Bean with Bacon Soup

What was your favorite soup growing up? I remember I really, really loved Campbell’s Bean with Bacon soup. I’ve discovered lately, though, that the canned soups just don’t have as much flavor as I remember … so when Melissa from ChinDeep posted a recipe for Bean with Bacon Soup, well, I just had to try it. I love making soups, and it was raining this morning and this seemed like just the perfect thing to make … I ate two bowls of it for lunch. And now I’m tempted to go have another bowl of soup for supper.

Bean with Bacon Soup

Adapted from ChinDeep

• 4 slices of bacon
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 celery stalks, chopped including the leaves
• 2 large cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 teaspoons chopped, fresh rosemary
• 3 cups cooked Great Northern Beans
• 1 large red potato, cut into chunks
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 1 cup crushed tomatoes with juices
• Several baby carrots, sliced (or 1 long carrot)
• 1 bay leaf
• freshly ground pepper
• chopped fresh parsley, for garnish

In a large pot, cook the bacon until just lightly browned. It should still be floppy. Remove the bacon, set on a clean dry towel to soak up the fat, and pour out the excess fat from the pan. Loosely chop the bacon and set aside.

Add the onion, garlic, and celery to the pot and sautee over medium high heat until the onion is translucent and soft. Add everything but the reserved bacon and parsley leaves and bring the soup to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes or so or until the potatoes are tender.

Add the bacon, and heat just until the bacon is hot. Serve hot, garnished with fresh parsley leaves.

This recipe was shared at Sunday Night Soup Night.