Slow Cooker Northern White Bean Bacon Chowder

This turned out really good tonight. I left out the italian seasoning, carrots, and celery. We added lots of garlic and it really added a nice flavor to it. I also didn't puree this at all. I cooked everything in the crockpot and added the milk during the last 30 minutes.

Instead of putting in food processor, I used my hand blender right in the crock pot. Worked great!

When I cooked this, it turned out like refried beans. I would suggest using more water, and not pureeing all of the mix, only some of it.

This was a really nice tasting, filling chowder that's great as a meal on its own with some crusty bread -- perfect for those cold days! I made mine with low-fat turkey bacon and non-fat chicken broth to make it a little more health-friendly.

I grew up eating lots of northern white bean on cornbread...so this is old-school comfort food for me. I didn't make cornbread to go with it, however, but did as another reviewer suggested and made garlic cheese toast to eat with it....yum. I do believe that it needs more flavor than what the bacon can give, so I stirred in 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease and I added abut 1/2 a cup of diced up leftover Christmas ham. I also followed the advice of others and didn't bother with any pureeing. Will make again!

My family did NOT like this recipe. It took way longer to cook then expected. I will not try this recipe again....

great soup. i did cook the beans a little before adding them to the slow cooker cause the first time i made it i couldn't get the beans to cook. also, i put in a couple dried chipotle peppers when soaking the beans and threw them right into the mix. added an awesome smokey/spicey flavor. have tried it with different smoked meats, all turned out great. don't puree all of the soup, but do about half. saves the "refried beans" texture but is also not watery

i leave the potato out. Puree slightly w/ boatmotor is opt. Better next day. Freezes well.

Never again will I buy canned bean soup. This is a great recipe for cold weather days. I served this with a Texas cheese toast.

Excellent recipe! Made it exactly as the recipe reads and my family just loved it. Did add some Frank's Hot Sauce at the table for some kick.

I made this and my husband loved it!! The only substitutions I made was omitting the bacon, browning turkey sausage (out of the casing) and half of the reserved potato, and mixing it all in with the pureed soup. Very delicious!!

I followed this recipe to the letter but left out the milk in the final step. After pureeing the whole batch, it was not nearly as thick as I would have liked and I did not want to water it down more by adding milk. To me, a bean chowder should be very thick and this was not. I would make this again but reduce the amount of broth called for.

NEEDS SALT!

This was yummy! I used a pound of beans so I doubled the veggies except for the potato. Skipped the Italian seasoning and used a Cajun blend instead. When it was done cooking I pureed it in the pot using an immersion blender. I didn't measure the milk just poured it in until it was the consistency I wanted. It tasted a little flat at first so I added a few dashes of tobasco sauce, still wasn't right. Ended up adding 2 T of chopped cilantro to brighten it up. Then it was really good! Thanks for the recipe!

EXCELLENT ! Instead of Italian seasoning I put in Mrs. Dash's Tomato and Garlic then added a few shakes of bacon bits

was not impressed with this one. Flavor was OK but I would not blend any of it. Didn't like the texture. It would have probably been better with the beans whole. I will not use this recipe again.

This was a very filling lunch. I made a couple of changes to fit my tastes, I omitted the celery because I don't like it and the bacon because I'm trying to cut back. I did add garlic as suggested by other viewers. I will make again.

beans didn't get soft. i'd rather eat regular white beans.

I was really excited about this recipe, but the flavor in this dish was really disappointing. It simply lacked completely in flavor. I tried it both pureed and not pureed as some other reviews suggested, but either way, it was just plain "blah". My husband and I both ate it (topped with shredded cheese, to try and "help" the flavor), but, unfortunately, I won't be making it again. I do alot of experimenting with recipes, but I made this according to the directions, and am not really sure what I could've added to make it better. Too bad.

Great and easy recipe! I would definitely make this soup again for ease of prep and amazing flavor. The most time-consuming part of the prep was cooking the bacon; the rest was just quick chopping and dropping into the crock pot. I followed recipe as best I could. For the beans, I did the quick-soak method which worked just fine. I swapped an apple for the carrot out of necessity, but it was blended in the end and added a nice balance to the flavor. I used a stick blender and blended the soup about 85%, to preserve some texture from the veg and beans. I inadvertently added shredded cheese to the soup at the end, which was a happy accident! The bacon, potatoes, and cheese, when combined with the mild flavor of the white beans, made this soup taste like a loaded baked potato. So for a garnish, I used some reserved bacon crumbles and green onions to really ramp up the flavor. YUM-O!! Reheat Note: you may decide to add some water to thin the consistency just a bit; otherwise, it is super hearty and thick (which is still really good!). I HIGHLY recommend it to any first-time bean cookers and to anyone in the mood for a hearty and delicious wintertime soup.

we thought this receipe was very good, and my husband didn't know about all the vegetables! I added hot sauce to my bowl.

Love this!I didn't have carrots that was the only thing missing and at the end it was very thick so i just added more chicken broth then milk.And i used my hand blender right in the crock pot to puree it.

This was absolutely wonderful. I had a big jar of beans that I used to speed up the process but it was just fantastic soup. I actually forgot to save the recipe and I just found it again so I could make another batch! Highly recommended.

Tasted good the flaver was great,but i didn't quiet enjoy the texture it was like refried bean or baby food.I will make it again only puree half of the soup. I think it will give it the texture that me and my family will enjoy.

Incredibly easy to prepare and absolutely delicious! A big hit!

We enjoyed this recipe exactly as posted. It was a little bland so I added a little more sea salt and white pepper. We will be making this one again.

The 5 stars are for the taste alone - it was wonderful!! However mine was not close to being thick enough to be a chowder. Most likely it's because I used 3 cans of beans & not dry (would have liked to use 4 but no more room in pot). 1/2# bacon w/all grease & added veg.'s to fry pan (after 2 min. in microwave) before adding to beans in slo-cooker. Only real change to recipe was I added 2 rounded tsp. of ham base. I over used stick blender & will have to be careful next time. I love bean soup & only remember 1 from the past that was better than this. This is GREAT!

This was really bland.

One of my husband's favorite soups is bean with bacon. He liked this chowder, as did I. I used 3 cans(14.5 oz) of white northern beans instead of dried . I used 1 quart of chicken stock and kept the rest of the ingredients the same. I cooked it on low for a shorter time....6 hours. I used my immersion blender and did not use any dairy. This chowder is flavorful and filling.

I made as written and made no changes. Served with jalapeno cornbread. Very filling and yummy :-)

This is a great soup. I alter the directions a bit to make it quicker. First I pressure cook the beans. It only takes a few minutes. Just put the beans in clear water and pressure cook for 20 minutes. (No salt in the water). Sautee the onions and celery a bit, then put everything together. I simmer for about 1 hour, no blender, also whipping cream or at least half and half. We all like the bits and pieces In the soup. I also do not use the Italian seasoning. just Basil and Oregano. A little different but the end result is still a great flavor.

Needs more liquid, I added additional chicken broth. Quite bland though, I would recommend more garlic or other seasoning depending on taste. Also I used an immersion hand blender, far easier than transferring to an upright blender.

Great soup recipe. I added a couple tsp. of liquid smoke to it while it cooked and it gave it a smokey meat flavor!