Bean and Canadian Bacon Soup
Lean Canadian bacon has a delightful smoky flavor that pairs well with canned beans. Serve this soup with plenty of crusty bread for dunking.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large carrot trimmed and diced
- 1 medium onion chopped
- 12 ounces Canadian bacon diced
- 1 can 15 ounces Great Northern beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 cans 14 ounces each chicken broth, preferably reduced-sodium
- ¼ teaspoon crushed dried oregano
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large pot.
- Add the carrot and onion and cook 5 minutes or until the onion is transparent.
- Add the Canadian bacon, turn the heat to high, and sauté 1 to 2 minutes, just to lightly brown.
- Add the beans, chicken broth, oregano, bay leaves, salt, and pepper.
- Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes for flavors to blend.
- Remove bay leaves before serving.
Vary It!
- If desired, pour the soup into a blender and blend 1 minute, so the ingredients are finely chopped.
- For a thicker soup, puree the beans in a blender or food processor and then stir them into the soup.
- Or give the finished soup a few zaps with a wand blender for a bit more body.
- Also, this soup tastes even better as it gets older.
- Pour leftovers into single-serve containers and freeze up to one month.
