After years of searching for a great bean soup recipe, I've finally found it! The first time I made this, I used diced ham. It was good, but the second time I made it, I used 4 slices of bacon instead. That's the one I prefer. I put the bacon in raw and took out the large pieces when it was done cooking. I also added just a touch of brown sugar. I put everything in the crock pot on high (about 4 hours for navy beans and 5-6 hours for great northern beans), and didn't need to soak or precook the beans at all. If the beans start looking dry, just add a little more water and they'll be fine. Thank you so much for this recipe!

This is fantastic. I left out the green bell pepper and added garlic salt and jalapeno for some zip. Love it with chips, on tacos and egg burritos. Thanks!

I've used and LOVED this recipe for years. I usually add about half the sugar to make it a little fluffier. It tastes great both ways, but the greater amount of sugar will make the loaf more dense. Since I have a whole wheat recipe I prefer to use for our sandwich bread, I've started using this recipe for dinner rolls. They are DIVINE! After the first rise, shape into rolls and place them barely touching in a cake pan. Let them rise a few minutes and bake. I usually brush a little butter on the tops when they're half done. Enjoy!

I had high hopes for this recipe. I grew up in California and regularly eat and cook Mexican foods. To me, this tasted like chili powder flour soup. Sorry...