Hearty Bean Chowder

  4.3 – 26 reviews  

a complete dinner. This dish is easy adaptable to be meatless. I occasionally offer it by itself as a robust soup or with rice for a complete dinner.

Prep Time: 30 mins
Cook Time: 2 hrs
Total Time: 2 hrs 30 mins
Servings: 8
Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients

  1. 6 slices bacon
  2. ⅛ cup all-purpose flour
  3. 2 onions, chopped
  4. 2 stalks celery, chopped
  5. ½ tablespoon sesame oil
  6. 2 carrots, chopped
  7. 5 cloves garlic, minced
  8. 2 cups water
  9. 3 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained
  10. 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, undrained
  11. ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  12. 1 pinch ground black pepper
  13. salt to taste

Instructions

  1. In a large pot over medium high heat, saute the bacon until crisp. Remove the bacon and some of the fat; drain and set aside. Keep about 2 tablespoons of fat in the pot, add the flour and stir well to form a roux. Heat the roux until it is a dark brownish color, about 5 minutes.
  2. Add the onions, celery, sesame oil and carrots to the roux and saute for 2 minutes, stirring well. Add the garlic and heat for 2 more minutes. Add the water and stir well. Finally, add the white beans, black beans, cayenne pepper to taste and ground black pepper to taste.
  3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 2 hours, or until the vegetables and beans are tender and the soup is the consistency you want. If the veggies aren’t tender but its too thick, you can always add more water. Return the bacon to the soup and season with salt to taste.

Nutrition Facts

Calories 314 kcal
Carbohydrate 40 g
Cholesterol 14 mg
Dietary Fiber 9 g
Protein 15 g
Saturated Fat 3 g
Sodium 205 mg
Sugars 3 g
Fat 11 g
Unsaturated Fat 0 g

Reviews

Ashley Chandler
Outstanding!!! Had some reservations about the bacon and bacon roux, but this was so exceptionally good, that I hesitate to change anything.
Mary Brown
I used turkey bacon. Also I didn’t wait till the end to add bacon to the chowder. I adder after several minutes of boiling at the end. Good comfort food!!
Lauren Cox
This was pretty good although I halved the recipe but forgot to halve the garlic. It was pretty strong. My bad lol
Tiffany Hubbard
This was not an enjoyable meal at all. It didn’t look appetizing and the entire chowder had an off taste to it. I can’t put my finger on what the odd flavor was but it wasn’t good. I won’t be making this again.
Alyssa Baker
Mmmm, this is yummy! Because our family loves the veggies I added a bit more and then because we’re suckers for a creamier soup I added a carton of sour cream towards the end of the simmering and the broth is so yummy I find myself just wanting to drink it straight.
Daniel James
Yum! Yum! Yum! This soup was delicious and easy. Thanks so much for sharing.
Denise Washington
I wanted to use what I had in the cupboard, which was two cans of cannelini beans and one can of barlotti beans. I found this recipe first off, made it quickly, and loved it!!! Yum, yum! I am so full from my one small bowl! I will definitely make this again! (Oh, I too used chicken broth instead of water.) Thanks for sharing it!
Mary Braun DDS
Made this yesterday and it was SO SO good! Thank you so much for this idea, Adam. Instead of water I used broth from my roasted soy/sesame chicken breasts. I can’t use onion or garlic so I need all the flavor help I can get. I did not simmer the beans more than 45 minutes since I was worried the black beans would be mushy. I just let the veggies simmer for about half an hour first, then added the beans. Absolutely delicious!
Jared Duncan II
We have tried this recipe twice, and both times we have ended up disliking it. It tastes like watered down beans and that’s it. Even adding more vegetables and seasoning didn’t help.
Phillip Scott
Love beans, but could not get past the bacon roux.
Ronald Baker
Made as stated except used no oil other than the bacon grease. And didn’t have enough beans so used 1 can great northerns, 1 can kidneys. Then added 1 can diced tomatoes and 2 cans of “just add water” bean and bacon soup that I had been wanting to use up. This turned out great! My “pickies” even ate it up!
Thomas Lopez
This was okay… We made this and split it with our friends. They really enjoyed it, but we thought it was just okay. Definitely worth making, though, because I can see how you could really love it. It’s just not my husband’s and my style. 🙂
Sarah Flores
Finished it was a 5. But I found that there wasn’t enough raux for my liking so I tripled it (though to be fair I added more veggies so…). I also doubled, or more, the sesame oil. REALLY good once you play with it a little to get it how you like it.
John Carter
I enjoyed this recipe so much, I had to submit the picture! It tastes so much better than the picture looks! The smells were fantastic as it was cooking! Comfort food, for sure! I wouldn’t change a thing! MmmMmMmGood!
Maria Anderson
This recipe was great, also very easy. I used a little more flour than requested because I decided to leave all the bacon grease in because that is the best part. I also added two chopped jalepenos that gave it a very fresh, green flavor. All together the flavor was amazing and the broth/roux made the soup very thick. I recommend serving it with a hard french bread, either by pooring the soup over the bread or dipping in the soup. Amazing!
Dominic Mack
This was a great dish! My family loved it! I was a little nervous that I messed up the roux. I wasn’t familiar with that cooking technique at all. I tried to cook it 5 minutes like the recipe called for and it burned in some places. I was worried I ruined the dish, but when everyone had it they raved over how good it was. Next time, I’m not including the roux since I am so unsure about whether it was done right or not. Besides that, it was easy! Thanks for the recipe!
Cathy Barber
Very good. I did not have any sesame oil, so I am unsure what it adds. It was still excellent without it. I have found that leftovers freeze well. I tried the suggestion of 1 reader and added sausage, but I liked it much better just the way it is listed. Just be careful not to overdue it on the cayenne.
Thomas Wood
I think I might have burnt my roux a little because the whole soup tasted kind of funky, not horrible, just a little…off. I don’t think that’s the recipe’s fault, it’s mine. Other than that it was a good soup. I exchanged one can of dark red kidney beans for one of the cans of white beans just to give it a little more color. I cut up the bacon into bits before I cooked them and that made them crisp up a lot nicer. I also put it over cooked brown rice. I’m going to try to make this again in a few weeks, and hopefully I won’t mess it up again.
Hannah Carpenter
This is very tasty and filling (especially for a soup). I wasn’t sure I’d like the flavor of the sesame oil, but it melded with the other ingredients well. The recipe wasn’t difficult at all, but leave yourself some time for veggie chopping unless you use a food processor. Looking forward to having the next portion another day!
Dwayne Davenport
This was very good and very easy. I made it early in the day, then put it in the crockpot…. made it even easier. My husband suggested that next time add sausage instead of bacon. I think I will make the rue with butter, and add sausage at the end. Thanks
Alexander Gordon
Excellent! A meal in itself! During the last 15 minutes of cooking, I added a cup of water-

 

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