Bean Soup in a Slow Cooker

Bean soup in a slow cooker is a cheap meal which goes a long way.

This recipe for bean soup is packed with potato, onion, and celery, combined with beans which are a great source of plant protein.

Once you’ve mastered this easy recipe for bean soup, you can experiment with additional seasonings.

What I love most about this recipe is the addition of a meaty ham bone. Vegetarians may skip this ingredient, but I have to say this really enhances the flavour!

Warning: Be careful with beans. Red and white kidney beans contain a toxin which is not destroyed by slow cooking.

Beans should be soaked overnight in water and boiled for 15 minutes in fresh water to destroy any toxins.

Read: Are kidney beans toxic?

Bean Soup in a Slow Cooker

Recipe by Linda D'AngeloDifficulty: Moderate

Servings

4-6

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

10

hours 

Ingredients

• 7 cups water

• 1 pound/ 450 g dried navy beans, rinsed

• 3 medium potatoes, pared

• 3 medium onions, peeled

• 2 stalks celery

• 3 sprigs parsley

• 1 clove garlic, peeled

• 1 large meaty ham bone

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon pepper

• 5 cups water

Cooking steps

• Soak the beans overnight.
• Discard the water and replace with fresh water.
• Heat the water until boiling, then boil for 15 minutes.
• Once boiled, drain the beans and place them in 7 cups of fresh water.
• Finely chop potatoes, onions, celery, parsley, and garlic.
• Turn beans and water into a large electric cooker.
• Add the ham bone, seasonings, and finely chopped ingredients.
• Cover and cook on low for 10 – 12 hours.
• Remove the bone from the soup.
• Remove any meat from bone, cut into small pieces and mix with soup.