My family has always adored canned bean and bacon soup. I used to buy the big, family-size cans and it could make a quick lunch when everything else was too hard to imagine. This soup tastes the same, but is not quite so quick to prepare. It’s still relatively easy if you use leftover or canned beans. I also use prepackaged bacon bits to save the time, mess and the calories of frying your own bacon. It takes about 30 minutes from start to table. Since you make it yourself, you can control the sodium and fat content. This soup is low in fat, high in fiber and is a good source of protein. To further reduce the sodium, use low-sodium ketchup and beef broth.
Bean & Bacon Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 small onion, chopped
- 1 stalk of celery, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
- 2 – 15 oz cans small white beans, undrained OR 1 cup of dry beans, cooked tender (about 3 cups of cooked beans)
- 4 cups (1 quart) water
- 1 tablespoon beef broth powder, or 3 bouillon cubes
- 1/4 cup ketchup
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1 teaspoon dry parsley
- 1/4 to 1/3 cup packaged bacon bits
- 1/4 cup cold water
- 2 tablespoons rice flour
Directions
Heat the oil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the chopped onion, celery and carrots. Fry them up for about 5 minutes. Add the beans, water, broth powder, ketchup, pepper, parsley and bacon bits. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer the soup for about 15 minutes, or until the carrots are tender.
Meanwhile, combine the cold water and rice flour in a small jar with a good lid. Shake the water and rice flour together until the rice flour is dissolved. After the carrots are tender, stir this into the soup to thicken it. Allow it to simmer for another 5 to 10-minutes and serve for lunch. Makes about 4 servings.
This is very good packed in a thermos for lunch boxes or for the stay-at-home lunch crowd. Serve with raw veggie sticks and sliced apples.
Assuming 4 servings; prepared with no-salt-added white beans.
Per Serving: 285 Calories; 6g Fat (18.1% calories from fat); 15g Protein; 45g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 623mg Sodium.
Calories By Percentage: 18% Fat; 61% Carbohydrate; 21% Fat.
Exchanges: 2-1/2 Grain(Starch); 1 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
6 Responses to “Not Campbell’s Bean & Bacon Soup”
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Maggie, we’re having bean & bacon soup with grilled cheese sandwiches for supper. What hubby asked for and I’m so happy to oblige him. (This tonight is not home made soup but from a can, but now that I have your recipe I’m definitely going to make it the next time I make a big pot of navy beans.
Still have say that your Salertus Cornbread is the best I’ve ever eaten and I make it quite often.
Thanks for all your ideas and hints. They make for interesting and entertaining reading.
Frankie
Salteratus Cornbread is the best, I have to agree with you. We eat it at least once a week. Leftovers get split, toasted in the toaster oven and served for breakfast. I’m so glad you enjoy it as much as I do. Bean and bacon soup is a long time favorite of mine. It was one of those things I was really sad to give up when we stopped eating wheat. This version isn’t as easy as using a can, but it’s not too hard and it really does taste good. Hope you enjoyed your sandwiches an soup. Sounds like a very good supper to me.
Maggie, yes the soup and cheese sandwiches were very good and very satisfying. I make as many simple, frugal meals as I can, but at times my brain goes into hibernation and hubby sometimes comes up with suggestion that fills the bill.
I’m hoping to get your vegetable soup on in a few minutes so it will be ready for supper and have grilled cheese with it. And Aldi has been having the best oranges for $1.68 for 3 lb. sack. This doesn’t happen very often, so we pig out on oranges when it does. But–boy howdy–have you looked at the prices on grapefruit and limes lately? Outrageous, isn’t it? Really more like criminal. Limes are 49 cents each and grapefruit are 59 cents up to 89 cents each. My favorite breakfast fruit is grapefruit and I could and have eaten a half as long as the season is current. Fresh homemade limeade is my very most favorite drink but Kool-Aid is so much cheaper now that I’ve been fixing that. And plain water with bottled lemon juice and a little sweetener will be what I’ll probably be drinking next. Which will be better for me than Kool-Aid.
Two or 3 yrs ago, my youngest son called us and said that we had better buy beef then and clean out our huge chest type freezer in the garage with whatever was in there now. Because of the horrible drought that had been going on for a long while, and the lack of hay that farmers and ranchers were selling beeves off rather than buying hay to feed through the winter. We followed his advice and bought all we could afford and for a couple of years we stretched out that beef as far as it would go. Now ground beef is a real treat and a rare one at that. Briskets are more expensive here than chuck roasts in this area. And no one grinds 85/15 in this area any more. It’s my favorite grind because it’s what is usually specified in most diabetic recipes.
Well, a friend just dropped in and got to go.
Next time I want to share a tip on how to very FRUGALLY fix gifts for Christmas etc.
Frankie
Citrus has been really high this year, I know. I’m hoping next year it will be more affordable. Peaches in our area are usually very affordable this time of year, but they are still going for over $2 a pound. I am able to find decent apples in 5-pound bag for just under $1 a pound and we have been eating a lot of those. Pineapple have been cheap recently, so we’ve eaten pineapple and fresh strawberries till they’re coming out of our ears. I am grateful that my worst complaint is that we have to overdo the strawberries and pineapple. When I was a kid these were unheard of luxuries.
In my area briskets are still pretty cheap, maybe a tiny bit more per pound than ground beef, but often less. Only I have to buy a whole one, which automatically costs $40, so I can’t always afford them.
I’m looking forward to your tips on frugally fixing gifts for Christmas. That is something I think every tightwad can use.
Sorry to have been so occupied that I’ve not been able to post about the gift presentation idea.
say, First, I’m almost positive that tightwads save wrapping paper from gifts, especially Christmas. However what do you do when the paper is so scrunched and torn that you don’t feel it’s fit for salvage? Don’t despair. There is a way you can still use it.
If you have one of those old ribbon shredders run the paper through that and save the “ribbons”. Use fresh brown paper bags or pre-used appropriate gift bags, put the gift inside, then fill the bag and cover the gift with the ribbons. If you don’t have a ribbon shredder, then sit a couple of bored children on a large blanket or old shower curtain. Give each child a pair of those blunt tipped “school” scissors and let them snip and hack to their hearts’ content.
Also with the fresh brown paper sacks, place the gift inside, pile in some paper, fold over the top neatly, and using a hole punch put two holes through all layers of paper (at the top of the bag), thread some ribbon or raffia through the holes and tie in a bow or a knot and a bow if there are nosey gift recipients. Take out left over those little decorative sticky stamps and decorate the bags with these. If you don’t have any of those (watch the after Christmas sales and stock up–but be advised–do not store in a damp area or they’ll be firmly and irretrievably stuck together) take out the old Christmas cards and cut pictures from these and decorate the bags with these. If this is your option, it’s best to do this before filling the bag. In a pinch I’ve used left over wall-paper, wall paper samples, newspaper, funny papers, color pages from old magazines of special interest to the recipient. Then shredded or cut up and used to stuff the bag.
One year, lacking bags, I picked up baskets for 10 cents to a quarter each at a garage sale and used those with the ribbon shredded paper and tied a bow or made curly bows to tie on the handles. This is also a welcome bridal or wedding gift. A bridal shower gift with scrub brushes, cleaners, dish detergent,
air freshener, given in a pretty basket gives over and over.
And throughout the year I will save bags and boxes (fruit bags, tea bag boxes, etc., for small gifts) and use those for gifts throughout the year.
As my great grandmother, Mammy, used to say, “God must love poor people because He made so many of us.” Or, “It’s no shame to be poor, just so all-fired inconvenient.”
Daughter in law is here for a sew day and I still have a soup to make for supper.
TTYL
Frankie
“God must love poor people because He made so many of us.” Oh that is amazing Frankie. Thank you for sharing that and your great tips for fancy frugal gifts. <3
Hope you had fun sewing, 🙂