15 Bean Soup is a vegetarian bean soup recipe everyone will love! Vegan, high protein, tasty & easily made in the slow cooker, instant pot or on the stove. This is the best bean soup recipe. So hearty, filling and easy to make!
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This vegetarian 15 bean soup recipe is going to be your new favorite healthy soup recipe. It is SO delicious, hearty, and filling! I love this bean soup even more than my Lemon Chicken Soup and that is saying ALOT.
It is the definition of comfort food. It’s something my mom used to make all the time when we were kids, and I can remember eating it for dinner with LOADS of saltines or Italian bread (yum!).
It’s almost as delicious as this Pasta Fagioli or our favorite Easy Minestrone Soup.
This year when the weather started to get cold, I had a craving for a cozy bowl of 15 bean soup and after making it, I knew you’d want the recipe too! It’s the perfect feel good soup!
Why we love 15 Bean Soup
- Easy: This is one of the easiest recipes. It requires little to no work, and can be made in your pressure cooker or slow cooker with even less effort!
- Budget Friendly: The bean soup mix itself is under $2.50. Add in a few flavorful veggies, canned tomatoes, broth and you’re looking at maybe $7 to make the whole pot. Which, per serving, comes out to less than .80 cents per serving. If you’re looking for more budget recipes to help you save money – check out this post on Eating Healthy on a Budget
- Healthy: This soup is filled with veggies and beans, which are loaded with fiber and nutrients. It’s super low fat and has a decent amount of protein to keep you full
- Filling: Beans are SUPER filling, and when you add in veggies – this recipe becomes even heartier.
15 Bean Soup Ingredients
You’ll only need a few pantry staples that you probably already have on hand:
- olive oil
- onion, celery, carrots
- salt, pepper, bay leaves, dried basil, dried oregano, dried parsley
- crushed tomatoes
- broth (vegetable stock, chicken broth, or beef broth will work)
- water
- dry 15 bean soup mix
You can find substitutions for all of these ingredients below in the green shaded substitutions box.
You don’t need the seasoning packet that comes with the mix. Toss that in the trash, it’s loaded with junk and we’re going to flavor the soup on our own with all those spices!
Soaking beans for Vegetarian Bean Soup
The most important step is soaking your beans ahead of time. Make sure to soak the beans for at least 8 hours, but 24 hours or allowing them to soak overnight is even better.
Soaking the beans is an important step for the soup and if you don’t soak the beans ahead of time your soup will not cook the same. Soaking the beans for bean soup not only affects the cook time but also affects the flavor.
It also can help to make the beans easier to digest.
How to make Healthy Bean Soup on the Stove Top
- Sauté onion, minced garlic, salt, and pepper in olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add bay leaves, tomatoes, low sodium broth, water, and drained beans.
- Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and let the soup simmer uncovered for 1 hour, stirring every few minutes. Once cooked, remove bay leaf + serve.
15 bean soup InstantPot Instructions
- Rinse + drain soaked beans.
- Set to sauté for 10 minutes. Add in onion and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until translucent.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add soaked beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, water and and spices to the pot. Stir together.
- Set sealing, pressure cook for 12 minutes. It will take the soup about 20-30 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once cooked, quick release the pressure. Stir, remove bay leaf + serve.
15 bean soup in Slow Cooker Instructions
- Rinse + drain soaked beans.
- In a pan or large pot over the stove, heat olive oil. Add in onion and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until translucent.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add cooked vegetable mixture, soaked beans, crushed tomatoes, broth, water and and spices to the pot. Stir together.
- Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Once cooked, remove bay leaves + serve.
How do you know when the beans are done cooking? Beans are done when they start to soften. The best way to know is to taste test them! If the skins of the beans are starting to come off that could mean that they are overcooked so be careful!
P.S. – If you love slow cooker recipes, check out these Healthy Crockpot Recipes!
15 Bean Soup Vegetarian Substitutions
There are TONS of substitutions for this 15 Bean Soup.
15 Bean Soup with Chicken: You can add 1 lb raw chicken breasts to this soup when it starts to cook. Before serving, remove chicken breasts from the soup, shred them on a cutting board, and stir shredded chicken back into the pot.
15 Bean Soup with Sausage: Smoked sausage is great in this recipe. We like to brown the smoked sausage in the pan, slice + stir it into the soup while it cooks.
15 Bean Soup with Ham Hocks: You can add 1 lb chopped cooked ham to this recipe. You could also use leftover ham or throw in leftover ham bone or ham hocks while the soup is cooking, just remove the ham hocks before serving or check out this Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup!
Ground Beef Bean Soup: Add 1 lb of ground beef (already cooked) to the soup while it cooks.
Canned Beans – Cut the cook time in half if using canned beans.
Beans- You can make this soup with any dried beans (navy, cannellini, black bean, etc.)
Cheese– I love to add a parmesan cheese rind into the soup while it’s cooking. This soup is also great when topped with fresh parmesan cheese.
Broth – If you like a broth-ier soup, add more liquid. The beans also absorb the liquid as they soak, and thicken bean soup due to the starches during/after cooking. You may need to add more broth if eating the next day/reheating!
Veggies: Feel free to add other veggies you like to this. Mushrooms and zucchini are delicious additions. If you don’t have carrots, celery, or onion – omit them. You can add 1 teaspoon of onion powder or garlic powder instead!
Spicy Soup: If you would like to add some spice, try topping it with your favorite hot sauce or adding cayenne pepper to taste.
How to Serve Vegetarian 15 Bean Soup
You can definitely enjoy this soup on its own, but you could also serve it alongside:
- Protein – Serve it alongside these Coconut Chicken Tenders for a well balanced meal
- Bread – a big loaf of crusty bread is the way to go 🙂
- Salad – This Strawberry Goat Cheese Salad is my favorite
15 Bean Soup Tips
- Customize it to your liking! – There are a lot of substitutions in this recipe, feel free to customize them to your liking. If you want to add some heat, try adding a bit of your favorite hot sauce.
- Throw away the seasoning packet – You do not need the seasoning packet. It’s loaded with salt and funky ingredients. I promise it tastes delicious without it!
- Is the seasoning packet in 15 bean soup vegan? It’s unclear if the seasoning packet in 15 bean soup is vegan. It might be, but ‘natural and artificial flavors’ can be made of animal products so if you are vegan I would skip it!
- Soak your beans ahead of time – If you want to make this soup, make sure to soak your beans ahead of time!
- How can I add flavor to beans without meat? You can easily add flavor to beans without meat. I like to add lots of herbs/spices. Flavorful broth and tomatoes also add flavor to beans without meat.
Storing and Reheating Bean Soup
Storing: This bean soup will last for up to 5 days in the refrigerator. Store in an airtight container. Perfect for meal prep!
Reheating: You can reheat your soup in the microwave or on the stovetop. If frozen, defrost the night before in your refrigerator, or heat on the stovetop.
Can you freeze bean soup? Yes, you can freeze bean soup for up to 3 months! Let leftover soup cool to room temperature before transferring it to a freezer container. I love these molds for freezing leftovers.
We have more tips on how to freeze soup in a post!
15 Bean Soup FAQs
The Bean Soup mix I use is made up of: northern, pinto beans, large lima beans, yellow eye, garbanzo, baby lima, green split peas, kidney, cranberry, small white, pink, small red, yellow split peas, lentil, navy beans, white kidney, black beans.
1/2 cup of cooked bean soup mix has 18g of carbs. Per 1.5 cups of this cooked 15 bean soup, there are 53g of carbs. All the carbs are from beans and veggies!
I always find this 15 bean soup mix at Walmart, it’s the cheapest there. This is the brand of dry mix I buy, but other 15 bean or mixed dry beans will work too, including the Goya brand. If you like saving $$ on your grocery bill check out these 50+ Cheap, Healthy Meals
Bean soup thickens on its own, especially after it cools! You can add cornstarch. Add 1 teaspoon of cornstarch in 2 tablespoons of water. whisk until combined. Stream into your bean soup and cook on low heat until it starts to thicken.
The benefits of bean soup are that it’s loaded with fiber, healthy carbs and protein!
You don’t have to soak 15 beans before cooking, but we highly recommend it because it will be a lot easier to digest and cook.
Soaking beans helps them cook quicker and makes them easy to digest.
Yes, if you soak beans for too long, they can become soggy. 12-24 hours is usually enough time to soak beans.
There is no way to soak beans quickly. You can pour boiling water over dried beans, but it’s best to just cook them directly.
Other healthy vegan soup recipes:
We love soup SO much that we actually have a free healthy soup ebook! We also have a post filled with Healthy Soup Recipes!
P.S. If you’re a fan of vegan recipes with beans – checkout this Vegan Orange Chicken!
15 Bean Soup (Vegetarian)
Ingredients
- 1 20oz package dry bean mix soaked at least 8 hours
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon garlic minced finely
- 1 cup celery finely chopped
- 2 cup carrots cut in small circles
- 28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
- 4 cups vegetable broth 1 quart- low or no salt
- 4 cups water
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
- 1/4 teaspoon dried parsley
- 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
Instructions
Stove Top Instructions
- Important: Before making this soup recipe you must soak the beans for at least 8 hours. 24 hours is best. This helps them to cook, and also helps with digestion. If you do not soak them it will change your cook time and also can affect the taste of the soup.
- Rinse + drain soaked beans.
- In a large soup pot over the stove, heat olive oil. Add in onion and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add soaked beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, water and and spices to the pot. Stir together.
- Bring to a boil. Once boiling reduce heat to medium and simmer for 1 hour, stirring every few minutes. Once cooked, remove bay leaf + serve.
Crockpot Instructions:
- Important: Before making this soup recipe you must soak the beans for at least 8 hours. 24 hours is best. This helps them to cook, and also helps with digestion. If you do not soak them it will change your cook time and also can affect the taste of the soup.
- Rinse + drain soaked beans.
- (Cooking vegetables ahead is optional, but recommended for best flavor) In a pan over the stove, heat olive oil. Add in onion and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add cooked vegetable mixture, soaked beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, water and and spices to the pot. Stir together.
- Cook on low for 8 hours, or high for 4 hours. Once cooked, remove bay leaf + serve.
Instant Pot Instructions
- Important: Before making this soup recipe you must soak the beans for at least 8 hours. 24 hours is best. This helps them to cook, and also helps with digestion. If you do not soak them it will change your cook time and also can affect the taste of the soup.
- Rinse + drain soaked beans.
- Set to sauté for 10 minutes. Add olive oil, onion, and garlic. Sauté over medium-high heat until translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in celery and carrots. Sauté for an additional 5 minutes.
- Add soaked beans, crushed tomatoes, vegetable broth, water and and spices to the pot. Stir together. Make sure to scrape any bits of onion or garlic off the bottom of the pan with a spoon to avoid a burn notice.
- Set to sealing, pressure cook for 12 minutes. It will take the soup about 20-30 minutes to come to pressure.
- Once cooked, quick release the pressure. Stir, remove bay leaf + serve.
Katie Sanchez says
I made the crock pot version of this yesterday and it was a hit with my family. I have two little boys (5 and 3) and a meat loving husband and they all loved it. It will definitely be a staple in our house during the winter!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you and your family liked it! This makes me so happy to hear!
Linda Makiej says
This is the easiest and BEST 15 Bean Soup EVER! So happy to have Instant Pot instructions as well. It turned out PERFECT. And I love all the recipe notes and suggestions..,,, even my picky husband LOVES it!! Thank you!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Yay!! I’m so glad to hear it, Linda! And I love that your picky husband enjoyed it too 🙂
Maurita Kindle says
Made this 15 Bean Soup tonight and added smoked sausage. It was so delicious! I doubled the recipe and plan to freeze several containers for nights when I’m too tired to cook. Thanks Liz for another delicious recipe!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked it, Maurita. The smoked sausage sounds like the perfect addition. Great idea to freeze it!
Kim says
I made this in then instant pot tonight and was really excited to see I had all the ingredients already and added ham and zucchini. When I served it my kids were a bit skeptical (they saw lots of veggies and weird colored beans). After some convincing to initially try it they scarfed it down, even my pickiest eater. It’s so flavorful and filling. BONUS: There is still enough for dinner tomorrow!!!! Highly suggesting trying this recipe out, you won’t be disappointed!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Love the addition of ham and zucchini.. and that your whole family enjoyed it!! Plus.. there’s nothing better than having dinner ready for the next day! Enjoy! 🙂
lindsey says
This is my favorite soup ever! Its so easy and budget friendly. I added a little bit of ham to mine and it was delicious!! It did not last in my house because everyone loved it!!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Lindsey! It’s one of my favorites 🙂
Stanley Britton says
I have made the soup many times being plant-based whole food. My wife and I love it. I make a lot so I can freeze it in small bowls. I also make it with my own vegetable stock and it’s better than using any water or stock that you buy in the grocery store. Thank you very much!
Jennifer says
Made this yesterday. Was so good! Total comfort food. Very few ingredients so super easy to make. Soak beans for entire time recommend and simmer long and slow. Another hit Liz!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Glad you liked it, Jennifer! It’s definitely total comfort food, while still being so good for you!
Lauren V says
This recipe is the perfect blend between minestrone and lentil soup! Super simple in the instant pot, froze a bunch for an easy reheat on a chilly day 😋
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thanks Lauren! That’s the perfect way to describe it. Good idea for freezing it – it will be so nice not to have to cook one night!
Nancy says
Fantastic! I did the crock pot version and it was delish! It’s my second recipe with The Clean Eating Couple and they are 5 stars each time. I can’t wait to make more!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Nancy! This makes me so happy to hear!
Sherri says
The stovetop recipe states you have to stir constantly for one hour. Can I assume you meant occasionally?
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Sherri – I just adjusted the instructions to clarify. You have to stir this every few minutes. The beans can easily stick to the bottom of the pan and burn.
Jade says
Another one of our staples since transitioning to more plant based meals!
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you’re enjoying it! This is one of our favorite vegan meals!
Laurel says
This looks great!! I’m going to make it this week !!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hope you love it! Let us know what you think!
Stacy says
LOVE this soup! I put the left overs in single serving baggies in the freezer for a quick go-to meal. So good
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you like it, Stacy!
Geri Sehnert says
This soup was so easy to make! I chopped the carrots in a small chopper, used jarred garlic and frozen onions to save on time.
The only thing i would do is add more spices. It was a bit bland. We added some parmesan cheese, garlic salt and pepper.
The beans needed a little more time to cook for complete doneness.
I also put a parmesan rind in the soup while it cooked.
The Clean Eating Couple says
Hi Geri – Glad you liked it! The jarred/frozen garlic and onions could’ve been what made it a bit bland, but we also try to not over season our recipes with salt/pepper since many people are cooking for their kids/families. The beans will cook differently depending on how long you soaked them for. Thanks for trying!
Elissa Carrick says
This soup was delicious. So easy to make. The whole family approved. It’s super filling with all the beans and great as a quick and easy meal. This will definitely be added to our rotation.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it, Elissa! It’s one of my favorites!
Stacey says
I honestly expected this soup to be bland based on the simplicity and lack of seasoning; however, it was delicious! I didn’t add a thing, and it was perfect!
The Clean Eating Couple says
Thank you so much, Stacey! So glad you like it!
Ernie says
Was great! My family loves it.
The Clean Eating Couple says
So glad you liked it!
Lynne says
My daughter made this for me , and it was delicious!!
Joanna says
Fantastic, delicious recipe! I think I could eat it every day!
DEBRA jURCEK says
I was looking for vegetarian dishes and this one is excellent. I love making soups and this is a hearty very flavorful dish.
Irma Lopez says
This soup has been a hit in my house. We all love it! My husband especially! I follow the instructions and it comes tasting delicious 😋
Becky says
This was delicious! I’ve been looking for ways to get more protein while eating less meat. This fit the bill. I added a little chopped kale at the end. I think it would also be good with some frozen corn tossed in, or many other ways to modify to your taste.
I think your nutrition calculation may be off a bit. Your recipe says it makes eight 1.5 cup servings (12 cups in total). In fact, as written the recipe makes at least 18 cups of hearty soup. It is fit for a crowd! I froze half for a later meal.
Will definitely be making this again! Thanks for the recipe.
Terri says
I just made the 15 Bean Soup recipe in a crockpot, it turned out delicious, I added fresh herbs from the garden and it was tasty. I added Provolone Romano smoked chicken sausage and it gave it a good flavor. Everyone loved it. Definitely a saver. I also froze some for a later date.
Mae says
I’ve done thwm with smoked ham hocks and smoked turkey necks. I’ve as well done adding tomato soup or chili powder, and ad well as turkey sausage adding onions, a little pepper, no salt as to all additions have their on salt.
Melissa says
Simple to put together (grated the garlic & ginger instead of dicing). Picky husband who claims to despise cilantro had seconds 🙂
Ken says
Made 15 beans and ham soup ( slow cooker). It was very good and perfect cold weather food.
Will recommend others to try it.