Hearty Herb-Infused Navy Bean Soup

Why This Hearty Herb-Infused Navy Bean Soup Works

During the long simmer, the dried navy beans slowly soak up water and swell. Their skins soften and the insides break down a bit, so the soup starts to thicken on its own without any flour or cream. As the beans cook, some of their starch slips into the broth and turns the liquid from watery to smooth and a little creamy.

While the bacon browns, the fat melts out into the pan. That melted fat coats the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery as they cook, so the vegetables soften instead of drying out or burning. Once everything goes into the pot, the bacon pieces stay a little chewy, but the vegetables keep breaking down and blend into the soup.

Over the second hour of simmering, the thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves sit in the hot liquid and slowly spread their taste through the whole pot. Right at the end, the fresh parsley goes in so it stays bright and doesn’t wilt away, giving a fresh bite against the rich, thick bean soup.

Mistakes To Avoid

Letting the beans cook for less than the full time leaves them chalky in the center. They might look soft on the outside but stay firm and a little gritty when bitten, so the soup feels thin and the beans don’t blend into the broth at all.

Adding salt early in the bean simmer can keep the skins from softening. The beans then hold a tough shell while the inside breaks down, so some beans burst and others stay hard, giving the soup a strange mix of mushy and chewy bites.

Cooking the bacon until it is only lightly browned instead of properly crisp leaves a lot of fat still trapped in the meat. Once it sits in the soup, the bacon turns rubbery and the extra fat floats on top, making the broth feel greasy.

Throwing in the fresh parsley at the start of the long simmer causes it to lose all texture and turn dull and stringy. By the time the soup is done, the parsley has broken apart into soft bits that give the broth a murky look instead of small fresh flecks.