Intuitive Homemaking: Bean and Bacon Soup

It occurred to me lately that I could post tried-and-true favorites here too. True to form, though, this one took a year or two to perfect. When my husband was little, his favorite Campbell’s soup was Bean & Bacon. That hasn’t changed, actually, but I can’t afford to buy enough pre-prepared soup to feed my entire family and have them all go away full. I had to come up with an alternative version about twelve years ago. So I read the ingredient list on the can: tomatoes, beans, carrots, onion, bacon . . . how hard could it be? The difficult part would be the beans. The only beans I grew up eating were green or jelly, so it took some experimentation to find a method that worked every time.

Cooking beans so they are soft and flavorful, yet do not cause hours of discomfort afterward is the tricky part. I have since learned that most of the gasses are released from beans during their first soaking. So anytime I plan to cook beans for dinner (chili, refried beans, etc), I have to think about it the night before.

Put the measured amount of beans in a bowl or crockpot with 2-3 times the amount of water to cover them. Let them soak all night and drain in the morning.

That should take care of most of the unpleasantness of beans.

Place the beans in a crockpot and cover with the same amount of water as before. Let them cook at least 4-5 hours on high or 6+ hours on low, depending on when you want to finish the soup. Do not add ANYTHING else to the beans while they are cooking. The minute you do, the beans stop cooking, and crunchy-bean soup is disgusting. Test the beans occasionally and when they are soft enough for your personal preference, then you can finish making the soup. And I always drain the beans a second time—just to be sure.

So here’s my original recipe, though I always have to double it now that half of my kids are as big as I am. I’d triple it, but my crockpot can’t hold that much.

1 ½ c. white beans (amount set to soak the night before)

15 oz can tomato sauce
3 c. water
2 T. butter
1 small onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 cloves garlic, pressed
½ c. real bacon bits (I hate fake bacon bits. This is not Bean and TVP soup. You could cook your own bacon and use the drippings instead of butter, but frankly, that’s too much work for me).
½ t. liquid smoke (key for great flavor—available in the grocery store by the Worchestershire sauce and similar oddities)
½ t. salt
¼ t. pepper

Place cooked & drained beans back in crockpot along with tomato sauce and water. (Note: sometimes, since I’m doubling the recipe, I’ll make one can diced tomatoes for a chunkier soup) Sauté remaining ingredients together.

Add them to the crockpot. Allow to simmer for at least an hour before serving. The longer it cooks, the better the flavor. It’s even better the next day, but even with a double batch, none of it ever makes it that long.