Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup {Campbell’s Copycat}
52 CommentsUpdated Mar 20, 2026
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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.
Featured Comment
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!
– anne
Does this taste like Campbell’s Bean and Bacon Soup?
Pretty darn close! Campbell’s Bean with Bacon soup is known for its classic savory flavor, which can be hard to replicate. With just a few simple ingredients and your crockpot, you can recreate that familiar taste at home. This recipe is especially great when you need to feed a large family or a crowd.
Key Ingredients
White Beans: This recipe calls for dried small white beans, also known as navy beans. You can also use great northern beans if needed.
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 Bouillon 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, but this is the key to getting the classic smoky taste of bean and bacon soup.
Seasonings: All you need is dried thyme, salt, and pepper to enhance the other flavors in this soup.
How to Make Bean and Bacon Soup
- Start with dried beans, smoky bacon, and simple pantry seasonings for big, old-fashioned flavor.
- Let the crockpot work its magic until everything turns tender, rich, and cozy.
- Mash a few beans for extra creaminess.
Tips & Variations
Meat Swap: To keep the smokey flavor profile you can swap out the bacon for cubed ham or a large ham hock.
Bean Swap: You can use black eyed peas or pinto beans in place of the small white beans.
Additional Seasonings: You can add red pepper flakes or creole seasonings for a spicy bean recipe.
What to Serve with Bean and Bacon Soup
Cornbread: One of the best ways to serve bean and bacon soup is with a slice of cornbread and soft butter.
Toppings: This soup is great as-is, but you can always add shredded cheddar cheese, freshly ground black pepper and crushed saltine crackers.
Other Sides: You can serve these beans over rice or pair them with collard greens or a green salad.
Do I need to soak the dried beans overnight?
No. That is not necessary for this recipe. Not soaking them will help maintain the texture of the beans during the cooking process.
Can I use Canned Beans?
No, this recipe was developed for dried beans. The amount of liquid and cooking time would be quite different.
Slow Cooker Bean and Bacon Soup Recipe
How to Video
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
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
More Slow Cooker Bean Recipes
Pinto Bean and Bacon Soup, Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup, and 15 Bean Soup with Ham are hearty slow cooker meals packed with flavor and perfect for busy days.
Slow Cooker Ham and Beans and Slow Cooker Refried Beans are classic comfort food recipes that use simple ingredients and cook low and slow.
Sausage White Bean Soup and Tuscan White Bean Soup are cozy, satisfying soups with rich broth and bold seasonings.
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.