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Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup (Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker or Stove Top)

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This delicious, hearty Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup is inexpensive and easy to make, plus leftovers are even better the next day!

This delicious, hearty Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup is inexpensive and easy to make, plus leftovers are even better the next day!
Navy Bean Soup

Bacon makes everything better (in my opinion), especially in this Navy Bean Soup. I love soups with beans such as this 16 Bean Soup, and this Pasta Fagiole. I made this in my Instant Pot (affil link), which is a slow cooker, electric pressure cooker, rice cooker, steamer, yogurt maker in one, but I’ve also included slow cooker and stove top directions as well.

This delicious, hearty Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup is inexpensive and easy to make, plus leftovers are even better the next day!

There’s a slight chill in the air this week which is putting me in soup mode. It’s also putting me in curl up with a book mode with a cozy throw while dinner is simmering in the kitchen – do you feel me?  This soup, it’s perfect for this cooler weather and uses pantry staples such as canned beans and broth. If you don’t eat pork, turkey bacon would be great here too. Now that beans are zero Smart Points on the new Weight Watchers Freestyle Plan, I’ve been making beans and legume dishes more often.

How To Make Navy Bean Soup

Cooking Tips:

To thicken the soup I pureed 1 can of beans with water before cooking, then once it was cooked I pureed 2 cups of the cooked soup and mixed it all together leaving the rest a little chunky. I am labeling this kid-friendly because I would have eaten this as a kid, but full disclosure my youngest daughter Madison does not like beans or anything pureed (kids!) but Karina my oldest does. If your kids like beans, they will love this soup.

You can see more Soup Recipes here!

And since so many are asking, although I have and love my Instant Pot, I still love my slow cooker! I have the 6 Quart Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget Programmable Slow Cooker (affil link). I love it because you can adjust the time you want it to cook, and it automatically turns to warm when it’s done. It also has a probe for meat that automatically shuts off when done. I hated my old crock pot, it burnt everything and my food had a weird taste. This slow cooker is so great, I actually own several!

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Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup (Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker or Stove Top)

4.85 from 53 votes
1
Cals:211
Protein:15
Carbs:39
Fat:1.5
Bacon makes everything better (in my opinion), especially in this hearty white bean soup. It's delicious, inexpensive, and easy to make and leftovers are even better the next day. I made this in my Instant Pot (doesn't get quicker than that!), but I've also included slow cooker and stove top directions as well.
Course: Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine: American
This delicious, hearty Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup is inexpensive and easy to make, plus leftovers are even better the next day!
Yield: 6 Servings
Serving Size: 1 1/3 cups

Ingredients

  • 3 15 oz cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
  • 4 slices center cut bacon, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, chopped
  • 1 large carrot, chopped
  • 1 large celery stalk, chopped
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 sprig fresh rosemary, I used a bouquet garni for tossing
  • 3 cups baby spinach

Instructions

Instant Pot

  • In a blender, blend 1 can of beans with 1 cup of water.
  • Press Saute button then cook the bacon until crisp. Set aside on paper towels.
  • Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste then add the pureed beans, beans, broth, rosemary and bay leaves.
  • Cook on high pressure 15 minutes. Let the pressure release, remove rosemary and bay leaves. Place 2 cups of the soup in the blender and puree to thicken, then add back to the soup along with the spinach and stir until wilted. To serve, ladle into 6 bowls and top with bacon.

Stove Top

  • In a blender, blend 1 can of beans with 1 cup of water.
  • Saute the bacon in a large pot until crisp. Set aside on paper towels.
  • Add the onion, carrots and celery to the pot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste then add the pureed beans, beans, broth, rosemary and bay leaves.
  • Bring to a boil, cover and cook on low until the beans and vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes. Place 2 cups of the soup in the blender and puree to thicken, then add back to the soup along with the spinach and stir until wilted. To serve, ladle into 6 bowls and top with bacon.

Slow Cooker

  • In a blender, blend 1 can of beans with 1 cup of water.
  • Saute the bacon in a skillet until crisp. Set aside on paper towels.
  • Add the onion, carrots and celery to the skillet and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker with the tomato paste, pureed beans, canned beans, broth, rosemary and bay leaves.
  • Cover and cook low 8 hours. Remove rosemary and bay leaves. Place 2 cups of the soup in the blender and puree to thicken, then add back to the soup along with the spinach and stir until wilted, adjust salt to taste. To serve, ladle into 6 bowls and top with bacon.

Last Step:

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Nutrition

Serving: 1 1/3 cups, Calories: 211 kcal, Carbohydrates: 39 g, Protein: 15 g, Fat: 1.5 g, Saturated Fat: 0.5 g, Cholesterol: 2 mg, Sodium: 1150 mg, Fiber: 12 g, Sugar: 4 g

Categories:

All chopped ingredients. Navy beans with water in blender. Bacon makes everything better (in my opinion), especially in this hearty white bean soup. It's delicious, inexpensive, and easy to make and leftovers are even better the next day. I made this in my Instant Pot (doesn't get quicker than that!), but I've also included slow cooker and stove top directions as well. Soup base topped with spinach.

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240 comments on “Navy Bean, Bacon and Spinach Soup (Pressure Cooker, Slow Cooker or Stove Top)”

  1. Easy, nutritious, and terrific. We used turkey bacon, which required a bit of olive oil for the veggies.

  2. I made the recipe on the stovetop pretty much as is except I used turkey bacon instead of regular bacon (and added a few more slices). It was delicious. Everyone in my house loved it. I will definitely make it again.

  3. Wowza! This is soooo tasty. I skipped the first part- I sauteed the onion, carrots and celery in instant pot, dumped everything in . I did add a teaspoon of better than bullion, dried rosemary (1t) and precooked ham. Natural release , pureed it for short bursts, leaving it chuncky. Freezing some for later.

  4. This soups is delicious! I made it in the crock pot and it is so easy! I have eaten it for lunch every day with a small salad for a low point WW lunch. I omit the parsley and I use low-sodium bacon. Thanks for this recipe!

  5. I’m going to be trying this recipe in October! Just a heads up that the link for the bouquet garni took me to some cloth bags!

  6. This soup is a winter staple in our house. It’s delicious and one of my husband’s favorite soups. A winner!!

  7. I just made this for the first time, and it was instantly a favorite- so flavorful! I will definitely be making it again! 

  8. Fantastic flavor! My family loved this soup. I did add two more cans of beans, though, as it was a pretty thin soup otherwise, and it was our main course. This will be in our regular rotation!

  9. This soup is delicious! The only thing I did different is instead of adding of the center cut bacon, I added some ham. It hit the spot for sure! Will definitely make this recipe again.

  10. I see this and other soups with wither 0 or 1 SP for WW Blue. When I put it in to create it in the WW app it comes up as 5

    Anyone have thoughts?

  11. I made this from your “One and Done” book (I have at least three of your books I love them so much) and it was delicious. I was afraid because I am not a big fan of beans but it was so good. Definitely will be making it again and again. I even ate it cold for lunch the next day and it was still great!

  12. We’ve been sick and this soup was PERFECT.  I added salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Can’t wait for leftovers! 

  13. Crowd favorite in my house! I’ve used leftover ham instead of (or in addition to) the bacon when I have it on hand.

  14. Soup looks delicious.  I can’t find  canned navy beans Tried several supermarkets, Target, Aldi, Trader  Joes   What brand is it? Any suggestions please. Love all your recipes 

  15. This was fantastic!!! I made a few changes bc I didn’t have everything I needed….
    -I used one can of white beans and 2 cans of pork and beans in tomato sauce.
    -I drained the white beans before using them but I left the pork and beans in their sauces. 
    -I omitted the chicken broth, as the sauces from the beans were enough. 
    -instead of bay leaves, I used dried sage. 
    This recipe is great and clearly dynamic! Loved it. 

  16. With such a small ingredient list, I was skeptical of the potential flavor, but this soup ended up being a hit in the household (where my husband had very high doubts). I did not do the first step of pureeing the beans in water – simply added them in rinsed and drained with the appropriate step. Also left out rosemary sprig. Ended up using my immersion blender at the very end of the process and soup still had a thickness with whole vegetables still present. Recommend!!

    1. Avatar photo
      Erica Mosley

      Loooooove this soup! Make it Summer, Winter, Spring or Fall. I don’t care what season it is because this soup is just that Darn Delicious. I add a touch of Cayenne Pepper for a little heat with this recipe and it never disappoints!

  17. This has become a regular on our stay-at-home rotation! We double it, because the leftovers are awesome, and we use great northern beans, because that’s what they have at aldi. Delicious!

  18. Could I use a hambone in this recipe, if yes- how so? I’m trying to make use of my Easter ham. Thank you!

    1. Oh yes, I add ham bone to a lot of bean type soups! Just make sure the ham bone was cooked without any types of sugar (honey, maple syrup, etc). Or else it will make your soup taste sweet.

  19. Fabulous! My husband said it’s as good as any soup we’d get at a fine restaurant. Took a bit more time than I expected but worth it! I doubled. 

  20. Avatar photo
    Cassie Schmitt-Matzen

    Wow! I love this recipe. I tried it tonight, and it was some of the best soup I have ever had. Highly recommend it! I did like other reviewers said and left out the cup of water with the beans pureed. I also used about 1 cup less of broth and didn’t need to blend 2 cups of the soup as it was thick enough for me.

  21. Delicious! Perfect for a cold New England day. Made in the instant pot with a couple of changes:  Used 8oz of smoked ham steak, diced, instead of bacon. Pan fried the ham in my cast iron skillet, set aside, then sautéed veggies in the skillet.  Used 3 Tbsp tomato paste. Didn’t purée the beans, added everything including ham, to the instant pot.  After cooking, scooped out about 1.5 cups of beans and veggies and a little both, puréed with my immersion blender and added back to the pot. Seasoned with salt and pepper to taste. Yum! Only change I would make  next time would be to use less rosemary, just personal taste preference. Used WW recipe builder to calculate points, to check ham vs bacon and they were the same as original (blue/1).  Again, delicious! And 1 point per serving leaves plenty of room to add a slice of crusty bread.  

  22. This soup is simple, satisfying and delicious! Perfect for a cold, raw New England winter day. I was a little worried about the tomato paste (I usually find it overpowering in recipes) but it added that touch of acidity the soup needed. This will definitely be part of my regular rotation.

  23. I really like the variation in consistency between the pureed beans and the chunks left in the soup. Tasted great, too!

  24. A favorite soup and easy to do too, I made with Imagine No chicken chicken broth and even skipped the bacon part and we loved it. I made it for company and there was none left. Perfect!

  25. This is REALLY good! I don’t really like beans, but this soup is filling and easy to make (with loads of flavor)! I didn’t puree a can of beans with water, but threw everything in the pot to cook, then used an immersion blender lightly at the end. This really is even better the next day, I’ll be adding this to the rotation and making larger batches to freeze. Love all your recipes, Gina! 🙂

  26. Any ideas of ingredients to thicken it up a bit?  I used the stick blender on the whole batch but I’m still not getting the consistency I’d like.

  27. My family grew up eating Campbells Soup Bean with Bacon. Good winter comfort food. This recipe reminded me of it and it was by far so much better. I added egg noodles because that was how we always ate it. Making this was just as easy and healthier. Will definitely be eating this again. Thanks

  28. Easy and delicious! I made the slow cooker version. Perfect for these fall/winter days. I paired with gf cornbread, as my husband is a Celiac, but fresh bread would have been great too. Will definitely make again.

  29. Being on WW, I was wondering how I was going to make my Kielbasa Bean soup lighter because it uses canned bean with bacon soup, but this recipe worked wonderfully as a substitute.  We cut up and cooked turkey kielbasa and added it, some Worcestershire sauce and salt to the recipe.  It reminded me so much of my soup recipe but I’m sure it was a lighter version.  Thank you Gina!

  30. Greetings!  First I love the sight and everything you make and love that you do WW POINTS!

    I have a difficult time finding canned navy beans, I can only seem to find dried ones.  Are there any recommendations for a different bean to replace or a way to use the dried ones?

    I own three of your books and love those too!  

    Thank you!

  31. This is pretty good except next time I will omit the spinach. I learned I do not like greens in soup. The wilted spinach tastes slimy and I can’t handle the texture. I will just eat it with a side of veggies instead.
    Only three starts because it could use more seasonings as it tasted bland. I will say I use skinnytaste for almost all my recipes that we cook at home and I do have a few of her cook books. I like the idea of this recipe it just needs something more. The bacon is a great addition though I don’t see how 4 slices can cut it for the amount of soup this recipe yields. I made an entire package of bacon to go with it and add a little fat for satiety.

  32. Avatar photo
    Lynnette Cash

    I made this soup last night, followed the recipe exactly, with the exception of adding a chopped jalapeno, for spice. I used the instapot method, and my stick blender. Very easy, and so flavorful! I salivate thinking about it! lol! Creamy and rich tasting, and the crumbled bacon really takes it over the top. This will not be my only time making this soup! Thanks for a wonderful, guilt free recipe!

  33. Love this! Made it in my pressure cooker, so easy and delicious, ST recipes never let me down.

    I couldn’t find navy beans so I used cannellini beans, didn’t have fresh rosemary so used 1tsp of dry, and I don’t like celery so I replaced it with a leek. Served it with some wholegrain bread and garlic roasted caulini, it was a hit!

  34. THIS SOUP IS SO GOOD! I doubled the bacon because…bacon. And I put in double the spinach and carrots for extra veggies. This is going to be a staple in our home.

  35. This is delicious, and yes better the next day as it thickens up. I did add a Parmesan rind that added to the flavors and it needed salt and pepper for my taste.  I made is on the stove top and cooked it for about an hour. 

  36. this was a great soup! I made it vegan, left out the bacon and used veggie broth. I used dried beans that I had soaked well. followed all directions as stated for the instant pot, and it was a quick, tasty dinner! My husband topped it w/ some fake bacon bits, and had two big bowls. My kids didn’t care for it, but they don’t care for beans or soup, so no surprise there. I will certainly make this one again!

  37. Avatar photo
    MaryJane Wilkins

    I made this soup tonight and it was a hit!  It’s delicious, filling and comforting especially on a chilly night!  This recipe is now on my “favorites” list!

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        Karen Weatherby

        Hi Kellie and Bonnie,

        I used a mixture of canned beans, had great results. You might just find that chick peas take a bit longer (maybe 35 – 40 minutes) instead of the 25 minutes for the softer beans.

        Gina, this is a lovely recipe, thank you! Even my meat loving husband loves it, because of the bits of bacon on top.

  38. Avatar photo
    Kathie Worrell

    Hey Gina! Where do you find your canned Navy Beans? My local market doesn’t have them. So I bought a bag of beans to soak overnight. Looking forward to this soup! 

    1. Goya brand has canned “small white beans” that are similar in size to a navy bean – made this soup and it’s delicious!

  39. This is very good and super easy to make. It even passed the “hubby test”. Looks like I found another one to add to the dinner rotation.

  40. Hi! I love this recipe! Can i make a double batch in the intant pot? If so, do i need to change anything? I think i have an 8quart pot. Was going to do it tonight, if you get this message. Im new to instant pot and havent doubled a recipe before. Thanks!

  41. This recipe seemed a bit out of my comfort zone as far as my own food preferences go, but I decided to give it a go since I love all your recipes that I’ve made and sure enough, this was no exception! Ridiculously easy to make, and absolutely delicious. I froze the leftovers in individual servings for lunches this week and it still tasted great heated back up in the microwave from frozen. This is definitely going on my regular rotation for meal prep lunches. The only tweaks I made were adding probably triple the amount of carrot (I’m a huge fan of carrots in soup) and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Fantastic! 

  42. This is on my stove now and smells so good! I had to take a little taste and it’s delicious. 

    I used canned great northern beans and thick cut bacon. The bacon was a bit fatty so I drained the grease before proceeding. 

    This will be on my cool weather rotation. Thank you! 

  43. That is a Blendtec Blender!!!! I can’t wait for the Skinnytaste air fryer 😀 Someone has to make an Instant Pot/Blendtec of air fryers and I bet it will be you 😀

  44. Avatar photo
    Kim Champagne

    This is a great dish! I used dried navy beans that I soaked overnight and six cups of fat free chicken broth. I didn’t have spinach but used kale which I chopped and added at the beginning of cooking. My family loved it, especially good after a cold, windy day.

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    janice holmes

    I don’t much care for spinach, so use Kale in place of it. We grow our own Kale, so have alot of it. Come fall i freeze the Kale. Just cut it off the stem and put in a bag and freeze. It gets hard and becomes really small, like parsley. So you don’t have cut it up. This way you don’t waste it. Plus it good for you.

  46. Avatar photo
    Carol D Sullivan

    This is a great fall/winter recipe! I made a couple of small changes by using dried beans and pre-cooking. When the bacon was almost done, I added the onion, celery, and carrots, and left the bacon in the mix when I added the beans. Next time, I would not puree the beans in water, but would use some of the chicken broth. This was a little thin for me, so not adding the extra water would help. But, this reminds me of the Campbell’s bean with bacon soup my mom used to give me when I was young. It was always one of my favorites. The flavor in this recipe is the best!

  47. I made this last night for my lunches this week. It didn’t say to drain the bacon grease so I didn’t. However now there’s congealed grease sitting on top of the soup. It doesn’t look very appetizing 🙁 should I have drained the grease before cooking the vegetables? 

  48. Brilliant recipe! Good and good for you. I was able to have seconds since its so low in points. I did not add bacon, but added a little fat free half and half to make it creamier.

  49. I’ve made this twice and it has come out too thin too soupy both times. It made more like 8 cups not 6. If I make it again, I’ll either omit the water all together and just blend the beans with 1 cup of the broth instead.

  50. Made this today in the crock pot.  I didn’t add the water, and glad I didn’t because it could have been a little thicker for me.  Otherwise, good flavor! Also, used diced tomatoes instead of paste, only because I had some open, as well as diced carrot.  Thanks for a good, low point soup!

  51. Hey there- I see in the ingredients it called for 3 cans of navy beans- and then in the cooking instructions it says to purée one can of beans with water. But the recipe never says anything about adding the additional 2 cans of beans. When are those added?

    1. In the last step..”Stir in the tomato paste then add the pureed beans, beans, broth, rosemary and bay leaves. 🙂

  52. Seriously tastes like you’ve been cooking all day. I cant decide if it’s the veggies, the beans, or the bacon that makes it the best. Probably all of them! I often find that I make this recipe when I’m needing to clean out my veggie drawer… so I make sure I always keep great northern beans on hand in the pantry. I ALWAYS double or triple this recipe. Freezes beautifully.

    My personal tweaks:
    -No salt added beans
    -No salt added beef broth, instead of reduced sodium chicken broth
    -reduced sodium turkey bacon
    -red pepper flakes (mama likes it hott!)

    1. yea, I tried entering it into my app — LifeSum and it also it way off. I dont calorie count but I plan on using https://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-calculator.asp to figure out the exact recipe that I use.. since I tweak it based on what I have at the time.

  53. Made for dinner tonight. It was delicious and both my teens enjoyed it!  I didn’t add the spinach to the soup(didn’t think kids would like that part), but instead put in the bottom of my bowl and it wilted just fine. Can’t wait to have it for lunch tomorrow! 

  54. Avatar photo
    Valerie Tucker

    I have looked at ll these recipes! I had a gastric bypass 3 weeks ago, and in 4 more weeks, i will use many of these meals. I will have to be careful, but the low carbs are perfect! Thank you for helping me changing my life.

  55. Made for dinner, but husband got called to work, so we had it the next night. I tasted it the night I cooked it, and it was good, but the next night was even better! Followed recipe just as written with the exception of adding, salt, pepper, and a little garlic to the veggies while cooking. Reminded me of my Mammaw’s soup! Thanks for the recipe, Will be making this again!

  56. Made this in my instant pot with a few changes and it turned out wonderful. My changes were to use dried beans (a small white heirloom) that I cooked ahead and reserved the cooking water which I used in the soup with some chicken soup base. I did not puree any beans in the beginning. Instead, I just buzzed the final soup with my immersion blender a few times to the consistency I wanted. Accidentally added an extra tablespoon tomato paste plus a bit of fresh thyme along with the rosemary. To give it a more traditional bean and bacon feel like the kind I remember from my childhood, I added about a tablespoon each of Dijon mustard, molasses, and cider vinegar. Loved it and will most certainly make again!! Thanks for jump starting my creation!

  57. Made this for my weekly meals.  Fantastic!  I ended up using 2 cans northern beans and 1 can navy.  I puréed one of the cans of northern beans.  Very yummy and filling soup!

  58. Made this tonight and it was so good! I didn’t bother blending any of the beans. Modified the herbs by adding a bit of thyme, oregano and fresh parsley along with the rosemary. Delicious with some parmesan on top! Will be making it again 🙂

  59. This is fantastic!  I double the veggies and spices and cook it on the stove!  I deem this my recipe find of the year!

  60. Avatar photo
    Darlene Somers

    The family made this for me last night since I’m under the weather. It was fantastic! But then again, I haven’t made anything from your book/site that has been bad. Keep those great recipes coming! Thanks.

  61. Made this last night and am eating it for lunch right now. I was a little doubtful of the recipe because it seemed too simple, but it’s perfect. One of the best soups I’ve made in awhile. I even made a mistake and used one can of garbanzo beans instead of the navy beans and it was still so so delicious.

  62. This was fantastic. I used a large jar of Randalls Northern Beans and it was great. I made a paste of the remainder of the beans and added it to thicken the soup. Very flavorful and grateful again to have the points calculated. Thank you so much!

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    Kimberly Shernoff

    First Recipe with the pressure cooker. I’m curious are were we supposed to do this manual with the pressure cooker or hit soup and then adjust the time and high-pressure? It might be obvious, but I’m missing it. Also are we supposed to let the pressure leave naturally? Or we supposed to use the venting?

    Thank you!

    Love your recipes and tell everyone I can about the site

    1. Avatar photo
      Kimberly Shernoff

      I reread instant pot manual and I see how to release the pressure with soup. So I am good there . So my only question was when cooking was I supposed to hit soup or manual?

  64. I’ve been using your recipes for a few years and don’t know how I missed this one! I made it the other day and it is delicious!! I doubled it for my family of five and had a nice amount for leftovers for lunch the next day! I think it’s even better the next day!! Thanks again Gina!!

  65. This is the first recipe I have tried from Skinny Taste and it was delicious. Hearty and delicious. Even my picky boyfriend who normally gravitates towards fried food and fast food really enjoyed eating this. We are both trying to get healthier and he tends to sabotage us with his bad eating but with food like this I am hoping we will be able to stay more on target.

  66. Avatar photo
    Esther Letsche

    I love your recipes and thought I had everything in the cupboards but sadly did not. Typically I wouldn’t comment since technically it’s not your recipe, but I thought you would appreciate the changes and may want to test this for a future soup. So I made this with leftover Pernil from Christmas instead of bacon and Goya Sofrito (yes, I could have made from scratch but…lazy) instead of tomato paste. Because of the changes I did not use the rosemary or bay leaf either. Everything else the same and it was fantastic (and better as leftovers today). Thank you for the inspiration!

  67. Ok, I am very new to the Instant Pot movement (I am anticipating one for Christmas), but wouldn’t you use dried navy beans for an pressure cooker recipe? Or is there a different benefit of making this recipe in an Instant Pt?

  68. Avatar photo
    Kellie Trudel

    I made this soup today in the Instant Pot…I used dry navy beans as I don’t keep canned beans in the pantry.  To decrease fat further, I substituted smoked back bacon for the regular bacon. This is a delicious soup which will really hit the spot today . Thanks so much for a terrific recipe 🙂

  69. I made this for the first time for a GTG with some girlfriends and it was a HIT!!!! They all emailed me asking for the recipe. It is delicious!!!!! Thanks again Gina for an incredible and healthy recipe!!!! I owe you big time for helping me lose almost 50 pounds and still losing!!!

  70. Ok, y’all. If you haven’t tried this recipe, TRY IT NOW! I’ve made this twice; the first time as written (+ garlic and onion powder, thyme, and sage) and the second time I made vegetarian friendly (veggie broth, no bacon, plus the spices/herbs mentioned). Both flavors were excellent! Gina, you are amazing! I’m so grateful for you!!! Thanks for all your wonderful recipes and for your hard work and creativity.

  71. Made this tonight. Delicious! Few additions. Made your chicken broth using 2 chicken breasts (Onion, Carrot, celery, parsley, bay leaves, and few cups of water). Simmered for about an hour. Removed the chicken breasts and shredded the meat. Made the soup per the instructions Though used, the broth from the Chicken breast I cooked along with a few cups of store bought. I didn’t see any mention of salt and pepper amounts, so just used what I thought was appropriate. Added the shredded chicken in when I added the Spinach. Let it go on low for roughly another half hour.  Topped with the bacon and some homemade croutons (cubed a nice Italian loaf, tossed with olive oil and salt and pepper and baked them 10 mins or so at 400 degrees) .Topped everything with a little grated parmesan It’s officially a meal!!! thank you Gina

  72. Ho Gins! I love this soup, along with all your recipes!
    This is my 3rd time making it in just a few months!  If I add more carrot to the recipe does that change the points? Prob not cause veggies are zero but I know carrots have a lot of sugar. 

  73. Delicious! So much better than canned bean and bacon soup!!!  This has become a staple over the past few weeks at our house. Even the 2 year old will eat it! 

  74. This soup was fantastic!  It is the recipe I have searched for. I highly recommend this soup!  Thanks for sharing!!

  75. I just made this soup today! It is delicious! I love the spinach too! The only variation I did was to add the bacon into the entire pot to give it a more smoky flavor. Will definitely make it again!!

  76. Just made this soup. Took a spoonful just to check seasonings and it is superb. Now I did do a few tweaks. One by accident. I ended up with three different kinds of canned beans. I had Great Northern Beans on hand. When I went to pick up two more I bought one Garbanzo and one Navy bean. Those were organic (Eden Brand)with no sodium.  Great combo. 

    I sauté  2 smoked ham hocks in organic coconut oil(TJ’S). Removed them and then added the celery(3 small stalks with leaves) and three carrots, medium sized and 2 small to medium onions. Added salt, pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes. Added all three cans rinsed and drained and rest of ingredients. 

    I microwaved the bacon and broke into pieces. Will add when I serve the soup to me and my husband a bit later. Took spinach out so I won’t forget to add. I have 5 oz. will eye it for amount.  
    Can’t wait for dinner. But first….. Happy hour with my husband. Our ritual. 
    Thanks so much. Will be my go to bean soup. 

  77. Help! I added the entire can of tomato paste … that’s what I get trying to multitask … any way to correct my mistake! ????

  78. I plan on making this soup. My mom used to make a bean soup and it was my favorite.  I thought I may add a ham hoc. Sauté it first and take J Bear’s idea and sautée the veggies in it. I would microwave my bacon as a topping since I would be adding the ham hoc. 
    Need to get the rest of the ingredients. 

    To the person who had problems getting the beans cooked. This sometimes happens if the beans are old. Sometimes we don’t know how long they have been on the grocery shelf. I know many good cooks who have had this problem. So I stick to the canned ones. 
    Thanks for all your great recipes. Need to try your tomato as I love Panera’s too. 

  79. Hi Gina,

    I am in the market for a new slow-cooker, any recommendations? I would love one that I can set a timer to start at a certain time so when I am away it can start cooking! I have been searching online and doesn’t seem like there are many?? Which one do you use?

  80. Hi Gina, can I use my immersion blender at the end to blend the whole thing? Obviously I’d add the spinach after I blend. Thanks!

  81. Everyone always comments about the recipe before making it, but I actually made this sh*t and it’s honestly flipping amazing.

    I’ve never even commented on a recipe before, but I had to come back to talk about this effing soup. Now I’ll be fair-I tweaked it. That’s what cooking is, it’s an art, not a science. If anything I would recommend a bit more tomato paste and more seasoning/salt/herbs, as well as some garlic (which I of course added), but overall the base recipe is fantastic. I didn’t know I’d love bacon and bean soup this much, but I do. It’s my favorite soup ever now, blows Panera’s creamy tomato out of the water (iiiiiiif you make it right. results may vary)

    Oh, I also sauteed my carrots, onions, garlic and celery in some of the reserved grease leftover from cooking the bacon. It infused everything with a meaty, delicious flavor. Would recommend.

    Kudos on the great recipe, I’m excited to try more from this site!

    1. I made this yesterday and wish I had read your comment first – while it’s a really great recipe I found it desperately in need of some salt. I presume the recipe omits salt because of the bacon (?), and maybe the bacon I purchased from my particular deli doesn’t have as much salt as mass market produced bacon. In any case I think it’s an excellent base recipe and look forward to tweaking it similarly. 🙂

      1. Perhaps your broth has less sodium than the one I used, always salt to taste after 🙂

  82. I just took this out of my Instant pot and it’s delicious. I decided to make the beans from scratch, a first for me. I can’t wait for lunch for the rest of this  week. 

  83. This is just delicious. I made it Saturday during hurricane Mathew, no power but gas stove 🙂
    Couldn’t blend the one can of beans because of the power outage but turned out perfect regardless.
    Thank you for another great recipe. Each and everyone I made turned out great !

  84. FYI I used one lb of dried (rinsed) navy beans in the crockpot with six cups of broth, and let it go on high for seven hours. Just like Budget Bytes’ crockpot black bean soup. Nice and soft and blendable! 🙂 

  85. This was absolutely delicious, my new favorite Skinnytaste soup! I made it on the stovetop and instead of using a blender, I used my immersion blender at the beginning to purée the beans and then used it again for a little bit at the end to thicken, leaving some of the veggies in tact . So good!

  86. I’ve already stocked my freezer with your chicken enchilada soup and your Beef, Tomato and Acini di Pepe Soup. I think if I add this, we’ll be prepared for any winter Michigan wants to throw at us. Thank you for another great recipe!

  87. Made this soup on Sunday in the slow cooker, and it turned out great! I made it to freeze, so I figured I would leave the spinach out and add that in when I was ready to eat it. Tried some last night, tastes great! Thank you Gina!

  88. I made this recipe on Sunday in the crock pot. My 11 year old daughter and I LOVED IT! She has been taking it in her lunch this week and is thrilled with the change from a boring old sandwich. Here’s my question – the little green bits on the rosemary stem fell off in the soup and it took forever to pick them all off because I didn’t think it would be good to eat them. Any suggestions? Thank you!

  89. I made this tonight and it was a huge hit! I used kale instead of spinach because I already had some on hand. So yummy and a great start to fall soup season!

  90. Made this. You should include a warning that blending hot liquids in a closed blender may cause an explosion of hot soup all over the kitchen and yourself. Probably should have considered it would happen, but my burns and mess could be avoided for others with a warning. 

    1. Basic common sense is important in cooking. I never understood people who ask these types of questions or make these comments on recipies. otherwise Gina would have to include “try not to cut yourself, knives are sharp” on every recipie that includes cutting or chopping. Don’t put your want in the sauté pan. It’s hot. ????

      1. That type of attitude is not necessary! It would not occur to me to do anything different with hot liquids than cold in the blender. Glad I have this warning.

  91. I made this for dinner Saturday night, and it was absolutely delicious. I’m fortunate in that my husband loves all kinds of food, and is very appreciative of my cooking, but I can tell when he REALLY loves something. His exact comment during dinner Saturday: “That’s a winner! A-plus! Heck yes!” This is definitely going into the rotation. (Note to other folks – I did use Great Northern beans because that’s what my Aldi happened to have.)

  92. HELP! I just made this, using dried beans because i couldn’t find canned. I used the quick soak method on the stove top. After the recommended time in the instant pot, the bean were still not tender. So I turned the pot back on for another 15 minutes. STILL not done! I know you haven’t made this with dried beans, but I’m hoping you can help me salvage the recipe. Do I just keep resetting the time? Do I finish on the stovetop? The beans are starting to stick to the bottom of the pot after two cycles through.

    1. Shannon, you need to cook the dried beans separately first. Then make the recipe, substituting the cooked dried beans and some of the cooking liquid for the canned beans, as others here have suggested. Hope that helps!

  93. I made this tonight, it’s currently simmering and smells wonderful!

    For those wondering, 1 cup of dried beans soaked = just over 2 cups of beans. So, I used 3 cups of dried to equal 3 cans. Brought 3 cups of dried in 6 cups cold water to boil, let boil covered for 3 minutes. Took off the heat, left covered to sit for an hour and a half. Drained the water and was left with about 6 1/2 cups of beans. 

    Thanks, Gina!

    Erin 

  94. This was great! I added some pepper/garlic powder,  but otherwise followed this to a T! Super flavorful. I really commend you. I love heavily seasoned things, and you tend to go lighter on seasonings/ingredients. It’s made me try to step back from adding so many things to my food. You have a great knack for making very flavorful dishes with only a handful of ingredients. AND your recipes always yield themselves well if someone does want to add something extra. Not everyone can do that. I’m so glad I found your site! Been following and making your recipes for several years now and you never disappoint! Thank you so much!!

  95. This was delicious!  I used Pancetta vs bacon and used chicken broth vs water when blending the first can of beans.  I also used dried rosemary, which was good but I know the fresh would have been even tastier.  My husband picked out the spinach – LOL! Keeping ingredients on hand for this keeper.

      1. I forgot to drain and rinse. Once I realized I did that, I added more broth. We’ll see what happens in 7 more hours. 

  96. I made the slow cooker version of this and it was awesome! My husband and my very picky 2 year old loved as well! The only thing I may do different next time is add less water or use my immersion blender instead of a blender because it wasn’t as thick as I would have liked. Thank you Gina for another great recipe! I have yet to be disappointed!

  97. Love your cookbook.
    I’ve been a long time follower & I look forward to joining you in your upcoming Instant Pot adventures!

    Thanks for all you do!

    1. If you use dried beans instead of the canned beans, you can cut down the amount of sodium.  However, that tasty  bacon really adds the sodium, too.

    2. Bacon is only about 200 mg per slice, and use unsalted or low-sodium broth (70-140 mg per cup), and unsalted canned beans. So for 4 servings would be less than 400 mg. per serving.

    3. Bacon is only about 200 mg per slice, and use unsalted or low-sodium broth (70-140 mg per cup), and unsalted canned beans. So for 4 servings would be less than 400 mg. per serving.

  98. OMG!! Made this today in my instant pot!  It is so good!! Gina, I have to tell  you how your talent for making healthy delicious food has changed my life.  I plan my menu every week from your book and website.  My whole family are fans!  Thank you for sharing your gift with the world.

  99. Gina, if I were going to only invest in one or the other, would you suggest an instant pot or a pressure cooker? (I have a crock pot). I’m trying to understand the differences between the two, and not sure which I will get the most use from. And do you have recommendations of brands for either one? Thanks in advance.

  100. Fantastic recipe. Easy and delicious too. I served with french bread loaf and tomato salad. This is definitely going into the soup rotation this fall/winter.  Like Gina said, it is even better the next day. I will probably make a day ahead the next time around. Keep the instant pot recipes coming! 

  101. Campbell’s Bean w/bacon soup is one of my childhood faves! It screams Back to School. I’m making this right now in the slow cooker (happened to have all ingredients in hand) and it already smells great (cuz, bacon), and yes, I’m sitting in a cozy chair reading a book. Preordered Gina’s Fast & Slow and can’t wait for that one!  Cannellini / northern beans / navy beans  are three kinds of “white beans”, different in size and shape, but could all be used for this soup. I used northern beans. Looking forward to a yummy dinner. Thanks Gina 

    1. It turned out wonderful! Thick, hearty, smoky and filling. I put both Rosemary and Thyme in my bouquet Garni and I hate doing dishes so instead of puréeing the first can of beans I just used the immersion blender on about ⅓ of the soup, leaving the rest as whole beans. I’m sure Gina’s is smoother, but as it was, it was really delicious. Super inexpensive to make, too for 4-6 meals. I wilted the spinach called for in the recipe, then put another handful in the bottom of my soup bowl and ladled the soup over it to give me added veggie power. Might be an option for the lady whose husband picked his out. Thanks Gina for a perfect Fall Starter. 

      1. Only in the section if you were using the slow cooker method do you mentikn removing the bay leaf and rosemary.   For those using stove top or other method, there is no mention.

  102. How Many cups (or fractions there of) is in a serving? Would appreciate learning how to Convert Servings to actual measures. Can’t wait to make this! Thanks, Gina.c

    1. Yes, you can add veggie bacon in stead or even a touch of smoked garlic, smoked salt, or smoked flavouring if you think you’d miss that depth.

  103. It seems silly to not make the navy beans in the instant pot from dried. It is only an additional 30 mins & you don’t have to soak them. I would drain them & save the cooking liquid to replace with 1 cup water. I’m excited to try this!

  104. This recipe sounds amazing and I can’t wait to try it. One question though; there are references to both navy beans and white beans. I often use Great Northern White Beans in soups, but wondered if it made any difference which beans to use in this recipe, and more specifically, if it would change the SmartPoint values. Thanks!

  105. Do you think I could substitute chick peas for the white beans? I have 1 can of white beans, and 2 cans of chick peas. Thanks!