This scrumptious navy bean soup is packed with veggies and smoky flavor! Easy, delicious, and hearty enough to make a meal of!
You may have noticed that I share a lot of bean soup recipes on this site. I love them! I'm all about my spicy black bean soup, Mexican pinto bean soup, and rosemary white bean soup.
But good old navy beans don't get nearly enough love, and that needs to change. It's time I shared a navy bean recipe around here. Navy beans are delicious! They cook up super soft and have a savory, smoky flavor that's perfect for a cozy soup. This soup is also vegan and vegetarian (whereas most navy bean soups are made with ham), so everyone can enjoy a bowl!
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What You'll Need
- Olive oil. Feel free to substitute another high-heat oil, such as corn or canola. Olive will give your soup the best flavor though!
- Onion.
- Carrots.
- Celery.
- Garlic.
- Spices. We're using ground cumin and smoked paprika to give our soup the perfect smoky flavor.
- Vegetable broth. I'm a big fan of Better Than Bouillon in seasoned vegetable flavor.
- Navy beans. We're keeping things simple and using canned navy beans for this soup recipe. If you'd rather use dry navy beans, you'll need to soak and cook them first. Try this method. You'll need about 5 cups of cooked beans.
- Potato. The recipe calls for a russet potato, but you could absolutely substitute another variety, such as red or gold potatoes.
- Red wine vinegar. You could substitute white vinegar or white wine vinegar if needed.
- Salt & pepper.
How to Make Navy Bean Soup
The following is a summary of the cooking process used to make this dish, along with some tips! Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe.
- Sweat your veggies in some olive oil — diced onion, carrots, and celery. After they begin to soften up, add minced garlic and spices. Sauté everything for just a minute. Be careful and stir everything constantly to prevent burning.
- Now add your broth, beans, and diced potato. Crank up the heat, bring the soup to a simmer, and let it cook until the potato is tender.
- Tip: You can tweak the cook time a bit to your liking. I like to get my potato super tender and let the beans start to break down, making for a soup that's a bit creamy. Cook the soup more briefly if you prefer firmer potato and a more brothy soup. If you want your soup to be extra creamy, try blending a portion of it using an immersion blender.
- Take the pot off the burner and stir in some vinegar, along with salt and black pepper to taste.
Dig in!
Leftovers & Storage
This soup makes for great leftovers and will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for up to 3 months. It will thicken up as it sits — thin it with some water or broth when reheating it if you'd like!
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
Nope! But you certainly can if you prefer your potato peeled.
Absolutely! Try making it with black beans, cannellini beans, great northern beans, or pinto beans! Just keep in mind that the flavor and texture will vary depending on what you use.
More Easy Soup Recipes
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Smoky Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 medium carrots, diced
- 2 medium celery stalks, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 3 (14 ounce or 400 gram) cans navy beans, drained and lightly rinsed
- 1 medium russet potato, scrubbed and cut into ½ to ¾ inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- When the oil is hot, add the onion, carrots, and celery. Sweat the veggies, stirring them frequently, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, paprika, and cumin. Sauté everything for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.
- Stir in the broth, beans, and potato. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the the heat and allow the soup to simmer, uncovered, for about 30 minutes*, stirring occasionally, until the beans and potato are very soft. You can add a bit of extra broth or water if the soup becomes too thick while simmering.
- Remove the pot from heat and stir in the vinegar. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.
- Ladle into bowls and serve.
Notes
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This is the second time I’m making the soup. It is so delicious. I follow your recipe to the tee! My daughter was surprised she liked it, and said that it would taste good with some meat in it, but that was the whole point of getting all the protein that you need and vegetables in one place. The first time I didn’t use the better than bullion vegetable broth. I just use chicken broth this time. I’m gonna try vegetable. It’s so easy to make and so fill. Thank you for sharing this with us.
Like my grandma’s but BETTER!
Add me and my family to the list of raving fans for this soup! Like another commenter, I was searching for a navy bean soup and found this recipe. I had never been to your website before. I wanted a recipe that was whole food plant based, no oil, and this recipe fit the bill (my husband made it in the instapot and omitted the oil). We didn't have the vinegar on hand so we skipped that, and we used a couple of gold potatoes instead of the russet, and we subbed onion granules for the onion, but otherwise we made this soup according to the recipe. My mom stopped by and joined us for dinner, and she couldn't stop raving about it. I printed out the recipe for her to take with her. My daughter came home from work and had some and said she can't wait to have the leftovers tomorrow. I think this is the best soup I've ever had, and my husband likes it too. WE'll be making it often, and I can't wait to try more recipes from your site. I'm the only one who is whole food plant based at our house, and I'm always looking for recipes that my family will love that work for all of us. Thank you for this delicious soup!
I am not a vegetarian or vegan but I have been looking for budget-friendly meatless meals to serve my family. This was delicious and I did not have any leftovers. I will be making it again and this time I will double the recipe since my crew enjoyed it so much. I used dried beans in the same measurement that someone else had posted earlier.
Just found this recipe but wondering what the vinegar is for?
Just for flavor! It adds a hint of tanginess. You can skip it if you prefer.
Excellent! We ate half and gave the rest away with the other 1/2 loaf of sourdough, and it was enjoyed by all.
I’m always looking for vegan recipes that don’t get any of the “comments,” as mentioned by another reviewer 😉
Made this today on a chilly Spring day and it hit the spot. I used about a cup and a fourth of soaked dried navy beans. Since the beans had to cook for longer, I waited to add the potato until the beans were almost done. Served with dinner rolls. I’m trying to eat more vegetarian meals and your blog is becoming one of my go tos for new recipes! Thank you!
Delicious! I skipped the onion, upped the garlic & spices, upped carrots to 3, included celery greens as it was my celery grown from scrap, 2 medium gold potatoes, and used the IP as described in a previous comment. 5 minute sautée, then 11 minute high pressure. I have a small IP, so could only fit 1 1/2 cups of water (used 3tsp Better Than Bouillon reduced sodium veggie base). Thank you!!!
Oops! 3c water, not 1 1/2c
Hearty and perfect for winter. Thank you for the recipe!
So good! Smokey and tasty! Thanks for sharing.
I made this for lunch today, and it was great. I added a teaspoon of tomato paste, which added depth. Next time, I will sweat the vegetables a bit longer, and added the potatoes later. Otherwise, it was perfect. Thank you for the great recipe.
Really tasty soup. We forced ourselves to stop eating it so we'd have enough for another meal. We ran out of navy beans that my husband had canned so I used his canned garbanzo beans and some canned black eyed peas. Combination was scrumptious! I look forward to trying other soups on your site. Thanks so much for such a delicious soup with basic ingredients and easy to follow directions. By the way, I'm not a vegetarian but found you when I searched for navy bean soup recipes that didn't include ham since we don't eat pork.
Easy to make and great flavors!
Delicious, hearty soup that is comforting now that the nights are getting longer. I added a bay leaf and a few sprigs of fresh thyme, but otherwise followed the recipe. Thanks!
Should have had five stars. Sorry.
Mari
Excellent soup. My omnivore husband loves it. No remarks like, “It would be better with ham/bacon”. I did add a little extra smoked paprika plus smoked salt in place of regular salt at the end of cooking. That was mainly to appease eaters. ;-)
Made the soup yesterday. It was delicious and easy to make .
Do you have an equivalent time for cooking in an Instantpot? Since winter is upon us I'm busting mine out - it's about to put in some serious work! I already made farro risotto, vegetable stock, and potato leek soup this weekend.
I'll be making this next!
I haven't tried this one in the instant pot yet, but I'm thinking 5 minutes to sauté the veggies, then 10 minutes on high pressure. If I have a chance to give it a try I'll update the post!