Bean soup
#51
Junior Member
Join Date: Dec 2014
Location: Kentucky
Posts: 230
I saw the title of this post and got really excited because I make bean soup in my slow cooker all the time and thought someone was posting a recipe! We LOVE bean soup. I make a lot and freeze a lot for later.
But, alas, my beans come from cans, so I'm of no value to you whatsoever.
But, alas, my beans come from cans, so I'm of no value to you whatsoever.
#52
I stopped soaking my beans and started using canned beans for bean soup. So much easier. And I didn't have to worry about the beans being hard or forgetting to soak the beans before I went to bed.
#53
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2009
Location: United States
Posts: 2,222
I made the best vegetable soup yesterday where I added freshly cooked pintos. I let the beans sit in water for an hour or so while I was doing prep for the soup (a lot of cutting fresh veggies). Rinsed, brought to a boil and let it simmer for maybe an hour or so. No additives, just water and pintos. Turned soft as needed.
I added them to the ginormous pot of celery, carrots, mixed veggies (frozen), garlic, quinoa, cut up potatoes, cabbage, v8 juice, diced tomatoes (two cans) chicken bouillion, water, paprika, italian seasoning spices, a little touch of cinnamon, salt, pepper. Was and is so good. Will freeze some and hope I make it again. Just so tasty.
I added them to the ginormous pot of celery, carrots, mixed veggies (frozen), garlic, quinoa, cut up potatoes, cabbage, v8 juice, diced tomatoes (two cans) chicken bouillion, water, paprika, italian seasoning spices, a little touch of cinnamon, salt, pepper. Was and is so good. Will freeze some and hope I make it again. Just so tasty.
#54
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Central Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA
Posts: 7,695
I have a seven quart crock pot that I use for bean soups. I wash and sort 2 cups of beans of whatever variety, add cold water to cover to twice the depth of the beans, Turn the crock pot on high, and go to bed. When I get up in the morning, I add meat, veggies, seasonings, whatever, and turn the heat down to low. Dinner is done when we are ready to eat. I always make cornbread to go with beans (I think it is a law that you must have cornbread with beans, lol) because the baking soda in the cornbread helps prevent "gas" problems. Try it, it works.
#55
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: California, USA
Posts: 1,318
I cook beans all the time and when that has happened to me the beans were old. Sometimes no amount of cooking is going to make them soft. They'll eventually be edible but will still be dry tasting. I have even thrown them in a pressure cooker and still could not get them soft!
#56
Super Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Norfolk, VA
Posts: 5,397
Did you salt them. If so, then there's your problem. The beans need to start getting a little soft before adding salt or they'll never cook right. Also, I put a bay leaf or two in the pot, helps cut down with gas in the tummy
#58
I'm not asking for advise - just wanted to share my experience this weekend. Now I have always just washed my beans, put in crock pot along with salt and seasoning - cooked on high about 2 hours, turn on low and go to bed and they're done in the morning. Saturday evening I put on some white beans in my InstantPot and pressured for 40 minutes. Most of the beans were done but I could tell when stirring that some were not. So I used the crock pot setting and cooked them for ANOTHER 4 hours. Still not ALL done. Left them cooking over night. This was for pot luck at church otherwise I would have stopped then and warned my family to spit out the hard ones. When I got to church Sunday someone had a pot of pinto beans on the stove cooking. Turns out my friend was having the same trouble with her beans except none of her beans were soft. She had soaked them 5 hours, then in crock pot over night and still not done. By the way they did get done before dinner. My beans came from a new bag of beans so if they were old it they were old when I brought them home from the store. I'm 80 and have never had an experience like that before. Can't imagine how only a few of the beans didn't get soft and the rest did. LOL
#60
I use canned beans whenever I just need a small amount but always make sure to rinse them well since this washes away some of the sodium.
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