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Crockpot white bean soup made with canned beans, vegetables, tomatoes, paprika and dried mint. 10 minutes of prep, no soaking, and it keeps for days.
This crockpot white bean soup starts with canned beans, so there is no soaking and no watching a pot. The vegetables, tomatoes and stock cook slowly for hours, and the beans go in for the last 30 minutes so they stay whole instead of turning to mush.
I grew up on Bulgarian bean soup, and this is not that soup. It borrows the seasoning I always reach for with beans: paprika, dried spearmint (djodjen, from the mint family but different) and summer savory (chubritsa). The slow cooker does the rest while I do something else.Why You’ll Love This Recipe
Canned white beans turn slow cooker bean soup into a 10-minute prep job.
Everything goes into the pot raw, with no sautéing first.
The soup is filling without any meat, it reheats well, and one pot makes 6 to 8 servings, which is why I make it for meal prep.
A pot of this white bean soup also costs a fraction of the same amount of store-bought soup.
How to Make Crockpot White Bean Soup
The vegetables and seasonings cook first; the canned beans go in at the end.
- Dice the onion, carrots and celery, and chop the roasted red pepper.
- Add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, roasted red pepper, chopped tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, paprika, garlic powder, djodjen, chubritsa, salt and black pepper to the crockpot.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or on HIGH for 2½–3 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
- Drain and rinse the canned white beans, then add them for the last 30 minutes of cooking. Stir gently.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and djodjen.
- For a thicker soup, mash a small amount of the beans directly in the crockpot and stir them back in.
- Remove the bay leaf and top each bowl with fresh parsley.
Tips
- Add the canned beans at the end. They are already cooked. After 5–6 hours in a slow cooker they break down and the soup turns pasty. Thirty minutes is enough for them to heat through and take on the flavor.
- Rinse the beans well. The liquid in the can is starchy and salty. Rinsing gives a cleaner-tasting broth and lets you control the salt.
- Salt at the end, not the start. Stock and canned tomatoes vary a lot in salt. Season lightly at the beginning and adjust after the beans are in.
- Start with less stock. Use 750 ml for a thick, stew-like soup and up to 1 liter for a brothier one. The vegetables release liquid in the crockpot, and almost nothing evaporates.
- Mash a few beans to thicken. It gives the broth body without flour or cream.
- Djodjen is dried spearmint. If you can’t find it, use regular dried mint and start with half the amount. For chubritsa, dried summer savory is the same herb; a pinch of dried thyme or oregano is the closest swap.
Serving Ideas
Serve this slow cooker white bean soup with crusty bread or Red Lentil Bread Rolls. A wedge of feta on the side and a few pickled hot peppers is how bean soup is usually eaten in Bulgaria. For a bigger dinner, add a slice of Bulgarian Banitsa.
The soup keeps for 4 days in the fridge and thickens as it sits; loosen it with a splash of water or stock when reheating. It also freezes well for up to 3 months.
More Bean Soup Recipes
If you want the traditional version made with dried beans, my Bulgarian White Bean Soup is the one I grew up with. For other soups that start with a can, try the Canned Red Bean Soup or the Black Bean Soup. White Bean and Ham Soup is a heartier option with meat, and Pinto Bean Soup and Instant Pot Lentil Soup are good next steps if you cook legumes often.
Crockpot White Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 900 g 2 lb canned white beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 –2 carrots, diced
- 1 celery stalk, diced
- 1 roasted red pepper, chopped
- 1 can, 400 g / 14 oz chopped tomatoes
- 750 ml–1 liter, 3–4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon dried Bulgarian djodjen, dried spearmint
- 1/4 –1/2 teaspoon chubritsa, dried summer savory
- Salt, to taste
- Black pepper, to taste
- Fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Add the oil, onion, carrots, celery, roasted red pepper, chopped tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, paprika, garlic powder, djodjen, chubritsa, salt and black pepper to the crockpot.
- Cook on LOW for 5–6 hours or on HIGH for 2½–3 hours, until the vegetables are tender.
- Add the drained and rinsed beans for the last 30 minutes of cooking and stir gently.
- Taste and adjust the salt, pepper and djodjen.
- For a thicker soup, mash a small amount of the beans in the crockpot and stir them back in.
- Remove the bay leaf and serve topped with fresh parsley.
Notes
• No djodjen: use regular dried mint, starting with 1/2 teaspoon.
• No chubritsa: use dried summer savory, or a pinch of dried thyme.
• Keeps 4 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
