Whoever discovered beans gets a big fat medal of appreciation from yours truly. They’re just incredible. Incredible and cheap. And so is this Slow Cooker White Bean Soup. This soup is thick, warm, comforting, and flavorful… and cost me LESS THAN FIVE DOLLARS FOR THE WHOLE POT. That, my friend, is the magic of beans.
What Kind of White Beans Should I Use?
I suggest using navy beans first, because they are creamy and break down easily when cooked, which will give you this nice thick texture in the finished soup. If navy beans are not available, my second choice would be great northern beans. DO NOT use cannellini beans, which are part of the kidney bean family, and require a heavy boil to break down a natural substance called Phytohaemagglutinin, which is a gastrointestinal toxin. The slow cooker does not get the soup hot enough for long enough to break down the toxins in those beans.
Do I Need to Soak the Beans?
Nope! This recipe does not require pre-soaking the beans. Some people claim that soaking beans then discarding the soaking water can reduce flatulence, but I, personally, find no difference. If you prefer to pre-soak your beans, you will need to add less water to this recipe and will probably need less cooking time. I have not tested that method, so I do not have a specific amount of water or cooking time to suggest.
Can I Use Broth in Place of Water?
This awesome Slow Cooker White Bean Soup uses a medley of spices, herbs, and vegetables to make its own flavorful broth right in the slow cooker – no Better Than Bouillon soup base this time around, folks. Of course you always have the option to use broth in place of water if you wish, just be aware that you probably won’t need to add salt at the end of the recipe, as directed below.
Can I Add Meat?
Sure, if you prefer meat in your soup I would suggest adding a ham hock or a smoked turkey leg to the slow cooker with your soup as it cooks. They will provide a wonderfully smoky flavor and will reduce the amount of salt you’ll need to add at the end.
Is This Soup Freezer Friendly?
Yes! This Slow Cooker White Bean Soup freezer beautifully. Make sure to divide it into single portions and chill it in the refrigerator first, then transfer to the freezer once cold. I like to freeze my soups in reusable Ziploc containers, but freezer bags also work great. To reheat either use the defrost function on the microwave, or transfer to a soup pot and reheat over low, stirring often, until heated through.
Love white bean soup? Check out my Chunky Ham and Bean Soup or Easy Rosemary Garlic White Bean Soup.
Slow Cooker White Bean Soup
Servings 6 about 1.5 cups eachIngredients
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.32)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.32)
- 1 yellow onion ($0.11)
- 4 carrots (about 1/2 lb.) ($0.30)
- 4 ribs celery ($0.46)
- 1 lb. dry navy beans* ($1.25)
- 1 bay leaf ($0.30)
- 1 tsp dried rosemary ($0.10)
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika ($0.05)
- Freshly cracked black pepper (15-20 cranks of a pepper mill) ($0.05)
- 6 cups water ($0.00)
- 2 tsp salt, or to taste ($0.05)
Instructions
- Mince the garlic, dice the onion, slice the celery, and peel and slice the carrots. Add the olive oil, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots to a large (5qt or larger) slow cooker.
- Give the beans a quick rinse in a colander and then add them to the slow cooker, along with the bay leaf, rosemary, thyme, paprika, and some freshly cracked pepper.
- Add six cups of water to the slow cooker and stir to combine the ingredients. Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 4-5 hours.
- After 8 hours on low or 4 hours on high, stir the soup and begin to mash the beans against the side of the slow cooker to thicken the soup. Once the soup is thickened to your liking, start adding salt to taste. Begin with 1/2 tsp and add more until the soup tastes flavorful to you. I used about 2 tsp total.
- Serve the soup hot with crackers or crusty bread for dipping.
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Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos!
How to Make Crockpot White Bean Soup – Step by Step Photos
Dice one yellow onion, four ribs of celery, and peel and slice 1/2 lb. carrots (about 4 carrots). Mince 4 cloves of garlic. Add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and 2 Tbsp olive oil to a slow cooker (5 qt. or larger).
You’ll need one pound of dry navy beans or great northern beans. Again, DO NOT use cannellini beans, which are part of the kidney bean family, and require a heavy boil to break down a natural substance called Phytohaemagglutinin, which is a gastrointestinal toxin. The slow cooker does not get the soup hot enough for long enough to break down the toxins in those beans.
Briefly rinse the beans in a colander, then add them to the slow cooker along with 1 bay leaf, 1 tsp dried rosemary, 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, some freshly cracked pepper, and six cups of water.
Briefly stir the contents of the slow cooker to make sure all the flavors are distributed, then place a lid on top and cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours.
After cooking on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-9 hours it will look a little something like this. All the vegetables will have floated up to the top and the beans will have absorbed most of the water. Test a bean to make sure they are very soft. If they’re not yet soft, cook for one hour more (they should definitely be soft by this point, unless your beans are very old. Old beans sometimes do not soften no matter how long they are cooked).
Stir the soup and smash the beans against the side of the pot, which will thicken the soup (or you can use an immersion blender). The soup at this point does not contain ANY salt, so now it’s time to add salt so you can really taste all the different flavors. Begin adding salt, starting with 1/2 tsp and adding more until the soup is flavorful. I added 2 tsp total.
Serve hot with some crusty bread for dipping!
Oh my goodness, so delicious and so easy! The only thing that could have this better was if I had nice crusty rosemary bread to go with it… the soup itself was absolutely delightful!
Up till now, I’ve really liked all of the recipes I’ve tried from this site, but this was a disappointment when made exactly according to the recipe – it was the blandest soup I’ve ever made. I added a lot more salt (double the original amount), which gave it more flavor without tasting salty. Also added some liquid smoke, more thyme, and some oregano. With the extra seasoning, it was okay.
It was easy enough to do that I would actually give it another try – but using vegetable broth or bouillon instead of plain water, and lots more seasoning. I have a vegetarian in the family, otherwise I would make it with chicken broth and/or ham. It didn’t occur to me until later, but I have Bacon Salt, which is vegetarian and might have given a boost to the flavor.
I did not have any problem with the beans getting soft, and I have very hard water. Using old beans is much more likely to be the problem with the beans not getting soft.
The soup is delicious! I followed the recipe to the “t.” You can definitely taste all of the spices! I bought some bread rolls to dip into the soup! I also love how budget friendly the meal is! Overall, it is yummy!
I’ve never done this in the crock pot (yet), but I’ve been cooking beans regularly for many years, since I was the sole parent of my now 16-year-old and we were on the WIC program. We received dry beans, and they handed out the “Bean Cook Book”. So, I learned how to cook them, because that’s what we had! Turns out, they weren’t as scary or difficult as I imagined. :)
You can totally use cannellini beans for this, you just have to soak, rinse (thoroughly!), and replace the water first. Be sure to do this, though, or your gut will pay for it. I always do the “quick soak” method but then let them soak for longer than suggested. I do the full 8 hours even after boiling them for a few minutes. It seems to make them softer this way, and I never have to mash them when cooking – they just thicken up the broth toward the end on their own. Makes pinto beans great for mashing too, and I also add salt to the soak water (it adds a lot of flavor, and you rinse this water out before cooking anyway, so I use a lot of salt in this step.)
Seriously so easy and delicious that I have made this twice in the past few weeks!
So glad I found this recipe. Fast dinner on cold winter nights. We put it over rice it’s good. Thank Youss
Absolutly delicious and nutritious!
I don’t think I’ve ever commented on a recipe before but I had to this time… I LOVE this soup. It is now a staple in my rotation. The smell of it cooking all day was incredible. I didn’t have smoked paprika on hand so I just used regular and it was delicious!! Thank you so much for this, it is just what we were craving during a huge snow storm. I will definitely be checking out your other recipes.
I can’t find dry navy beans anywhere! Is there a decent substitute?
Hmm, if you can find any type of small white bean other than cannellini (they need to be boiled stove top to break down their natural toxin), you should be good.
I have had this in my crockpot for 8 hrs in high. The beans are still hard ( presoaked them overnight) soup is thin. Followed recipe to the letter-what could be wrong??
Same happened to me! So disappointing.
The person that said it was bland probably put too much water.
Love this soup soo easy to make. thank You
My kid likes to make this when it’s his turn to cook. He doubles up on the garlic and rosemary from our garden and adds a can of crushed tomatoes. We look forward to eating it every week.
Are Lima beans in that same bean family? If I use dried Lima beans should I boil them first??
I don’t believe they are, but I’m not sure lima beans have the right texture or flavor for this soup.
Great recipe! I’m not a salt person but recipe definitely needs some salt! I also would love to know the nutrition facts!