I loved canned soup as a child, and one of my favorites was Campbell's Bean and Bacon Soup. As an adult, however, I can't stand it - but luckily, my Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup is here to soothe my hurt feelings. I'm able to prep it in the morning, let it cook all day, and enjoy warm pot of beans with greens for dinner.
Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup at a Glance
- ⏱ Prep Time: 5 minutes
- 🔥 Active Cook Time: 30 minutes
- 🐢 Slow Cooker Time: 8 hours
- ⏳ Total Time: 8 hours 35 minutes
- 👪 Serves: 6
- 🍽️ Calories: 392
- 🌾 Main Ingredients: Dried white beans, bacon, onions, carrots, celery, bouillon, greens
- 👌 Why You'll Love It: 35 minutes of prep in the morning, then dinner is ready when you come home.
SUMMARIZE & SAVE THIS RECIPE ON
I'd tried lots of disappointing white bean soups until I settled on this one. It uses dried beans, which cook perfectly in a slow cooker. Sauteing bacon until crisp and cooking vegetables in the rendered grease adds lots of flavor. And finally, I add in hearty leafy greens, which mellow as they cook all day to add a savory flavor that broth alone can't replicate.
While this soup has the same amount of active cooking time as my Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings (35 minutes), all of the work happens in the morning - the slow cooker does the rest of the work, letting you stir and serve the soup at the end of a busy day.
If you like hands-off slow cooker bean soups, you'll also enjoy Slow Cooker Vegetarian Red Beans and Rice and Southwestern Bean and Barley Soup.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
You'll love Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup because it:
- 🧂 Takes just a few inexpensive pantry ingredients - dried beans, a little bacon, some greens. Frozen greens and vegetables work just as well as fresh - no need to thaw them first.
- ⏰ Requires just 35 minutes of active work - then the slow cooker takes over.
- 🫘 Uses dried beans, which cook to a perfect texture in a slow cooker and give body to the broth
- 🥬 Includes hearty greens, which simmer down into a silky texture and add a savory flavor that melds with bacon and beans.
- 🍲 Makes a large batch with plenty of leftovers - plus it freezes well.
Key Ingredients
Bacon: Provides a lot of savory flavor. You must fry the bacon before adding it to the slow cooker; you need the grease to saute the mirepoix, and frying the bacon crisps the bacon so you don't have soft fatty bits in the soup.
White beans: Dry beans cook best in the slow cooker. I typically use Navy or Great Northern beans; black eyed peas also work. No need to soak as long as your slow cooker reliably cooks beans.
Mirepoix: fancy word for the onion, celery, carrots, and garlic. You'll saute them in bacon grease to bring out their flavor and enhance the broth. Frozen versions are fine. If I don't have celery, I usually add some celery seed.
Bouillon: I keep bouillon on hand, so that's what I use. You'll need enough chicken or vegetable bouillon to make 4 cups of broth. The rest of the cooking liquid is water; using all broth would make the soup much too salty. If you substitute broth, reduce the water to 4 cups.
Greens: These cook down in the slow cooker to give a mellow flavor to the broth. I've used collard and mustard greens, kale, chard, spinach, even carrot or beet tops - they're all good. I tossed some collard greens from my CSA into a pot of beans one summer - a la Southern cooking, which pairs greens and bacon - and was surprised at how much I liked it. Fresh greens work, but I prefer frozen for convenience. If you don't have greens, you can add a bag of frozen peas instead.
How to Make Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup
One: Place bacon in a cold large skillet. Turn the heat to medium and cook until the bacon is crisp. Transfer the bacon to a plate to cool.
Two: Sauté onion, celery, and carrots in the bacon grease for about 5 minutes, until the onion becomes translucent. Add the garlic and cook briefly.
Three: Transfer sauteed vegetables (with the bacon fat) into a 6-quart slow cooker. Add the dried beans, bouillon, and water. Chop the bacon and add it, then top with greens. Stir and press the greens down into the liquid.
Four: Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours. Beans will become very soft if cooked longer. I often cook it on high for 2 hours, and low for another 4, when I don't get it cooking as early as I mean to. When the soup is done, give it a stir and taste; add salt or pepper as necessary.
Serving and Storage
I like to serve my simple Classic Cornbread alongside this soup, just as I would for ham and beans. If you're not a cornbread fan, any kind of crusty bread, like a French bread or Italian bread, would be a nice accompaniment.
Store leftovers in the fridge for up to 5 days. It will thicken up; add a splash of water if necessary to loosen it up when you reheat it.
Leftover soup also freezes well for up to 3 months. I typically freeze it in cleaned yogurt containers, leaving space at the top since liquid expands when it freezes. Thaw in the fridge overnight and reheat on the stove.
Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup FAQs
Bacon gives the best flavor. If you don't have raw bacon but do have bacon grease, you can use 4 tablespoons to cook the onion and vegetables. You can also try substituting olive oil, but the soup will not be as flavorful.
Yes, you can use an Instant Pot instead of a slow cooker. Use the saute function to cook the bacon and mirepoix. You can use the slow cooker function to cook the soup, or use the beans function instead for the longest time recommended by the manual.
More Slow Cooker Recipes
Want more easy recipes to make in your slow cooker or crock pot? Try these!
I hope this becomes a recipe you'll return to. If you try it, a star rating below helps others find it - and I'd love to hear how yours turns out in the comments! 💕 Questions or trouble? Drop a note, and I'll do my best to help.
📖 Recipe
Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup
Equipment
- large skillet
- 6-quart slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried white beans (454g; Navy or Northern beans)
- 6 slices bacon (~140g; lower sodium bacon is recommended)
- 1 onion (227g; chopped)
- 2 stalks celery (80g; chopped)
- 1 carrot (60g; chopped)
- 1 tablespoon garlic (minced)
- 4 teaspoons lower sodium chicken bouillon (enough to make 4 cups of broth)
- 8 cups water (64 ounces)
- 4 cups leafy greens (340g; fresh or frozen, and chopped)
Instructions
- Place bacon in a cold skillet, turn the heat to medium, and cook until crispy. I cut my bacon slices in half to make turning them easier. Transfer them to a plate or cutting board.
- Saute the onion, celery, and carrots in bacon grease for about 5 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Add garlic and cook briefly. Pour the vegetables (including bacon grease) into a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Add beans, bouillon, and water. Chop bacon and add to the slow cooker. Add the greens, pushing them into the water to submerge them.
- Cook on low heat for 8 hours, until beans are tender. Stir, and add salt and pepper if desired.
Leona Konkel says
I love using a slow cooker to make bean soup, and this recipe is my go-to. I really love how the greens meld into the soup - and to think, it all came about because I needed to use up some collard greens from the CSA. I hope you enjoy the recipe as much as we do. Let me know how it turns out!