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    You are here: Home / Soups / Smoky Navy Bean Soup

    LAST UPDATED: October 11, 2021 • FIRST PUBLISHED: October 11, 2021

    Smoky Navy Bean Soup

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe
    Bowl of Navy Bean Soup with Text Overlay Reading "Smoky Navy Bean Soup"

    This scrumptious navy bean soup is packed with veggies and smoky flavor! Easy, delicious, and hearty enough to make a meal of!

    Bowl of navy bean soup with spoon on a wooden surface with drinking glass.

    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!

    Jump to:
    • What You'll Need
    • How to Make Navy Bean Soup
    • Leftovers & Storage
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • More Easy Soup Recipes
    • Smoky Navy Bean Soup

    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.
    Pot of Smoky Navy Bean Soup with wooden spoon.

    Dig in!

    Bowl of navy bean soup with water glass and wooden spoon in the background.

    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

    Is this soup gluten-free?

    It is!

    Do I need to peel the potato?

    Nope! But you certainly can if you prefer your potato peeled.

    Can I make this recipe using other varieties of beans?

    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

    • Vegan Potato Soup
    • Chunky Zucchini Soup
    • Moroccan Chickpea Soup
    • Sweet Potato Soup
    • Escarole Soup
    Like this recipe? If so, be sure to follow me on Facebook, Pinterest or Instagram, or subscribe to my newsletter. And please stop back and leave me a review and rating below if you make it!
    Bowl of Smoky Navy Bean Soup with Spoon in it.
    5 from 10 votes
    Print

    Smoky Navy Bean Soup

    This scrumptious navy bean soup is packed with veggies and smoky flavor! Easy, delicious, and hearty enough to make a meal of!

    Course Soup
    Cuisine American
    Prep Time 15 minutes
    Cook Time 40 minutes
    Total Time 55 minutes
    Servings 6
    Calories 299 kcal
    Author Alissa Saenz

    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
    US Customary - Metric

    Instructions

    1. Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.

    2. 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.

    3. Stir in the garlic, paprika, and cumin. Sauté everything for about 1 minute, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes very fragrant.

    4. Stir in the broth, beans, and potato. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.

    5. 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.

    6. Remove the pot from heat and stir in the vinegar. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste.

    7. Ladle into bowls and serve.

    Recipe Notes

    *You can simmer your soup more briefly if you prefer it brothier, or longer if you'd like it to be creamier.

    Nutrition Facts
    Smoky Navy Bean Soup
    Amount Per Serving (1.5 cups (⅙ of recipe))
    Calories 299 Calories from Fat 32
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 3.5g5%
    Saturated Fat 0.5g3%
    Sodium 781mg33%
    Potassium 888mg25%
    Carbohydrates 50.7g17%
    Fiber 18g72%
    Sugar 5.5g6%
    Protein 13.9g28%
    Calcium 132mg13%
    Iron 4mg22%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    « Creamy Vegan Mashed Potatoes
    Vegan Pumpkin Muffins with Streusel Topping »

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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Jessicah says

      October 11, 2021 at 4:29 pm

      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!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        October 16, 2021 at 9:03 pm

        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!

        Reply
    2. Pat says

      October 13, 2021 at 7:54 am

      5 stars
      Made the soup yesterday. It was delicious and easy to make .

      Reply
    3. Mari says

      October 13, 2021 at 12:27 pm

      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. ;-)

      Reply
    4. Mari says

      October 13, 2021 at 6:47 pm

      5 stars
      Should have had five stars. Sorry.
      Mari

      Reply
    5. vivian says

      October 18, 2021 at 7:27 pm

      5 stars
      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!

      Reply
    6. Glenn Ausmus says

      November 14, 2021 at 11:46 am

      5 stars
      Easy to make and great flavors!

      Reply
    7. Diane Whitfield says

      March 21, 2022 at 12:39 pm

      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.

      Reply
    8. Terry says

      April 18, 2022 at 12:28 pm

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
    9. Robyn Wellons says

      June 11, 2022 at 6:04 pm

      5 stars
      So good! Smokey and tasty! Thanks for sharing.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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