This Slow Cooker 15 Bean Cajun Soup is a super flavorful, hearty crockpot soup recipe that is filling and nutritious. It is easy on your budget and makes plenty of delicious leftovers.
Long simmered soups just have the best flavor, don't they? There is nothing better than coming home and smelling dinner already cooked and just begging for some crusty bread to dunk into! We enjoy soups so much and I always make extra to freeze. Even though we live in Florida, soup is still on the menu, as long as I don't have to turn on the oven!
Try some of our favorite slow cooker and stovetop soups:
Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make 15 bean soup in the slow cooker: (not shown: medium yellow onion)
What type of beans are in the bag of 15 bean soup?
According to Hurst Beans, there are a variety of: northern, pinto, large lima, yellow eye, garbanzo, baby lima, green split, kidney, cranberry, small white, pink, small red, yellow split, lentil, navy, white kidney, black bean.
Some of these beans are much smaller so they will be done sooner than the others. We did not find that they became mushy or overdone but they were much softer. Actually, we liked the variety of texture since it also thickened the soup. If you have ever mashed some of your beans in a chili or soup to thicken it, you'll like these different textures.
To soak or not to soak?
Soaking- The idea behind presoaking is to break down the shell of the bean so that it is easier to digest and they cook quicker. If you plan to cook the beans for a longer time than the recipe calls for, then you certainly don't have to soak. You may need an extra cup of water or broth. And It will probably take 1-2 hours longer to cook the beans.
Overnight method- Rinse the beans and place in a large pot or bowl, cover with water. Cover with plastic wrap and store in refrigerator. When ready to cook the next day, rinse and drain the beans, discard the water. This is the method I used for this recipe.
Quick soak method- Fill a large pot of water and bring to a boil. Rinse and drain the beans and place in pot, lowering heat to simmer. Turn off heat and let sit for about 1 hour. Drain, discard water and place beans in slow cooker for the recipe.
Ingredient Variations
Variety is the spice of life, so I always try to give options and different ideas of ways you can vary each recipe. And my suggestion is before adding more seasonings and spices, taste first!
- Smoked Sausage- Andouille, Italian or hot sausage can be used and will give great flavor. The sausages should be browned for a few minutes to cook them part way through. And leftover chopped ham would be delicious as well.
- Veggies- You can change up the peppers; use red, yellow bell peppers or even the hotter chili peppers or add regular corn or mexican flavored corn.
- Seasonings- You can add more spicy flavor by adding red pepper flakes or some chopped canned chipotle peppers. The soup mix comes with a seasoning packet if you'd like to use that. And you can use a Cajun spice jar from the grocery store or use my homemade version.
How to make Slow Cooker 15 Bean Cajun Soup
Step 1: Choose your method of soaking beans. Add drained beans, broth, vegetables and seasonings to slow cooker.
Step 2: Cook on low for 8-10 hours or 4-5 hours on high. During last hour of cooking, add tomatoes and sausage.
Step 3: Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Remove bay leaves for serving.
Recipe Tips
- You can keep refrigerated for 4 days or freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Bring to a boil and simmer until fully heated.
- To test if the beans are fully cooked, gently press a few beans with the back of a spoon. If they easily fall apart, they are done.
- Taste for seasoning at the end of cooking. At this point, add salt if needed. The soup is fairly salty as is so only add if needed.
What to Serve with Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup?
I love to serve crusty bread with any soup, hearty enough for multiple dunks in the brothy soup. If you eat gluten or grain free, you'll want to try my Cornbread muffins, Biscuits or Bagels.
If you tried this 15 bean soup recipe and enjoyed it, I'd love if you gave it a 5 star rating. This tells me what you like and want to see more of. Thank you!
Nutrition is estimate from Nutrifox.com.
Slow Cooker 15 Bean Cajun Soup
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Soaking: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 8 hours
- Total Time: 16 hours 10 minutes
- Yield: 8 servings 1x
- Category: Dinner
- Method: Crock Pot
- Cuisine: American/Cajun
Description
This Slow Cooker 15 Bean Cajun Soup is a super flavorful, hearty crockpot soup recipe that is filling and nutritious. It is easy on your budget and makes plenty of delicious leftovers.
Ingredients
- 1 (20 ounce) bag of 15 bean dry soup mix
- 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
- 2 large stalks celery, chopped
- 3 large carrots, chopped
- 2 medium green bell peppers, chopped
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 4 cups vegetable broth ( or chicken)*, low sodium
- 3 cups chicken stock (or vegetable) low sodium
- 1 (24 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
- 1 (16 ounce) pre-cooked smoked sausage, cut into ¼ " thin slices
- 1 teaspoon salt, (if needed, at the end of cooking)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 teaspoons chili powder *
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 2 Bay leaves
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
Instructions
- Using the overnight soak method, rinse, drain and place beans in large bowl. Cover with water and place a lid on pot or cover with plastic wrap, and let soak overnight in the refrigerator.
- Drain and rinse beans and place in slow cooker. Add the broth, seasonings, garlic and vegetables.
- Cook on low for 8-10 hours, or 4-5 hours on high, depending on how soft you like the beans to be.
- During the last hour of cooking, add the tomatoes and sausage.
- If you want more liquid in the soup, add more broth or water. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Remove Bay leaves before serving.
Notes
*The soup mix comes with a bag of seasoning. I always prefer to make my own but you can choose to mix it into the soup. I would start with half the package and then taste the broth at the end of cooking and add more as needed. Only add salt at the end of cooking if needed since the soup is fairly salty as is.
* You can choose any variety of broth you'd like, low sodium is best. Or you can substitute water for half of the liquid. Taste the cooked broth and add more seasoning as preferred.
*You can keep refrigerated for 4 days or freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months. Defrost in refrigerator overnight. Bring to a boil and simmer until fully heated.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 313
- Sugar: 7g
- Sodium: 707mg
- Fat: 9g
- Carbohydrates: 43g
- Fiber: 10g
- Protein: 17g
- Cholesterol: 15.6mg
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