15 Bean Soup Recipe with Smoked Turkey

This 15 Bean Soup Recipe is easy to make in the slow cooker and can be made healthier by substituting Smoked Turkey Wings and/or Legs instead of Smoked Ham Hocks. Instructions for making this soup in the slow cooker, on the stovetop, or in the oven are included. Additionally, adjustments for soaking or not soaking your dried beans are discussed.

I cook frequently and have made ALOT of soup throughout the 35 years of our marriage. During the fall and winter, we will eat soup at least twice a week. I tell you this to give you some reference to a comment my husband made after enjoying this 15-Bean Soup Recipe. After his second bowl of this soup, he said, “I think that this is the best soup you have ever made.” I mean, that is a really sweeping statement! The best soup I have EVER made???

When I asked him what made this soup so special, he commented that it was hearty, had a nice smoky flavor, and had the perfect level of heat. He liked that it was lower fat as it uses turkey instead of ham. He summed it up by saying, ‘it is just the total package!’ Needless to say, this delicious soup has been added to our list of Favorite Recipes. It is truly the perfect comfort food when paired with a piece of crusty bread and a salad.

Like most soup recipes, this easy recipe is often best made the day before you want to eat it. The next day, just heat it up gently before you want to serve it.

This 15-Bean Soup is Really Healthy!

• We toss out the ‘seasoning packet’ that comes with the package of 15-Beans Soup Mix. I always avoid processed foods when possible. The flavor packet in the Hurst’s Hambeens contains nothing more than ‘hydrolyzed soy protein, salt, maltodextrin, artificial and natural flavors’. As such, I knew that adding natural spices would yield a better tasting, healthier, and more naturally flavored soup.
• No added salt
• By swapping out the Smoked Ham Hock for the Smoked Turkey Wings or Turkey Legs, we reduce the fat and sodium by more than 50%. The smoked turkey wings and legs were located right next to the smoked ham hock in my local grocery store. But, if you smoke turkeys at home, this is a great way to use the turkey wings or legs from your next smoked bird.
• Beans are a great nutrition powerhouse. Not only are they fantastic sources of vegetable protein, they are also rich in a number of important nutrients, including potassium, magnesium, folate, iron, and zinc. Potassium is a mineral that promotes healthy blood pressure levels. Beans are also among the only plant foods that provide significant amounts of the indispensable amino acid lysine.
• Dried beans provide a substantial amount of both soluble and insoluble fiber. Not only does dietary fiber prevent or relieve constipation, but foods containing fiber can provide other health benefits as well. Consuming dietary fiber helps maintain a healthy weight and lowers the risk of diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer.
• Fresh vegetables add to the health of this soup. In addition to the carrots in the ingredients list, I sometimes add sliced kale or spinach to the soup right before serving it.

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A Variety of Beans

While I used Hurst’s Hambeens 15-Beans Soup Mix (without the seasoning packet), you could also use any dried beans blend with a variety of beans. For your reference, the types of beans in this mix are northern beans, pinto beans, large lima beans, yelloweye beans, garbanzo beans or chickpeas, baby lima peans, green split peas, kidney beans, cranberry beans, small white beans, pink beans, small red beans, yellow split peas, lentils, navy beans, white kidney beans, and black beans.

I like the different types of textures and tastes provided by the different kinds of beans in a multi-bean soup.

This 15-Bean Soup Recipe Can Be Made on the Stove Top, in a Dutch Oven, or the Crock Pot (Slow Cooker)

The recipe gives instructions on adjusting the cooking time for 15-Bean Soup using each method.

One caveat! If your bean mix contains kidney beans, you should either make this on the stovetop or boil the beans for 30 minutes to kill the toxin that kidney beans contain. According to the FDA, the temperature in a slow cooker may not reach temperatures high enough to destroy a toxin that is present in raw red and white kidney beans.

Soak or Don’t Soak Your Beans

I have always been a ‘soak’ gal, but the first time I made this soup I tried to go ‘no soak’ and it worked perfectly. I’ll share instructions for both methods; you’ll need to adjust the amount of liquid and cook time.

Not only was the taste the same for the two methods, but I didn’t find the soup harder to digest. And between you and me, if anyone was to notice that, it would be me! That being said, you know your system better, so you decide whether to go ‘no soak’.

How Do You Know When Your Beans Are Done?

I’ve referred to the Tamar Adler book, An Everlasting Meal, before. It’s one of those books I like to re-read from time to time for inspiration. Here’s her guidance on testing the doneness of beans:

Beans are done when they are velvety to their absolute middles.  You should feel, as soon as you taste one, as though you want to eat another.  The whole pot is only ready when five beans meet that description.  If one doesn’t, let the beans keep cooking…

Tamar Adler

For another really great bean recipe, check out our Brothy Beans recipe. It is probably the recipe that is made more often than any other single recipe in our house.

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