This is truly the BEST 15-Bean Soup recipe I’ve ever tried! This soup starts with a package of dried assorted beans (NO overnight soaking required) that get cooked in the slow cooker or pressure cooker until perfectly tender.
What Beans Are In 15-Bean Soup?
This soup uses a 15 Bean Soup package which is a dry bean soup recipe containing 15 of these bean varieties: Northern, Pinto, Large Lima, Yellow-eye Bean, Garbanzo, Baby Lima, Green Split Pea, Kidney, Cranberry Bean, Small White, Pink Bean, Small Red, Yellow Split Pea, Lentil, Navy, White Kidney, and Black Bean. The mix comes with a seasoning packet, instructions for cooking, and a list of extra items you’ll need to make it a full meal. It’s kind of like Hamburger Helper® except that it’s for soup–and it takes a bit longer to prepare!
Fun fact: According to the company’s president, this 15-bean soup mix is the #1 best-selling dry bean soup in the U.S.
Why We Love This 15-Bean Soup Recipe!
While you can find “15-bean soup instructions” on the back of the bean package, nothing beats this recipe! And especially if you don’t have a pound of ham, leftover ham bone, or ham hocks! Or, if you don’t love tomatoes (both tomatoes and ham are called for on the back of the package). For our recipe, we will not use the seasoning packet that comes with the beans.
This is a 15-bean soup recipe without tomatoes or ham. (That said, check out the “variations” section below if you want to add in either!)
Instead, we’re letting the beans be the star of the show and then loading up this soup with beautifully sautéed veggies and a wonderfully creamy texture. Which, by the way, the cream base is ridiculously easy to make — no roux, butter, or flour required! The way this soup is perfectly thickened with only two ingredients is practically wizardry! 🙂
Variations
Soup Variations
So what if you do want ham or tomatoes in this soup? No problem! They’re easy additions!
- Adding ham. Add a leftover ham bone (~2-2.5 lbs) in with the dried beans. Leave out the salt and replace the stock with water (otherwise, it will be too salty). After this portion of the recipe is finished, shred the ham off the bone and stir it into the finished soup. If you are using leftover chopped ham, add it at the end to warm through while the soup is thickening.
- Adding tomatoes. Add in 1 can of diced tomatoes when you add in the garlic.
- 15-Bean Soup recipe with chicken. Stir through leftover cooked or rotisserie chicken at the end just to warm through.
- 15-Bean Soup recipe vegetarian. Replace the chicken stock/broth with vegetable stock/broth. Do not add chicken bouillon, but consider adding vegetable bouillon for more flavor.
- More veggies. If you’d like, mix in some baby spinach or kale near the end of cooking time. You could also add a diced bell pepper with the carrots, celery, and onion.
- 15-Bean Soup on the stove. Soak beans overnight (or 8 hours). Drain beans and discard the liquid. Then add soaked beans and 8 cups stock/broth to a large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 2-1/2 hours. After simmering, pour in the vegetable cream mixture and simmer for another 30 minutes.
How To Cook 15 Bean Soup
This soup is broken down into 2 parts: first, we’ll slow cook the beans in a well-seasoned herby broth. Second, we’ll sauté veggies on the stovetop to pour into the soup later.
Q: So why don’t we do it all in the slow cooker?
A: For flavor and to get a creamy base (without curdling). To get the most flavor out of the celery, onion, and carrots, sauté them in oil. This also ensures even cooking so you aren’t left with crunchy raw onion in the finished soup! Since we’ll need a separate pot anyway (to create the creamy base), using that separate pot to also create the tender veggies is the best way to prepare this soup! We use a separate pot for making the base because if we cook milk in the slow cooker for 8 hours, it will curdle.
A few more tips:
- Finely dice carrots, onion, and celery into even-sized pieces. Or use the food processor to quickly chop the veggies! Purchasing mirepoix (already chopped carrots, onion, and celery) is another shortcut option.
- Cook until the mixture thickens. When making the creamy base, don’t remove the pot from the heat until the cornstarch mixture has fully thickened into a sludge-like mixture.
- Don’t skip the finishing touches! A couple of fresh additions (the parsley and lemon) add freshness and vibrancy, bringing the soup alive.
- Add more salt! Don’t underestimate the magic an extra pinch of salt can offer. Especially in a soup filled with beans — you may be surprised how much salt is needed.
Quick Tip
It might seem like a good idea to make your own blend of beans instead of buying a pre-packaged mix. After all, then you can customize the types of beans you use! The only problem with that is that you generally will need to buy an entire package of each of the 15 beans–which will leave you with quite a few leftover beans. If you have access to a bulk food bin and can get just as much as you want, then that might work. Making gift packets of 15-Bean Soup is popular during the holidays–because making up lots of soup mix packets lets you use up all those packages of beans!
Storage
Soup Storage
- How to reheat: This soup keeps nicely in an airtight container in the fridge for 4-6 days. Reheating a creamy soup can be tricky; we want to avoid separation and a grainy texture. To reheat, add the amount leftover you’d like to enjoy into a pot and slowly increase the heat while stirring frequently. Don’t boil the soup or reheat it at a high temperature; this can cause the ingredients to separate or even curdle.
- If the soup has thickened too much for your liking, add a splash more of chicken stock to thin it out as it warms through again.
- Freezing: Unfortunately, because of the dairy in this soup, it is not a great candidate for freezing and thawing.
More Tasty Soup Recipes:
- 30 Best Soup Recipes all our favorites in one spot!
- Lentil Soup with the best seasoning blend!
- White Bean and Sausage Soup with Italian sausage
- Vegetable Noodle Soup with orzo pasta
- Vegetarian Split Pea Soup Recipe with loads of veggies!
15 Bean Soup
Equipment
- Crock-Pot or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried 15-bean mix discard seasoning packet, see note 1
- 1-1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 3 bay leaves
- 6 cups chicken stock or chicken broth, see note 2
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 2 cups finely diced yellow onion 2 medium onions
- 1-1/2 cups finely diced carrot 4 carrots
- 1-1/2 cups finely diced celery 4 stalks
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic 4 cloves
- 2-1/2 cups milk whole preferred, divided, see note 3
- 1/3 cup cornstarch
- Serving suggestions see note 4
Instructions
- 15-Bean Soup (Crock-Pot): Add everything listed under “Beans” to a Crock-Pot. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Cook 8 hours on low or on high for 4 hours.
- 15-Bean Soup (Instant Pot): Add everything listed under “Beans” to an Instant Pot. Season to taste with salt pepper. Seal the Instant Pot, turn the valve to seal, and cook on manual mode for 45 minutes. (Keep in mind that it takes about 15–20 minutes to get up to pressure.) Once finished, allow for a natural release of 25 minutes (I recommend setting a timer so you don't forget!) before releasing the rest of the pressure manually.
- 15-Bean Soup (stovetop): Soak beans overnight (or 8 hours). Drain beans and discard liquid. Add soaked beans and 8 cups stock to a large pot. Bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer (uncovered) for 2–1/2 hours. After beans are tender, pour in vegetable cream mixture (instructions 4–6) and simmer until thickened and creamy.
- Veggies: Add olive oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, and carrots; season to taste (I add 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper). Sauté, stirring occasionally, until very tender, 10–12 minutes). Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add 2 cups milk and stir.
- Thicken: In a separate bowl, add the remaining 1/2 cup milk and 1/3 cup cornstarch. Whisk with a fork until completely smooth. While stirring constantly, pour the mixture into the pot. Stir until the sauce is very thick. Once it has thickened, scrape it with a spatula into the Crock-Pot or Instant Pot. Mix well until soup is smooth. Slow cook with lid on for 20 minutes on high or sauté in Instant Pot for about 5 minutes—until heated through and thickened to your liking.
- Finishing Touches: Taste and adjust seasonings; I typically add another 1/2–3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Optionally add some chicken bouillon powder for extra flavor (1–2 teaspoons.) For some acidity, add a squeeze of lemon juice or a swish of red wine vinegar. The flavors should sing!
- Serve: Serve bowls garnished with a sprinkle of parsley and some Parmesan cheese if desired. Serve some hearty buttered bread on the side if desired.
Video
Recipe Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
15 bean soup….Amazing
Thanks Jeff!
can almond or coconut milk be used ?
I haven’t tested either of these, but I’m concerned they might not pair well with the other flavors.
The recipe was easy to make and very tasty. Crock pot with a smoked turkey leg. Delicious!
Delish! I’m so glad this was a hit!
Made this for our New Year’s Day dinner, and it was fantastic! I only used 1 ham hock and wish I would’ve used all 3 of them by the time I took the meat off the bone. Anyways, thanks for sharing your recipe, it was delicious!
I am so thrilled to hear this! Thanks Jenny!
Excellent soup. Even my picky husband agrees!
Thrilled to hear this! Thanks Colleen!