cups water to a 6-Quart pot on the stove. I typically add L.B. Jamison’s soup base with warm water instead of using stock or bouillon cubes.

L.B. Jamison’s soup base can be used to make soup, gravy and stock. The prices for these jars are very reasonable and they last literally forever. Or almost forever.

9. Finally, simmer the Bean and Bacon Soup, with 2 bay leaves, on low for 2-4 hours.

In the past, you could have heard me be a big bay leaf sceptic, however, in the more recent years they have become quite common in my stews, soups and meals. Just remember to remove them prior to serving as they are not good to digest.

Serve and enjoy!
~Monica

Recipe for Savory Bean and Bacon Soup

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