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Recipe for bean and bacon soup that uses non-starchy beans and homemade bone broth and so is low carb and gut healing diet friendly.
Bean and bacon soup is an extremely fast dinner that is one of my family’s favorites. I made it for the first time for dinner one night with leftovers in the fridge and freezer that needed to be used up. We fondly call it “freezer diving” in my home!
It turned out really hearty and really didn’t need much to go with it except perhaps a salad or some homemade garlic bread. Skip the bread if you like the low-carb aspect of this soup though!
This easy leftover dinner is done in less than 15 minutes. That’s REAL fast food that won’t wreck your evening with a headache, heartburn, bloating, or insomnia!
Gut-Friendly Bean Soup
This particular bean soup recipe is great for those following the GAPS diet as the beans used are navy beans, one of the few non-starchy legumes.
All other legumes except for peas and lentils are disallowed while the gut wall heals and seals. If you love beans and are on an autoimmune protocol, this soup can help bridge the gap.
Of course, you must use bone broth as the base and not anything from the store. Broth made at home contains ample beneficial gelatin which is necessary to reap the full benefits of homemade soup.
Don’t Use the Bean Water!
Note that it is best to avoid using bean cooking water as suggested by some alternative cooking circles.
This modern food is loaded with anti-nutrients and dangerous to gut health!
Bean and Bacon Soup Recipe
Recipe for bean and bacon soup that uses non-starchy beans and homemade bone broth and so is low carb and gut healing diet friendly.
Ingredients
- 3 cups bone broth chicken, beef, or turkey
- 1 cup filtered water
- 6-8 strips bacon cooked and crumbled into bits
- 6 handfuls cooked navy beans from leftovers
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 carrots chopped
- sea salt to taste
- pepper to taste
Instructions
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Chop and steam carrots until soft.
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Add cooked carrots to the broth and water in a large pot.
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Add crumbled bacon, cooked navy beans and minced garlic.
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Simmer for 10 minutes.
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Puree with handheld blender right in the same pot or serve chunky style if desired.
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Add sea salt and pepper to taste.
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Serve with a dollop of homemade sour cream or creme fraiche on top.
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When room temperature, refrigerate leftovers. Freeze what you won’t use in 4 days.
Leftover bacon? Very funny! No such thing in our house! But, your recipe looks so good that I definitely think it’s worth frying some bacon to try, Also, I learned something recently that I did not know about red kidney beans. They contain a high level of a toxin called Phytohaemagglutinin, a lectin. In order not to ingest this toxic lectin, not only should you soak but begin your cooking with a 10 minute boil/simmer. I noticed Nourished Traditions does not address this so you may want to get the word out. Plus, cooking red kidney beans in a slow cooker without the 10 minute boil concentrates the toxin and can actually make you very ill. See this Wikipedia entry and scroll down to the section entitled “Toxicity”: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_kidney_bean#Red_or_kidney_beans . I don’t use canned beans but this should make everyone very suspect of canned red beans.
This looks delicious, but I don’t understand what you mean by “leftover bacon.” I’ve never heard of such a thing 🙂
I made this soup tonight with broth I made from a smoked chicken. yummoooo! My soup did not have as many beans as yours – can you try and quantify the bean measurement? ie 1. 1/2 cups cooked beans? I have small hands – and your soup looks a lot beanier than mine did. My daughter loved it but I don’t smoke chickens very often so I don’t have any more smoked chicken broth yet. I guess I’ll have to smoke another chicken.
I love bean soup – I love how yours is not only quick but also frugal. Glad you linked to Two for Tuesdays!
I love soup,,,winter, summer, spring or fall. Especially bean soup. I love that this is quick and easy. Thanks for sharing your recipe.
Giving new life to leftovers is one of my alltime favorite kichen tricks. Who says you can't cook a meal with real foods in a jiff? Thanks for bringing soup to the party at Two for Tuesdays.
Oh, there's nothing quite as comforting as a homemade bean soup…looks delicious. Thanks so much for sharing with Two for Tuesdays =)
Sarah! Thanks so much for linking up to the two for tuesday recipe blog hop! I love this recipe and I do things like this all the time. Interesting because right now I have some shredded brussel sprouts in bacon and some old beans. Totally trying this. As a side note on the sprouting beans. If you eat a LARGE quantity of beans and have digestive issues sprouting will help to decrease the antinutrients, but if you are using beans only a few times a week, soaking and long cooking is perfectly fine.
I do not sprout my beans, but I do soak them and then cook them in large batches and then freeze them so that they are basically ready to use when I want to make something using them.
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for sharing your recipe! Do you sprout your beans…or what is your opinion on sprouting?