Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup {Campbell’s Copycat}
46 Comments Mar 05, 2023
Updated Nov 30, 2024
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.
Skip the canned version of Campbell’s delicious soup and go for this Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup copycat recipe. It’s a hearty soup made with white beans, carrots, tomatoes, and bacon (of course!). This is a soup your family is sure to enjoy.
If you like white beans and want to use them in a different recipe, try them in my Slow Cooker Sausage White Bean Soup or Tuscan White Bean Soup Recipe.
Table of Contents
Does this taste like Campbell’s bean and bacon soup?
Pretty darn close! Campbell’s bean with bacon soup is known for its full-flavored blend, which can often be hard to copy. But with this homemade soup recipe, I’ve pulled out those flavors for you to recreate using basic kitchen and pantry staples.
Cooked bacon, hickory liquid smoke, and chicken bouillon cubes add so much flavor. Earthy flavors are drawn in from dried thyme, tomatoes, and onion… making the original recipe come to life in your crock pot. This wonderful recipe is worth a try, especially if you’re looking to feed a large family or crowd.
Recipe Ingredients
- White Beans: This recipe calls for small white beans, also known as navy beans. To tell them apart from other similar beans (like great northern beans or cannellini beans), they are ivory-colored, oval-shaped, and have a smooth texture.
- Vegetables: Carrots, tomatoes, and a white onion are diced and added to give this hearty soup a chunky texture.
- Cooked Bacon: Although the bacon is cooked prior to adding, it adds a smoky flavor and whatever bacon fat is left from cooking enhances the soup.
- Chicken Boullion Cubes: These are used to make the soup’s flavorful chicken stock base.
- Hickory Liquid Smoke: A little goes a long way when using liquid smoke, so you’ll only use a half teaspoon to add a touch of smoke flavor.
- Seasonings: Dried thyme, salt, and black pepper are traditional seasonings to use in a good soup.
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Add the dried navy beans, chicken bouillon cubes, liquid smoke, onion, tomatoes, carrots, thyme, pepper, and cooked and chopped bacon.
Step Two – Pour in the water.
Step Three – Stir everything together until well combined.
Step Four – Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time. Serve and enjoy!
How to serve?
- One of the best ways to serve bean and bacon soup is with a slice of cornbread and soft butter.
- Just before serving, consider adding a dash of red pepper flakes to give it a bit of heat and a sprinkle of fresh herbs, like parsley.
- Soups like this also pair well with a small side salad, collard greens, garlic bread, or even a nice helping of butternut squash.
Recipe FAQs and Variations
No. That is not necessary for this recipe. Not soaking them will help maintain the texture of the beans during the cooking process.
For creamier bean soup, use an immersion blender to mash about 1/4 of the beans. It makes the texture absolutely delicious.
You can add diced ham along with the bacon or in addition. For even more flavor, cook the soup with a ham bone as well.
Pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, or black beans are all great substitutions. People that have tried these variations have said other beans tasted great. Canned beans are okay to use as well.
No, this recipe is meant for dried beans. Using canned beans would call for an entirely different set of liquid and cooking time.
Add any remaining soup into an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Beyond the original seasonings this recipe calls for, you can add onion powder, crushed red pepper, a bay leaf (remove before serving), and smoked paprika.
Instead of the water and boullion cube mix, you can use chicken broth, veggie broth, or bone broth.
Want to make more magic in your crockpot? Stay up to date and subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and YouTube.
Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried small white beans, (navy beans)
- 8 slices thick-cut apple wood smoked bacon, cooked and chopped (I use a 10 oz. package of Hempler's brand)
- ½ tsp. hickory liquid smoke
- 4 chicken bouillon cubes
- 1 white onion, diced
- 3 Roma Tomatoes, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
- ½ tsp. dried thyme
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- 6 cups water
- salt to taste, add when done
Instructions
- Add the beans, chicken bouillon cubes, hickory liquid smoke, onion, tomatoes, carrots, thyme, pepper, and cooked and chopped bacon.
- Add the water. Stir.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours, without opening the lid during the cooking time. You want the beans to be very soft.
- When the cooking time is up, check to see if it needs salt.
- For creamier beans, mash about 1/4 of the beans.
- Serve with cornbread and butter.
Sarah’s Notes
- There is no need to presoak your navy beans for this recipe. As long as you use the high setting on your slow cooker, they will cook up perfectly.
- Pinto beans, kidney beans, white beans, or black beans are all great substitutions. People that have tried these variations have said other beans tasted great. Canned beans are okay to use as well.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
This recipe is phenomenal. Tastes better than Campbell’s. Used diced tomatoes which I had on hand vs Roma tomatoes.Literally toss everything in slow cooker and cook on high. It is a masterpiece.
I didn’t have chicken bouillon so I used 6 cups Chicken broth. That is the only change I made and mine turned out to be a big pot of salty beans. Did that one modification ruin it?? Ive been cooking a long time and have always been able to swap broth if I don’t have bouillon. I would have thought it was basically the same thing. Crazy the beans soaked all the liquid up in mine!
I would have made the same swap my self. You could try adding some water. Maybe your bacon was extra salty?
WOW! This tastes JUST like the Campbell’s version but MUCH better and fresher!! I made it mainly as you stated but with a can of diced petite Italian tomatoes and 7 cups of better than bouillon chicken flavor. I did mash it a bit at the end to thicken it. SOOOO very good!
I ‘m confused. In the comments, everyone keeps talking about ham hocks but the recipe doesn’t have them listed in the ingredients? What am I missing?
I think the original recipe (about 10 years ago) had ham hock, ignore the comments.
Made this tonight and it was delicious! Didn’t have any roma tomatoes so I added a can of diced tomatoes and it turned out great! Thank you for this easy and delicious recipe!
The Bacon made this – use good quality bacon. So flavorful
I made this soup yesterday, it was so delicious. Thank you for the time you took to post this wonderful recipe.
Thank you for making it Ed!
So easy to make and delicious! Thanks
I made this with 2 ham hocks because that’s how the grocery store packaged them. This soup was amazingly delicious and rich. I’m making it for guests this weekend. Thanks for this recipe – 5 stars.
Can you recommend something that supplies the pork flavor of the ham hock, but without the hock? Do the think the bacon would give enough ham flavor and add a little liquid smoke if we wanted a Smokey flavor?
You could do diced ham too? Or just bacon and maybe a half teaspoon of liquid smoke.