Beef and Bean Soup Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What thickens bean soup? ›

And starches are the most common and effective thickening agents in cooking—think of corn starch, the flour in a roux, or how grains like oats, rice, and porridge thicken when cooked in water.

You can use beef bouillon cubes to enhance flavor as well! I like to braise bones with tomato paste until well done and golden brown and then use those to make a beef broth with carrots, celery, garlic and a combination of thyme, and rosemary and bay leaf. Boil it all together for 3–4 hours at a low simmer!

What's the difference between Soup Beans and bean soup? The differences lie in the ingredients and the texture. Soup beans are beans that are slowly simmered in water for a couple of hours until they're soft and tender. The beans are flavored with ham, onion and garlic.

The best cut of meat for beef soup is either a chuck roast, chuck shoulder, chuck-eye roast or top chuck – with chuck roast being my personal favorite. These are the most tender cuts.

Soup Thickening Method: Cornstarch Slurry

About this method: One of the most common ways to thicken sauces and soups is with a starch-based slurry, and cornstarch is a popular choice. Cornstarch is flavorless, easy to mix up, and versatile, which makes it a go-to pantry ingredient.

Garlic and onions will bolster the taste of bean soup. Be sure to take a portion of the beans and mash or purée them for extra texture. Aromatics like celery or carrot will add more complex flavor notes. Despite being expensive, both mushrooms and Parmesan cheese will add some real umami (i.e., mouth feel) to the soup.

One way to boost flavour would be to roast some beef bones till they brown a little (you can get bones from your butcher) and then cook them with your soup. You can take them out when the broth is cooked. This will add a nice depth of natural 'beefy' flavour.

"If your broth is lacking in savory richness, try adding roasted onion, tomato paste, mushrooms, seaweed, soy sauce, or miso. These ingredients add umami flavor and depth to broth," she says. The choice of ingredient depends on the recipe, though.

Beef tastes great when seasoned with oregano, rosemary, sage, garlic or a combination of these seasonings. Poultry gets an added burst of flavor with spices like paprika, lemongrass and saffron. Fish can be made more flavorful with dry mustard powder, thyme and turmeric.

When cooking with kidney beans, many chefs will go straight from the jar to the pot, keeping the liquid with the beans to cook together. Great Northern and black beans are usually on the other end of the spectrum, with chefs choosing to drain and rinse the majority of the times they cook with them.

What's better, navy beans or great northern beans? ›

Navy beans excel in hearty and prolonged cooking, while great northern beans shine in delicate and shorter cooking applications. However, both beans offer versatility and can be used interchangeably in various recipes, depending on personal preference and availability—many people with not notice the subtle differences.

Soaking dried beans helps shorten the actually cooking time because it helps break down the complex starches and fibers that dry beans possess. Which is great if it's easy enough for you to remember to cover those beans with water and let them sit overnight while you're sleeping.

If you are adding meat to a soup, sear or brown it in a sauté pan before you add it to the soup.

Using marinated meats is a great way to bring new, enriched flavor to your favorite soups and stews. Marinating meat prior to making your soup is a great way to add a depth of flavor while also tenderizing often lower quality stew meat.

As a result, stock is usually a healthier product, delivering a richer mouth feel and deeper flavor than broth. Stock is a versatile culinary tool that can deliver taste to any number of dishes. Darker in color and more concentrated in flavor than broth, it's ideal for use in soups, rice, sauces and more.

Use starches to thicken beans

A cornstarch slurry is used to thicken almost any kind of sauce and it only takes a few seconds to make, per Baking Kneads. Simply add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch to 1 cup of water or to the liquid from the baked beans (scoop it out into a separate bowl and let it cool first) and mix.

It's important to note that cornstarch has twice the thickening power of flour. If you need to substitute cornstarch to thicken liquid in a recipe that calls for ¼ cup (four tablespoons) flour, you only need two tablespoons cornstarch.

One is to add a slurry of a few tablespoons of cornstarch mixed with water during the final 10-15 minutes of cooking. You could also remove 1 cup of the beans before serving, puree in a blender, and then stir them back into the soup for a thicker consistency.

Add flour or cornflour

You can also use flour or cornflour to thicken a soup. Put a tablespoon of either into a small bowl and stir in 2-3 tbsp of the soup until you have a smooth mixture. Stir this back into the soup and bring it to a simmer.