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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. Â 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.
Hearty White Bean Soup with Sausage
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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
- ¼ teaspoon crushed mint
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ 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
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
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I love hearty soups and spicy sausage. This is perfect comfort food for these cold winter days.
Thanks, Gloria!
adding crushed beans to the soup sounds like a lovely idea..
Thanks!
Sausage soups are my favorites. I love this recipe! I can’t wait to smell those awesome smells in my own kitchen. Thanks for sharing!
Hope you give it a try, Diane! Thank you!
This looks spectacular. I love that you use spicy sausage in this. Wish I had a spoonful of it right now. Pinning!!
Thanks, Felesha!
I wish I had a big bowlful right now. I need comfort — and this would provide it. We always did like soup with beans in it. I’ll have to share this recipe with my son — he bagged a dear this year. Thank you for the inspiration.
I am sure you will love this bean soup! 🙂
This looks delicious…super cozy wand warm…perfect for winter nights! 🙂
Thanks, Wajeeha!
What a perfect meal to have on a cold winter day. I might need to make this soon! But I might swap out the Lima Beans for another bean 😉
Thanks, Kit!
You can also make the soup only with Great Northern beans, if you want. 🙂
Oh man, I need some of this soup in my life! Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks, Sam!
Hi. Found you on Foodgawker today. This looks amazing!
Hi Faith! Thank you, glad you like it! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
This soup looks so comforting! I love that you don’t have to add flour/cornstarch to thicken it up. My husband goes hunting some so we have a lot of venison sausage that we can use. This would be the perfect soup to put it in!
I agree, venison sausage will be perfect for this soup. Hope you give it a try! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂