Outrageously Good 5 Bean Soup
What, you didn’t get to the grocery store this week? 5 Bean Soup uses what is in most people’s refrigerators and pantries, then benefits even more from a few additions that you might have in your freezer.
And who doesn’t like a good, stick-to-the-ribs soup that is SO good for you? I like to serve this soup with my Best Multi Grain Bread to get the full benefit of that beans-and-starch protein synergy plus lots of fiber in a super delicious way. But any crusty bread is amenable to making this 5 Bean Soup a nutritious meal in a bowl.
I prefer dried beans over canned whenever there is time because they last forever and don’t take up a lot of room in the pantry. Using dried beans also gives you more control over the sodium content in your final dish. While canned beans are good in a pinch, try to keep a variety of dried beans in your pantry. If you need to use canned beans, rinse them thoroughly and remember that dried beans triple in volume when fully cooked.
My favorites are: Dark Red Kidney beans, Pinto beans, Navy beans, Great Northern beans, Black beans and Garbanzo beans. And let’s throw in Split Green peas and Lentils as pantry staples!
Some notes on cooking dried beans:
- The longer that you soak dried beans (up to 24 hours) the fewer gas-causing compounds will remain in your final dish.
- Discard the soaking water, as it will carry with it a lot of gas-causing carbohydrates.
- You can pressure cook dried beans from their hard state, but you will give up a small degree of finished softness. You will also get beans that may cause more gas (see above points).
- Do not add baking soda to beans. Baking soda does make beans more tender, but destroys the B vitamin thiamine that is naturally present in most beans.
- Salt beans toward the end of their cooking time, as salt introduced earlier can make the beans’ skins tough.
The following 5 Bean Soup recipe has instructions for cooking both on the stovetop and using an Instant Pot or pressure cooker. When cooked with the above tips in mind, either cooking method is great!
- 1 cup Dry Black Beans
- 1/2 cup Dry Kidney Beans
- 1/2 cup Dry Pinto Beans
- 1/2 cup Dry Navy Beans
- 1/2 cup Dry Northern Beans
- 8 oz Smoked Meat (optional)
- 1 tsp Rubbed Sage
- 1 tsp Cumin
- 1 tsp Dried Rosemary (2” sprig, fresh)
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 2 Large Bay Leaves
- 3 Medium Carrots (peeled and diced, about 2 cups)
- 1 Large Onion (chopped)
- 6 clove Garlic (chopped)
- 4 cup Chicken Bone Broth (32 oz.)
- 2 cup Water
- 1 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt
Using a large colander, rinse and sort beans.
Measure all beans into a large pot. Cover with 7 cups of water.
Soak beans in the refrigerator for 5 to 24 hours.
Pour off the soaking liquid and rinse beans well.
Place beans in a Dutch oven or soup pot and add all spices and flavorings except salt. If using smoked meat, add to pot.
Add Chicken stock and enough water to cover by about an inch over the beans (about 2 cups).
Place over medium high heat and bring temperature up to boiling for 10 minutes. Immediately reduce temperature to low/simmer.
Cook beans for 1 to 1½ hours, or until tender.
Spoon out 1 cup of soup into a tall container, being careful to leave out the bay leaves and any smoke meat.
Using an immersion blender or large fork, process or mash the beans to a smooth consistency.
Return processed beans to soup pot and add salt.
Adjust seasonings as desired and add water if needed.
Serve with a good bread and accompany with chopped parsley or cilantro, green onion, sour cream or any combination desired.
Pour mixture into an Instant Pot and set to pressure cook for 30 minutes.
You can cook your beans without soaking when using an Instant Pot. Simply place all ingredients into the Instant Pot and set to pressure cook for 35 minutes.Once the pressure cook cycle is finished, allow pressure to dissipate naturally, about 20 minutes.
Carefully remove lid and spoon out 1 cup of soup into a tall container, being careful to leave out the bay leaves and any smoke meat.
Using an immersion blender or large fork, process or mash the beans to a smooth consistency.
Return processed beans to soup pot and add salt.
Adjust seasonings as desired and add water if neeeded.
Serve with a good bread and accompany with chopped parsley or cilantro, green onion, sour cream or any combination desired.