Navy Bean Soup (Vegan)
Submitted by glsneed
Vegan navy bean soup with balsamic-caramelized onions, miso paste, tomato sauce, and warming spices. Oil-free, long-simmered for deep flavor, serves 8. Worth every minute of the 4-hour cook.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
4 hrsREADY
4 hrsTwo moves set this vegan soup apart from every other navy bean recipe: caramelizing the onions in balsamic vinegar instead of oil, and stirring in miso paste during the final simmer.
The balsamic method takes patience on low heat, but it pulls a rich, slightly sweet depth out of the onions without adding any fat. That sauteed mixture joins the beans along with tomato sauce, ground cloves, dry mustard, chili powder, thyme, and a dash of hot sauce. After two hours of slow simmering, the miso goes in, adding a quiet umami backbone that makes the broth taste like it’s been cooking all week.
Then it simmers for another one to two hours until the beans reach exactly the texture you want. Serve with hard bread and a salad, as the recipe suggests, and you won’t need anything else.
Kitchen Tips
- Don’t rush the onion caramelization. Low and slow in the balsamic gives you a much deeper result than high heat ever would.
- Barley miso is milder and slightly sweet, a good match here. Stir it in off the boil to preserve the live cultures.
- The soup thickens considerably as it sits. Add water when reheating leftovers.
Ingredients
Directions
Wash and pick over beans.
Cover with water and soak overnight, or quick soak.
Discard soaking water, rinse beans and put in a large soup pot.
Add the 8 cups of water and bring to a boil.
Cover tightly and reduce heat to a low simmer.
Add carrots.
In a nonstick pan sauté onion in balsamic vinegar until it carmelizes (this takes a while on low heat).
Add garlic, celery, and bell pepper.
Continue sautéeing, adding more liquid as necessary.
When the mixture has cooked down somewhat, add it to the beans.
Add the remaining ingredients except the miso.
Simmer very slowly for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the miso and simmer from 1 to 2 more hours, until beans are as tender as desired.
Remove bay leaves and serve with hard bread and salad.
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