Crock Pot Beef, Bean & Bacon Soup

Lainey6605's Note:

This seriously simple soup is full of flavor and spice. You will need at least a 5-quart slow cooker for this reicpe. To save yourself some time in the morning, you can saute the ground beef, onion, garlic and celery the night before and refrigerate until the morning. Then all you have to do is combine the ingredients in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to a comforting, delicious meal. All you will have left to do is top it with some baked fresh corn tortilla strips, tortilla chips or corn chips and some sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese and green onion - or whatever you like! A nice side salad would be a wonderful accompaniment with this soup. This soup freezes well, also.

• Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 8

• 5 slice bacon, cooked, drained and chopped
• 453.59 g ground sirloin or 453.59 g lean ground beef
• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 236.59 ml lager beer
• 411.06 g can beef broth
• 283.49 g can enchilada sauce
• 340.19 g bottle chili sauce
• 283.49 g can Rotel tomatoes & chilies
• 439.41 g can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 439.41 g can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 439.41 g can pinto beans, drained
• 432.33 g can niblet corn, drained
• 29.58 ml chili powder
• 2.46-4.92 ml garlic powder
• 1.23 ml onion powder
• 1.23 ml dried oregano
• 2.46 ml paprika
• 9.85-14.78 ml cumin
• 1.23 ml black pepper
• cayenne, pinch (optional)
• 1 bay leaf
• 4.92 ml salt
• fresh baked corn tortilla strips or tortilla chips or corn chips, garnish
• shredded cheddar cheese, garnish
• sour cream, garnish
• green onion, chopped, garnish

Directions:

1. In large nonstick skillet, saute ground sirloin, onion, garlic and celery over medium to medium-high heat until beef is browned and crumbles (be sure not to have heat too high so you don't burn the garlic); drain fat.
2. Add ground beef mixture to a 5-quart or large slow cooker.
3. Add the bacon and the rest of the ingredients to the crock pot, except for the garnishes; mix well.
4. Cover and cook on low setting for 6-8 hours or on high setting for 3-4 hours.
5. To serve, garnish with any of the following: fresh tortilla strips, tortilla chips, corn chips, shredded cheese, sour cream and green onions.
6. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf.
7. Enjoy!

Reviews

[Domestic Goddess]

Lainey, my husband and I loved this soup, it was so good!! I wish I could of given this recipe more than 5 stars. Yes it was a bit spicy, but my husband and I love spicy dishes. I think one could decrease the amount of heat, by decreasing the amount of chili powder and paprika. I made the recipe pretty much as is, except I didn't have lager beer, and a (14.5 ounce) can of the broth, so I subbed it with Milwaukee's Best Light Beer, as well as 1-(14 oz.) can of beef broth, plus 1/8 cup of water, and added a 1/4 teaspoon beef bouillon granules. Also, I only added 1/2 a teaspoon of salt. I made this in a 5-1/2 quart size slow-cooker, and cooked it on high for 3 hours. Boy did this smell wonderful while cooking. Thank you Lainey for this delicious soup recipe, it's a keeper!!

[Susie D]

This had a very good flavor, was hearty, and easy to make. The long list of ingredients make it seem more involved than it is. My batch came out fairly thick, but with a nice spicy flavor. I did add a chipotle pepper & used frozen corn rather than canned. Served with the suggested garnishes & chips. It didn't need another thing. Made for Craze-E Crockpot Contest.

[EmmyDuckie]

This soup came out more like a chili for me. It could be because I had a little trouble finding some of the ingredients in the sizes listed. The sizes of the enchilada sauce and chili sauce were both larger at my grocery store, so I kind of eyeballed how much to put in, which may have given it a thicker consistency. That's fine with me, though, because I love chili with lots of beans, and this really fit the bill.