Vegetarian Mixed Bean Soup

 This recipe is for those snowy days, when the last thing you want to do is venture out to the grocery store. Odds are, you’ll probably already have the ingredients to whip this up in your pantry. With minimal effort you get a big batch of soup that’s hearty, healthy, and just the right thing to keep you cozy. 

INGREDIENTS:

1 lb mixed bean soup mix

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 yellow onion 

3 cloves garlic

4 carrots

3 stalks celery

3 cups vegetable stock

3 cups water

15 oz diced tomatoes (canned) 

½ tbsp smoked paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp thyme

½ tsp spicy garden blend

¼ tsp cayenne pepper (or more to taste) 

salt and pepper to taste

splash of your choice of vinegar (I used basil, sweet corn or apple cider vinegar would also work well)

1 cup frozen spinach

optional: chopped fresh parsley to garnish 

DIRECTIONS:

To make this soup, you’ll first need to soak your beans in water overnight or for at least 8 hours! While this does require some time and planning ahead, it’s a very passive recipe.

Once your beans are soaked, drain them in a colander and rinse with fresh water. Leave out to let them warm up a bit. 

Mince your garlic and dice your onion. Add these and your oil to a big soup pot, and saute until fragrant and translucent. About 3-5 minutes. 

While the onion and garlic are cooking, dice the celery and carrot. Add to pot, and saute about 5 minutes more. 

Once celery has softened, add your beans, water, and stock and stir to combine. Place a lid on the pot, and bring to a boil. Once rolling, turn the heat down to medium low and let the beans simmer for an hour and a half, stirring occasionally. In the meantime you could watch a movie, or do something that makes you happy! 

After 90 minutes, the beans should be soft, and broken down a bit which will make the soup look cloudy. Add in the diced tomatoes, and all your dried spices. Stir to combine, then let the soup simmer for another 20 minutes. 

Taste the soup, add salt and pepper to taste. Toss in your frozen spinach, and stir, it should wilt very fast. Finally toss in a splash of your chosen vinegar, top with parsley if using, and serve! 

This soup freezes very well! When kept in the fridge overnight, it’s possible the beans may soak up some of the salt, so add more to taste. 

Enjoy, and stay warm!