Hearty White Bean Soup with Sausage

During these cold winter days, this yummy hearty white bean soup makes for a perfect winter dinner. I love this soup because it reminds me of my childhood. The scent that wafts through the house says “home”. It is true comfort food. The great thing about this hearty white bean soup is that it’s made with unprocessed ingredients. Dry beans, vegetables, spices, and sausage. That’s all! It is also very easy and quick to prepare if you have your dry beans presoaked overnight.

I use two different types of beans because it gives a nice texture to the soup. The Lima beans will get crushed while cooked and will make the soup more creamy and thick while the Great Northern beans will remain almost intact. This eliminates the need to add flour or cornstarch to thicken the soup.

Enjoy!

How To Make Hearty White Bean Soup with Sausage

What you need

1 cup dry Great Northern Beans

1 cup dry Lima Beans

8 oz. Cajun or spicy sausage (organic preferred)

1 carrot, sliced

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1 tomato, peeled & finely chopped

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 medium cloves garlic, minced

1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp crushed mint

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 tsp salt

Instructions

First, we have to cook the beans. There are two ways to do that – the quick soak & overnight soak.  Rinse beans before you start cooking.

After the beans are presoaked, add cold water to the beans to cover them by about 1 inch. I like to cook them in my Dutch oven because it adds delicious subtle flavor unmatched by other types of cookware. Bring to boil over high heat and boil for 5 minutes. Add sliced carrot, red bell pepper, tomato, onion, garlic, and drizzle about 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, thyme, and mint. You can always add more salt and spices at the end if you like.

Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender.

Just before soup is ready, slice sausage and brown in a skillet. Add to soup and cook for another 5 minutes to incorporate the flavors. Add more salt and spices to taste.

Serve soup while it’s warm.

• Quick Soak –  Place the beans in large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Bring to rapid boil on medium high heat, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain soak water and rinse beans. I also prefer to peel the Lima beans (I would rather spend 10 minutes on that than have white peels floating in my soup).
• Overnight Soak – Place beans in large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Cover and let stand overnight, or at least 6-8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse. Again I would also peel the Lima beans as I don’t like the peels from the beans floating in the soup.

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Hearty White Bean Soup with Sausage

Warm and Hearty White Bean Soup with Sausage - perfect for a cozy cold winter day. This soup has an amazing flavor and is so delicious!!

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 264kcal

AUTHOR Neli Howard | Delicious Meets Healthy

INGREDIENTS

• ▢ 1 cup dry Great Northern Beans
• ▢ 1 cup dry Lima Beans
• ▢ 8 oz. Cajun or spicy sausage, organic preferred
• ▢ 1 carrot, sliced
• ▢ 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• ▢ 1 tomato, peeled and finely chopped
• ▢ 1 large onion, finely chopped
• ▢ 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
• ▢ 1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1/4 teaspoon crushed mint
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

• Rinse beans before cooking. Soak beans quickly or overnight.
• Rinse beans, add cold water to cover the beans by about 1 inch. Bring to boil over high heat, boil for 5 minutes.
• Add sliced carrot, red bell pepper, tomato, onion, garlic, and drizzle about 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil. Season with salt, pepper, paprika, crushed mint, thyme. Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for about 1 hour, stirring occasionally, or until beans are tender.
• Just before soup is ready, slice sausage and brown in a skillet. Add to soup and cook for another 5 minutes to incorporate the flavors. Add more salt and spices to taste.
• Serve soup while it's warm.

TIPS & NOTES

To Soak The Beans

Quick Soak - Place the beans in large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Bring to rapid boil on medium high heat, and boil for 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain soak water and rinse beans. I also prefer to peel the Lima beans (I would rather spend 10 minutes on that than have white peels floating in my soup).
Overnight Soak - Place beans in large saucepan with about 7 cups water. Cover and let stand overnight, or at least 6-8 hours. Drain soak water and rinse. Again I would also peel the Lima beans as I don't like the peels from the beans floating in the soup.

Notes and Tips

• Make the soup in a dutch oven. A heavy bottomed pan will also work. They distribute the heat more evenly and the bottom of the soup is less likely to burn.
• Finely chop all of the veggies. This soup isn't blended, so chop everything quite small so that it's easy to eat.
• Taste the soup before serving and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

NUTRITION

Serving: 142g | Calories: 264kcal | Carbohydrates: 26.9g | Protein: 14.1g | Fat: 11.5g | Saturated Fat: 3.5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 1068mg | Fiber: 7.7g | Sugar: 3.5g

Course Soup

Cuisine Mediterranean

Keyword gluten-free bean soup, sausage and bean soup, white bean soup