Reviewed: May 9, 2013

College student here! I love how easy it is to make this soup. I let the beans soak overnight in the crockpot, then turn it on and add everything the next morning. Voila! By dinnertime, I'm ready to eat with no effort except ladling and grabbing a pack of crackers. I have a lunch sized tupperware that holds exactly the right amount of soup for a meal, so I fill that up and then empty it into ziplock freezer bags -- that way I can thaw it out one portion at a time (fridge ~24hrs, submerged ~5?) and I know it will fit in my lunch tupperware. Tips: I usually use Great Northern Beans because they're easier to find, petite diced tomatoes go down easier, I do half turkey bacon and half turkey Kielbasa to cut down on fat and add flavor, and (like another reviewer said) I add both carrot and garlic. A little basil doesn't hurt either. So delicious! Thank-you Karena :)

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Reviewer:

J Chin

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Jan. 1, 2013

This was a great recipe. I substituted a ham & turkey stock that I made after Thanksgiving for the bouillon and water, and used 3 cans of great northern beans instead of the dried beans. We like a strong bacon flavor in our B-w-B soup, so I used the whole package and we found it was perfect, however, using this much bacon you might need to reduce or even omit the salt if you're a light-salt family like we are. Give it a taste and salt accordingly. To help save a step, I cut the bacon before cooking and cooked it in the soup pot, draining off fat as it cooked to help it get tot a nice crispiness. Then I just added onions, celery, and carrots to the crispy bacon and remaining grease and went from there.

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Reviewer:

MierGen

Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2012

Wonderful. I made in crockpot as my kitchen is out of order and only used 3 strips of bacon - still came out fantastic. As others have mentioned, I did have to add more liquid (substituted chicken broth for half of same).

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Reviewer:

Litegal1

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Anaheim, California, USA

Reviewed: Jun. 2, 2012

Tastes just like Campbell's but better! This is simple to make. If I can make it you can!

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Reviewer:

Nagynaggles

Reviewed: May 1, 2012

Soooo good! I left out tomatoes cuz I hate them and the cloves....and.the bay leaf. Soaked beans overnight ..put in crockpot with the water salt pepper...added onion and garlic powder..did the back onion and celery ....added to crock pot of beans and cooked.all day! Amazing! Definately a keeper!

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Reviewer:

Apriltc

Reviewed: Mar. 26, 2012

Very good. It needs more liquid though. I added 2 cups of water and two tsp's of chicken bouillon and it was still a thick consistency.

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Reviewer:

luv2cook

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Dana Point, California, USA

Living In: Laguna Niguel, California, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 18, 2012

This was delicious and I didn't even have all the needed ingredients! No tomatoes and no cloves, instead of water, I used a box of chicken stock plus 1 cup of water. I prefer my soups thicker, so I just cut back on the liquid. Best bean and bacon soup I've ever had, thank you Karena for a wonderful recipe/soup!

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Reviewer:

HEART2HEART

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Feb. 17, 2012

Best batch of beans I've ever tasted. I used one cup pinto and one cup soy beans.

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Reviewer:

Daniel

Reviewed: Feb. 12, 2012

GREAT SOUP - WONDERFUL FLAVOUR - I DID PUREE THE TOMATOES AS I DON'T CARE FOR LUMPS OF HOT TOMATO IN ANYTHING. ANOTHER READER SUGGESTED CUT THE BACON IN HALF - I WOULD DO THAT THE NEXT TIME. TKS.

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Reviewer:

diane-tony

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Montreal, Quebec, Canada

Living In: Chateauguay, Quebec, Canada

Reviewed: Jan. 27, 2012

The best I have ever had! I forgot to add the tomatoes and I added fresh garlic, otherwise I followed the recipe. My 10 yo daughter had 2 bowls of it and then took it to school for lunch the next day.

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