5 Easy Bean Soups That Will Save You Money
I hope you enjoy making some of my 5 easy bean soups that will save you money today. It seems like the higher the price of meat goes up the more Mark and I eat bean soups. I’m actually fine with that because I could easily be a vegetarian full time. I was just cleaning out the pantry to find some cans I could throw together for dinner tonight.
I do cook beans in my pressure cooker sometimes, but since we’re down to two people, I tend to buy more cans of beans. I love the convenience of the cans, and yes, I examine the cans before they go in the shopping basket to make sure I can pronounce all the ingredients.
I buy cases of canned goods when they go on sale. The beans I like the best are pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, garbanzo beans, vegetarian refried beans, white beans, and chili beans, to name a few. When my daughters were growing up we always bought bags of pinto beans. We also ate a lot of homemade refried beans.
I have learned to eat canned refried beans on a tortilla without the cheese. In my younger years, I would not have eaten a burrito without the cheese. Well, I’m pretty much staying away from all dairy. I love adding a can of green chilies to the refried beans, and of course salsa I could drink from the bottle, well almost. Safe Salsa Recipe To Bottle Yourself
As you know, we can always add another can of beans to stretch a meal. Gotta love it!
Yummy Bean Soups
1. Mexican Chicken Soup
- 4 raw chicken breasts (cut into bite-size pieces or 2 cups freeze-dried chicken or 2 cans: 12.5 ounces of cooked chicken)
- 2 cups canned tomatoes with juice
- 1 clove garlic, chopped or minced
- 1/2 chopped onion or 1/4 cup freeze-dried onions
- 1-4 ounce can green chilies
- 2 cups canned pinto beans or garbanzo beans
- Enough water to cover all the ingredients in the slow cooker or pan on the stove
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Combine all the ingredients and cover completely with water and set on low for about 8 hours or until done. Serve as a soup or drain the liquid and scoop into tortillas. Serve with shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
2. All-Time Favorite Chili
- 2 pounds ground beef
- 2 onions finely chopped
- 2 red or green bell peppers (chop into bit size pieces)
- 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
- 2- 16- ounce cans kidney beans undrained
- 2-16- ounce cans diced tomatoes
- 2-14.5- ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 2-16- ounce cans of chili beans (undrained)
- 1 teaspoon sweet basil
- 1-8- ounce can tomato sauce
- 2 packages of chili seasoning (or just throw some chili powder and cumin as I do)
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Grab a frying pan and brown the hamburger, drain the fat and add the onions, bell peppers, and garlic. Cook until tender.
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Add the remaining ingredients and bring the mixture to a boil, turn it down. Simmer for two hours on the stove, or cook in your slow cooker on low for about four hours.
3. 30-Minute Taco Soup
- 1 pound hamburger
- 1 large onion (finely chopped)
- 2-14.5- ounce cans of diced tomatoes
- 1-16- ounce can kidney beans (undrained)
- 1-16- ounce can of corn (undrained)
- 1 package taco seasoning packet (or just throw in some chili powder and cumin as I do)
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Grab a soup pan to brown the hamburger and the chopped onion, drain the grease if any. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Simmer for 30 minutes or combine the ingredients in a slow cooker on low for 3-4 hours. Serve with grated cheese and a dollop of sour cream.
4. Ham Hock Bean Soup
- Ham Hock
- Ham hock left over from having served a spiral sliced type ham or chunks of leftover ham
- 2 cups chopped onions
- 2 cups chopped celery
- 2 cups thinly sliced carrots
- 1 teaspoon sweet basil
- Salt and Pepper to taste
- Sugar to taste (my secret ingredient and optional)
- 3-4 cans 15-ounces white beans (not drained)
- Water to cover the ham
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Place the ham hock in the slow cooker, cover with water after all the ingredients are placed in the slow cooker. I like to cook this on low in my slow cooker all day for about 6-8 hours. I love the “set and forget” dinner idea.
5. White Chili With Chicken
- 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinned and cut into bite-sized pieces)
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 1/2 cup butter
- 3-15- ounce cans of white beans (drained)
- 16- ounce jar salsa
- 8- ounces of Monterey Jack Cheese with jalapenos cut into cubes
- 15- ounces of chicken broth
- 15- ounces of sour cream (ADD JUST BEFORE SERVING)
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Brown the chicken in part of the butter with the chopped onion until cooked as desired. Combine all the ingredients, except the sour cream, in a slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. Stir in the sour cream right before serving.
These are five of my very favorite soups I make all the time. Just about every recipe can be made vegetarian if you want to skip the meat. There is something about bean soups, you can always add a few more beans to the soup pot or slow cooker to feed more people. Please store beans, they are inexpensive and a great source of protein. God bless you for being prepared. If you have the desire, invite some neighbors over to your home for some soup and bread. If someone is ill in your neighborhood they would love a pot of soup. I promise. Stay well, my friends. Wash your hands, eat healthy food, and stay away from crowds, if possible.
French Bread In One Hour by Linda
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Copyright pictures:
Soup: AdobeStock_59334443 by Brent Hofacker
Thank you! Thank you!! Thank you!!! As I told you and your readers a few days ago, because of my wife’s illnesses I have become more and more responsible for much of the everyday tasks around the house that I used to take for granted. These recipes are a wonderful addition to my growing “I Can Do This” list.
Oh sweet Roland, may God bless you for being the caregiver. I’m so glad you can use these recipes and they are so easy to make. Thanks again for your comment, yes you can do it! Hugs, Linda
Thank you for this. I use a can of yellow hominey in my Taco Soup I stead of the corn. I also use different beans; pinto, red kidney and black beans. It makes a lot, but can also be canned for later. Yummy.
Hi Deborah, oh my gosh I have got to try yellow hominy!! I have heard of it but never tasted it. I’m so cautious when I buy my corn since it’s now GMO!! Thanks for the tip, I have got to try that! Linda
Linda, have you ever heard of the instant soups called Erbswurst and Linsewurst? They are pea soup and lentil soup…they still sold them until recently in Germany made by Knorr, the same company that makes the pasta sides. They were great for backpackers and travelers as all you had to do is boil the dried out soup tablets in water and poof, you had some delish soup. Some folks have some recipes for copycat Erbswurst and Linsewurst, but I haven’t tried them yet. As soon as it gets cool enough here in FL, I will try some of these great recipes. I’ve been cooking roasts and beans and other things outside in the crock pot in order to keep the house cool. Soup will be on the menu as soon as the weather drops below the 90s! Your recipes look so yummy.
Hi Debbie, I have not heard of those instant soups!! Those would be awesome! I need to look into those recipes! I can’t wait until I make soups every night! Stay safe, Linda
Yes, there are several copycats out there if you google: How to make Erbswurst. The great thing about this soup is that several tablets the size of a tea light candle were packaged one next to the other and wrapped. Erbswurst in German means Pea Sausage….as the package looked like a sausage when wrapped and is very compact. Kind of cool. BUT I think these would be great in a bug out situation or backpacking or sometime when all you want to do is boil some water. I read also that it can be reconstituted in plain water for a longer time period and eaten cold…if there was no way to heat it. Too bad Knorr doesn’t make them any more, but I’m up for trying the copycats…it’s a great idea. Perhaps other soups could be made into these tablets too. One fellow made his and used washed tea light foil containers to form them. He used that and either an oven or dehydrator. He stacked them all up like Knorr did and had some great soup that could be pulled out of a pocket on the trail.