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White bean and bacon soup is full of comfort when you need it most! Creamy, smokey and hearty, this soup is one of our favorites to make and it is ready in no time.
A Cozy Bowl of White Bean and Bacon Soup
A large bowl of this cozy white bean and bacon soup is one of my absolute favorites to make when I’m needing a bowl of comfort or just wanting a hearty, flavorful soup to warm me up! Sometimes, I enjoy making a big pot of this white bean soup with bacon and having it as leftovers for several days because this is one example where the soup gets better the longer it sits.
I really enjoy the texture of white bean soup with bacon and there’s something for everyone in here. You’ve got the creaminess of the soup base along with whole beans and carrots throughout every bite. The smokey bacon pieces on top give a textural crunch and also contribute to the salty, smokiness of the entire soup.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Take care to read the recipe fully. The dried cannellini beans need to be soaked overnight so you’ll need to prep ahead. In the event that you didn’t soak the beans ahead of time, you can use canned cannellini beans instead.
- If you don’t eat pork, you can substitute the pork bacon for turkey bacon.
- Highly recommend cooking the vegetables with the bacon grease. It gives it so much flavor and you won’t need extra cooking oil.
- A high speed blender works in place of an immersion blender. Carefully ladle out a cup or so of the soup into the blender and blend until creamy then pour it back into the pot.
Types of Beans
Cannellini beans and great northern beans are interchangeably used in recipes as they are both very similar beans. You can use either in this recipe. Cannellini beans are slightly better in soups and stews, but great northern works as well. Use what you can find! Do not use red kidney beans, black beans, garbanzo beans, etc.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
Allow leftovers to cool then store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. To reheat, warm through in a pot on the stovetop or in a microwave-safe bowl or container in the microwave until warmed through.
To freeze: allow leftovers to cool then store in Souper Cube freezer trays for up to 3 months. To reheat, pop out a cube and warm through in a pot on the stove.
Serving Suggestions
I love serving this soup with my garlic herb parker house rolls as the flavor pairs perfectly with the soup and also helps sop up all the creamy goodness!
White Bean and Bacon Soup
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups (404 g) dried cannellini beans
- 5 strips of bacon, cut into tiny pieces
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 4 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
- 4 cups (946 ml) chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Soak your beans overnight covered in water. Drain the next day and set aside.2 cups (404 g) dried cannellini beans
- In a large stockpot, add the bacon to the pan and cook until bacon pieces are brown and crispy. Remove and let drain on a paper towel.5 strips of bacon
- If there's a lot of bacon grease in the pan, remove all but 3 tablespoons of it.
- Saute onion, garlic, and carrots in the bacon grease until vegetables start to get tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the rosemary and cook for an additional 1 minute.1 medium onion, 2 cloves garlic, 4 carrots, 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary
- Pour in the chicken stock and add the drained beans. Stir the tomato paste in until all has dispersed and incorporated into the soup.4 cups (946 ml) chicken stock, 1 tablespoon tomato paste
- Bring mixture up to a boil then cover and let simmer gently for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- When the soup is ready, carefully use your immersion blender and gently pulse the bean mixture until a desired creamy texture is achieved. You see whole beans in my picture – that's because I gently pulsed and left some beans whole because I wanted texture in my soup. You're more than welcome to blend the entire mixture to be more of a puree consistency. If you're worried about blending too much, you can always ladle out a few scoopfuls of beans, blend the soup, then add the beans back in. Really, it's all up to preference!Salt and pepper
- Serve warm with extra bacon pieces on top.
Video
Nutrition
Photographs by Eat Love Eat
I can’t find cannelini beans– can I use navy beans? Thanks!
Sure can!
Made this…. Good but needs more flavour
Hi Kathy! I’m glad you made this and sorry that you wanted more flavor! I suggest, if you make this again, to increase the amount of rosemary and bacon within the soup, or add some salt and pepper. I didn’t include that in the recipe because bacon is pretty salty as it is, but if you feel that it needed more flavor, then maybe salt will be the answer! Thanks for the feedback!
I wish I had an immersion blender. I can make this but will have to leave the beans as is. The photography is wonderful.
Thanks LauraAnna! I hope you enjoy!
I used my potato masher in place of the immersion piece. A little longer to use but results are the same.
I’ve seen a lot of food pictures but this the first time I have had a spontaneous mouth -watering reaction as I did with this soup. Definitely going to make this.
I hope you do make it! It’s so yummy :) thanks for stopping by!
Thanks for yet another great recipe! Really enjoyed this bean soup. :)
This was delicious! I used one large carrot and one stalk of celery since I didn’t have anymore carrots. I also used navy beans because I had them on hand. I had to cook mine longer than 45 minutes for the beans to be soft…probably close to an hour total. Thank you this will become a repeat at my house!
Perfect. Follow the recipe exact.
thanks Jules
Best recipe for bean and bacon soup. Thank you, doll.
Can you use the canned canneli beans also?
I have never put a review on for anything before, but this soup was SO SO good I just had to comment. I made this exactly as the recipe says to, except I put only one can of beans in at the start of cooking. After about 30 minutes I used my immersion blender to get the consistency I wanted. Then I added the bacon and 3 more cans of beans. We didn’t eat it until the next day. The flavor was really good. My husband said it was the best soup he had ever had. Delicious!!