This bean chowder recipe is the best, hearty chowder I’ve made in a long time!
This is one of those recipes that makes a huge pot of soup that you can easily portion out and freeze for a cold winter evening with some crusty garlic bread. It makes about a full gallon of soup. I love making a ton of soups because when winter hits and I inevitably catch a cold or flu, all I have to do is reach in the freezer, thaw and warm and lunch or dinner is on the table.
As a single mom, these types of meals are really critical. All it takes is one busy day or one flu to wipe out my entire schedule. It’s possible for all three meals to get erased from my schedule in lieu of snacking on whatever happens to be available.
By itself, this is a wonderful vegetarian/vegan meal. But feel free to add a clean sausage or even some browned, scrambled, ground meat to this for extra protein. It’s a super easy dish to make and is pretty easy on the budget if you don’t add the meat.
You can either make the beans at home in your slow cooker (that’s always been the easiest way to cook beans!), or you can buy a few cans of beans, providing you make sure there is no added sugar or other unwanted ingredients in the can. Clean cans of beans can be tough to track down, but they do exist and they do make this recipe a whole lot easier. But that doesn’t mean you can’t just make the beans at home if that’s what you normally do. I will say that some of the things I’ve read about undercooked kidney beans make me always want to buy them canned. But that’s a personal decision. I leave that up to you and what you’re comfortable with.
This soup is great for school lunch thermoses or work lunches on the go. Make a big pot and you’ll have soup at the ready any time you need it!
HEALTHY SOUP RECIPES:
BEAN CHOWDER RECIPE:
Bean Chowder Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups chicken or veggie broth/stock
- 1 cup sliced carrots
- 2 medium stalks celery, sliced thin
- 1 (28 oz.) can stewed tomatoes
- 1 (15 oz.) can great northern beans
- 1 (15 oz.) can black beans
- 1 (15 oz.) can pinto beans
- 1 (15 oz.) can kidney beans
- 1 (15 oz.) can refried beans
- 1 lb. frozen, organic corn
- 1 tbsp. onion powder
- 1 tbsp. garlic powder
- 2 large bay leaves
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into a large soup or stock pot and bring to a boil.
- Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaves and season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This recipe from the Gracious Pantry® archives, originally posted 9/27/17.
Sharon W says
I made this for dinner tonight. While it was cooking, I commented to my husband that I hoped it was awesome tasting, because it was sooo easy to make. It was delicious!! It makes a lot, so I’ll be able to freeze some for future meals.
In the future, I might put in onion and garlic instead of the powders, but the powders were certainly easy! The other change I’ll use crushed or diced tomatoes, but that’s a personal preference. I added hot sauce to my bowl, as I generally do with chowders. Thanks for a great recipe!!
The Gracious Pantry says
Sharon – Fantastic!! I’m so happy you liked it! 😀
2pots2cook says
Absolutely beautiful comfort autumn food. Thank you and enjoy your day 🙂
The Gracious Pantry says
2pots2cook – Thanks so much! 🙂
Jen Small says
Another winner! TGP is my favorite go-to site when I’m looking for healthy meal ideas.
This soup was super easy and tasty and makes PLENTY for leftovers, lunch the next day or to freeze. Paired with a salad and it’s a fantastic fall dinner.
I didnt have stewed tomato so I used regular diced canned tomatoes. I also added chopped fresh vidalia onion.
The Gracious Pantry says
Jen – Thanks so much!! That’s awesome!! I do love soups this time of year. 🙂