This slow cooker navy bean soup is made with dry navy beans, celery, and carrots for a hearty, healthy and quick meal.
One of our favourite dinners to make on a cold fall or winter day is a hearty soup, served with a loaf of crusty bread. It’s filling and warms you to the core, the perfect comfort food.
We love soups around here, and one or two different soup recipes almost always make it onto our weekly meal plan. There’s nothing not to love. From light and healthy broth-based soups to indulgent and rich comfort foods, there are so many different variations to try. And they’re usually easy to adjust to any dietary restrictions as well.
Variety aside, the reason we rely on soups so often for dinner is that they are just so simple to make. Whenever we can, we love to toss all of the ingredients into our slow cooker and let it simmer away throughout the day for a quick and delicious dinner.
Our slow cooker navy bean soup is just that, super easy! It’s also vegan and gluten-free, making it a guilt-free dinner you can feel good feeding to your family. And it is so filling you will only need one big bowl, leaving lots of leftovers for the next day.
Slow Cooker Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 carrots, chopped
- 5 stalks of celery, chopped
- 1lb dry navy beans, washed and checked (do not use kidney or cannellini beans)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp paprika
- 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock
- 3 cups water
- Pepper to taste
- OPTIONAL - add crumbled bacon or leftover cubed ham
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients into the slow cooker and stir.
- Set to cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8 hours
- Once cooked, add salt and slightly mash some of the beans against the side of the slow cooker to thicken the soup.
- Serve with crusty bread and salty hard cheese, enjoy!
NOTE: Some readers have found they need to soak the dry beans overnight. We've tried this recipe both ways and found it turned out best when we didn't soak the beans.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving:Calories: 623Total Fat: 25gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 105mgSodium: 551mgCarbohydrates: 54gFiber: 14gSugar: 6gProtein: 46g
AliciaWD says
I’m making it right now. I’ll let you know. Didn’t saute anything first. I know is supposed to meld the flavors but I’ve never done that in Amy crock pot recipe except top brown meats. I’ll let you know. Thanks for simple recipe. I knew I was missing something going by heart! It was the paprika!
Alicia says
I hope you enjoyed it! 🙂
Gary says
What would you sauté? There is nothing to sauté and there is nothing that says anything about sautéing anything in this recipe!
Nick says
I know that some people like to pre-saute onions, garlic and spices in a slow-cooker recipe before they add everything else. It’s not necessary though, and we’ve never done it before to this recipe.
Cyndi says
Can this be made without the olive oil? Nothing is being sautéed so I’m not sure of its purpose.
Alicia says
Sure, give it a try! 🙂
Audrey Ateca says
Usually I soak dry beans overnight. Do you not have to do that with this recipe? I want to try it bit I wanted to make sure first
Nick says
I thought I might have to soak them too but I decided not to and they worked just fine in the slow cooker since it cooks for such an extended period of time!
Libby Murphy says
I am having company over in 2 hours for this navy bean soup. After it had cooked for 6 hours on high, the beans were hard as a rock. I transferred everything to my soup pot on the stove and have 2 hours to soften up these beans. Soak them overnight!!!
Alicia says
Hi Libby, I hope the soup turned out alright for you. This soup is a favorite of ours and we’ve never had to soak the beans beforehand. I’m not sure what the difference would be that would cause this problem with the beans, but we will add a note to our post to include you may want to soak the beans overnight. Thank you, Alicia 🙂
Holly says
If your beans are still hard as a rock after the long cook time, it isn’t because they weren’t soaked, it is because they were old beans. Old beans will never get soft, even if you overnight soak them. Unfortunately there isn’t any way that I know of to tell if beans are old or not… I just buy the name brands that have high turnover, so I rarely get any that have been on the shelf for several years.
Alicia says
Hi Holly, this is wonderful advice and thank you so much for sharing with us and our readers. We were quite perplexed as to why some people were having issues with the beans being hard once cooked! I had no idea that beans would never soften if they were past their prime, so thank you! 🙂
Sara says
I made this yesterday and didn’t soak the beans. Turned out perfect.
Alicia says
Glad you enjoyed it, Sara! 🙂
Bruce Jacobson says
Do not add salt to the water you soak the beans in. Often it makes them hard even after soaking or even hours of cooking. Add salt last or towards the end
Nick says
Thanks for the tip Bruce!
Anonymous says
My corckpot has 3 hours left on the low temperature. The recipes.has a lot of liquid still left,is that normal? And when the 8 hours has completed will it thicken or still have a lot of liquid?
Nick says
Don’t worry, once you get to step 3 you will mash up some of the beans against the side of the slow cooker and stir. That will thicken it up! Hope you enjoy!
Brenda says
Do you have to sauté the vegetables first or is the olive part of the recipe (to be put into the crock pot)? Thanks.
Nick says
Hi Brenda, we did not sautee the vegetables first, we just added it to the crock pot…I’m Greek so I tend to add olive oil to everything…
Pati Kalinowski says
This recipe was awesome. I did soak the beans overnight.it will be a family favorite going forward.
Alicia says
So glad to hear you and your family enjoyed it Pati!
Lisa Holbrook says
I made this tonight and it was super delicious! It is going in my family cookbook that will be handed down to my kids after I am gone. Thank you for sharing. It will be a forever recipe for our family for generations to come.
Alicia says
Hi Lisa, you’re comment warmed my heart! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed it and that it will be family favorite for years to come! Thank you for sharing! xo
Mwest says
Can I use northern beans?
Nick says
Hmm, I’m not sure. We’ve never used Northern Beans for this recipe. I think they are a bit larger than Navy Beans, so you may have to adjust cooking time.
Hannah says
What size crockpot do I use for this recipe? Maybe I missed it.
Nick says
Hi Hannah,
We used our 6 qt crockpot for this recipe!
cathe says
trying this today for my daughter who is pregnant and very sick. She has not been able to eat and nothing sounds good. I thought this high protein and kind of starchy dish will maybe be something she could tolerate and be good for her and the baby.
Hope it turns out good!
Nick says
This is one of our most popular recipes and we’ve had great feedback on it, so hopefully this does the trick for her!! Enjoy!
Jimmy says
I grew up poor, so I know my way around beans and cornbread. We would always eat the pinto variety but I have recently grown to love Navy beans. My mother made some last week that would knock your socks off. I got her recipe and it’s pretty much like yours, save a few ingredients. Maybe she frequents this site. Hi mom! Making 2 lbs so I can freeze some for work lunches Oh Yum!
Alicia says
So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Jimmy! It’s such a great cold-weather staple! 🙂
Debra says
Thanks for this easy recipe, I heated my broth to boiling before adding it in, the soup took 5 hours to cook on high! I added leftover ham and some salt pork, it smells so good! Going to serve with crackers and a salad.
Nick says
Mmmmm sounds delicious! Ham would be an amazing addition to the recipe!
Deborah wilsin says
Darn I am making now but using great northern beans I did soak I hope it works just what I had will post later
Alicia says
We would love to know how it turned out, Deborah! 🙂
Constance Nickolson says
You have to use navy beans or it’s not navy bean soup!
Alicia says
Exactly! 🙂
Bonnie Hibbard says
05/27/2019
Hi there. Looks just like the kind of bean soup i wanted to find. Easy and good. I do have one question though. When do you put in the meat while cooking or the end..like 2 hours before? Ham hocks i would assume at the beginning, but with Bacon do you cook and crumble or put in raw? Now with the Ham, i was thinking any time, but best at the beginning, even though it is already cooked. Good yor flavor. Thank you and have a greqt day. Bonnie H. in Michigan
Nick says
Hi Bonnie!
I’m not sure if I would do ham hocks in this recipe. I would either precook some bacon and then add it when the soup is almost finished so that it has a little bit of density to it. If you were to just put it in raw, it might be kind of rubbery. The ham you could definitely put in any time since it’s already cooked!
Hope you enjoy the soup!
Kathy says
I made this with ham. It was good. The next day, it was great!
Nick says
Hi Kathy,
That’s great to hear! It is our most popular soup recipe!
Donna says
I do not have carrot or celery, just onion and ham hocks will it turn out ok?
Nick says
Hi Donna, feel free to try if you want. I can’t promise it will turn out well! The carrot and celery are part of what gives the soup flavour, texture and heartiness.
Judy says
Sounds like my Grandmothers! Making it today. I only have a 4 quart crockpot. I think I will have to adjust the receipe. Can you tell me how to adjust the receive?
Nick says
Hi Judy,
I would think that if you did 2/3’s of each ingredient it would hopefully fit fine in your 4qt slow cooker. No guarantees, but that should do the trick!
Alma says
Absolutely love this recipe! I added smoked beef to it and it brings it to a new level. Family favourite
Alicia says
So great to hear, Alma! We’re glad this has become a family favourite for you too! 🙂
Abby says
I made this tonight exactly as written except I used a bag of great northern beans I had on hand. Also added leftover ham from Christmas. Came out perfect. My husband had 2 bowls!
Alicia says
Awesome, I’m so glad you and your husband enjoyed it. It’s one of our favourite soup recipes!