Easy Chuck Steak Recipes
Spring Vegetable Planting Schedule
Easy Chickpea Recipes
Growing Vegetables For Beginners On A Budget
Easy Bean Soup Recipes
Simple bean soups are perfect for those grey days after Christmas. They are hale and hearty enough for family dinners but fabulously frugal and easy to make from store cupboard supplies.
And this collection of over 30 easy bean soups has the best tried and tested versions of classic recipes from taco soup through ham & bean soup to Tuscan bean soup and pasta e fagioli.
There are soup recipes here for whatever beans you have in the pantry from cannellini and navy to black, borlotti, butter, lima and kidney bean.
So if you are after tasty bean soups you can make cheaply and easily read on and do save for quick reference later.
Contents
- Taco Bean Soups
- Ham & Bean Soup
- Tuscan Bean Soups
- Italian Bean Soups
- Cannellini Bean Soups
- Navy Bean Soups
- Black Bean Soups
- Butter & Lima Bean Soups
Taco & Tortilla Bean Soups
Taco and tortilla bean soups make heartwarming family dinners but also deliver delicious leftovers if there is just the two of you or you are on your own :
- Easy Taco Bean Soup
- Meat Free Taco Soup
- Creamy Taco Soup
- Slow Cooker Taco Bean Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Bean Soup
- Meat Free Tortilla Bean Soup
These bean soups are obviously amazing with all your favourite taco toppings but are still great as they are if you are after more frugal food options.
Easy Taco Bean Soup
This easy taco soup made with ground beef, lamb or turkey from the freezer is ready to serve in less than 30 minutes.
Time To Table : 25 minutes
Ingredients : 1lb/450 ground meat, kidney beans, black beans, corn, green chillies, crushed tomatoes, beef broth, onion, garlic, oregano, chilli, cumin, paprika.
Meat Free Taco Soup
If you are vegetarian or don't have any ground meat in whip up this meat free taco bean soup to serve with all your favourite taco toppings.
Time To Table : 40 minutes
Ingredients : Pinto beans, black beans, corn, crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock, taco seasoning PLUS avocado, cheese, sour cream etc.
Creamy Taco Soup
This creamy taco bean soup has all the flavour of your favourite taco soup with a lovely rich texture from the addition of a good few dollops of cream cheese.
Time To Table : 30 minutes
Ingredients : 1lb/450g ground meat, black beans, corn, green chillies, cream cheese, bell pepper, onion, garlic, chilli, cumin, paprika PLUS your fave taco topppings.
Slow Cooker Taco Bean Soup
If you are after a recipe you can slow cook try this crock pot taco soup with double beans plus jalapeno peppers or enchilada sauce.
Time To Table : 3.25 hours
Ingredients : 1lb/450g ground meat, black beans, pinto beans, chopped tomatoes, corn, enchilada sauce or jalapeno pepper, beef broth, tomato puree and taco seasoning.
Chicken Tortilla Bean Soup
Classic tortilla soups like this chicken tortilla bean soup take a bit longer than taco bean soups but make incredibly hearty family dinners.
Time To Table : 45 mins
Ingredients : 1lb/450g chicken breasts, black beans, corn, chopped tomatoes, chicken broth, jalapeno pepper, onion, garlic, cumin, chilli pepper, cilantro, tortilla strips PLUS extra toppings of choice.
Meat Free Tortilla Bean Soup
Vegetarian tortilla soup recipes like this delicious meat free tortilla bean soup are a great option for a cheap family dinner even if you are not vegetarians ...
Time To Table : 1.25 hours
Ingredients : Black beans, chopped tomatoes, quinoa, corn, tortilla strips, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, vegetable broth, tomato paste, onion, garlic, cumin, chilli powder.
To make your own tortillas for tortilla bean soups check out these corn tortillas or these super easy flour tortillas both of which can be frozen.
Ham & Bean Soups
Ham and bean soups are a deliciously frugal way to use up all sorts of ham leftovers whether ham slices past their best, the end of a ham joint or ham bones or hocks ...
Quick Ham & Bean Soup
This super quick 15 minute ham & bean soup with white or cannellini beans is great for using up little bits of leftover ham that won't really tempt people on their own ...
Time To Table : 20 mins
Ingredients : Cooked ham (however much you have left), cannellini beans, stock, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaf, parsley.
Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup
Alternatively a slow cooker ham and bean soup is a wonderful way to get all the nutrition you can from leftover ham on the bone.
Time To Table : 4 hours 40 mins
Ingredients : Ham bone or hocks, pinto beans, stock/broth, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, cumin, paprika, thyme, bay leaf.
Navy Bean & Ham Bone Soup
If you don't have a slow cooker or crock pot you can still make a great ham bone & bean soup that gets every last nutrient out of your ham bone and leftovers ...
Time To Table : 1 hour 20 mins
Ingredients : Ham bone & scraps, navy beans, onion, garlic, chilli powder, cumin, thyme.
Tuscan Bean Soups
Classic Tuscan bean soups are another heartwarming option that can be either fabulously frugal or fancy enough for dinner with guests ...
- Quick Tuscan Bean Soup
- Tuscan Bean Soup With Wine
- Dutch Oven Tuscan Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Tuscan Bean Soup
- Classic Tuscan Ribollita
Quick Tuscan Bean Soup
This quick Tuscan white bean soup is restaurant style but with no meat or wine it's a budget friendly option ...
Time To Table : 26 mins
Ingredients : Cannellini beans, kale, broth, shallots, garlic, carrots, celery, tomato paste, mix of Italian herbs e.g. rosemary, oregano, thyme, basil (or whatever you've got), red pepper flakes.
Tuscan Bean Soup With Wine
If you do want a Tuscan white bean soup with wine try this version which is still ready in 30 minutes ...
Time To Table : 30 mins
Ingredients : Cannellini beans, kale, broth, onion, celery, garlic, carrots, tomato puree, oregano, thyme, white wine.
Slow Cooked Tuscan Bean Soup
For an even heartier version that really is a good meal in its own right try this Tuscan sausage & bean soup you can slow cook in a Dutch oven ...
Time To Table : 1 hour 45 mins
Ingredients : 1lb/450g sausage meat, cannellini beans, kale, tomatoes, potato, broth, tomato paste, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, bay leaf, Italian herbs of choice.
Creamy Tuscan Bean Soup
For a creamy take on a classic Tuscan bean soup try this recipe with coconut milk which might not be authentically Tuscan but still tastes delicious ...
Time To Table : 2 hours 15 mins
Ingredients : White beans, coconut milk, pasta, spinach, sun dried tomatoes, chopped tomatoes, broth, onion, garlic, Italian seasoning of choice.
Classic Tuscan Ribollita
For a more luxury recipe you could easily serve entertaining try this classic Tuscan Ribollita with bacon or pancetta and the added flavour of fennel ...
Time To Table : 1 hour
Ingredients : Pancetta or bacon, cannellini beans, kale, fennel, parmesan, white wine, tomatoes, stock, onion, garlic, carrot, red pepper flakes.
Pasta & Fagioli
Pasta e fagioli - the classic pasta & bean soup of Southern Italy - really doesn't need a recipe. The whole idea is to use up any old bits of broken pasta, leftover veg, scraps of meat and cheese rinds bulked out with beans but for inspiration check out these recipes ...
Quick Pasta & Fagioli
This classic pasta e fagioli recipe you can whip up in 20 minutes makes a supper speedy but hearty store cupboard supper ...
Time To Table : 20 mins
Ingredients : Borlotti (cranberry) beans, canned tomatoes, pancetta (optional), onion, garlic, carrots, celery, stock/broth, parmesan, rosemary.
Dutch Oven Pasta & Fagioli
For a super rich and hearty recipe try this pasta & fagioli with both bacon and sausage meat ...
Time To Table : 1 hour 30 mins
Ingredients : Bacon, sausage meat, kidney beans, cannellini beans, pasta, red wine, canned tomatoes, tomato paste, broth, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, parmesan, parsley, Italian seasoning of choice.
Slow Cooker Pasta & Fagioli
Or for a version you can bung in the slow cooker in the morning and leave to look after itself try this pasta e fagioli with sausage meat ...
Time To Table : 9 hours
Ingredients : Sausage meat, kidney beans, cannellini beans, tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes, broth/stock, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, Italian seasoning, parmesan.
Cannellini Bean Soups
Cannellini are super useful beans for soup. I blend them up every week with spices and whatever sad and soggy veg are left at the bottom of the fridge for frugal cream soup but you can use them in all sorts of easy bean soups ...
- Quick Cheap White Bean Soup
- Potato & White Bean Soup
- Cauliflower & White Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker White Bean Soup
- El Bulli Bean Soup
- Leek & Potato Bean Soup
Quick Cheap White Bean Soup
This fabulously seasoned quick white bean soup couldn't be cheaper or easier but still tastes special ...
Time To Table : 30 mins
Ingredients : cannellini beans, broth/stock, garlic, rosemary, thyme, crushed red pepper.
Potato & White Bean Soup
You can make simple white bean soup even heartier by adding potatoes and just a few more ingredients ...
Time To Table : 20 mins
Ingredients : cannellini beans, potatoes, broth, white wine, tomato paste, spinach, onion, celery, carrot, garlic, rosemary, paprika.
Leek & Potato Bean Soup
Cannellini are also a great base for a quick leek & potato bean soup that again costs very little to make but still packs a real punch of great flavours ...
Time To Table : 30 mins
Ingredients : cannellini, potatoes, leeks, broth, tarragon, thyme, red pepper flakes
Cauliflower & White Bean Soup
This cauliflower & white bean soup takes a bit longer but has a beautiful creamy texture lifted by garlic and herbs and a surprise French mustard topping to give it some extra zing ...
Time To Table : 50 mins
Ingredients : cannellini beans, cauliflower, stock, onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, French mustard.
Slow Cooker White Bean Soup
If you want a white bean soup you can quickly whip up in the morning and leave on whilst you're working try this slow cooker white bean soup made with bacon and leeks ...
Time To Table : 8 hours 20 mins
Ingredients : cannellini beans, bacon, leeks, celery, broth, bay leaves, rosemary
El Bulli Bean Soup
This El Bulli bean soup is inspired by one of the most famous restaurants in the world but can be whipped up in under an hour with simple kitchen cupboard ingredients ...
Time To Table : 45 mins
Ingredients : cannellini beans, passata, hazelnuts, stock, onion, garlic, bay leaf, rosemary, thyme.
Black Bean Soups
Black beans are in my mind second only to cannellini for super simple - super tasty store cupboard bean soups you can have on the table fast ...
Easy Black Bean Soup
This easy black bean soup is deliciously flavoursome as it is but you can easily take it to another whole level with your favourite taco toppings ...
Time To Table : 30 mins
Ingredients : black beans, broth, red onion, carrot, jalapeno pepper, garlic, cumin, cayenne pepper, oregano PLUS taco style toppings e.g. sour cream, avocado.
Black Bean Soup With Tomatoes
This black bean soup with tomatoes barely takes any longer to make but has an added kick with chipotles or fresh jalapeno peppers ...
Time To Table : 40 mins
Ingredients : black beans, chipotles (or jalapeno pepper), diced tomatoes, red wine vinegar, onion, carrot, garlic, broth, bay leaf, cumin, oregano.
Black Bean & Ham Soup
This black bean & ham soup is richly flavoured from the slow cooked ham hock or shank with but also has a lovely creamy, caramelised texture from sweet potatoes, red pepper and molasses ..
Time To Table : 2 hours 5 mins
Ingredients : black beans, smoked ham hock or shank, sweet potato, molasses, red bell pepper, lime or lemon juice, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, cumin, chilli powder.
Butter & Lima Bean Soups
Butter beans are brilliant - like cannellini beans - for super easy creamy bean soups but can also carry off all sorts of great flavours ...
Creamy Butter Bean Soup
This incredibly easy creamy butter bean soup is lovely on cold winter days but makes a fabulous quick lunch or almost instant store-cupboard supper all year round whatever the weather ...
Time To Table : 20 minutes
Ingredients : butter beans, carrots, broth/stock, shallots PLUS optional bacon
Garlic Butter Bean Soup
This creamy garlic butter bean soup can be on the table in half an hour but is hearty enough to be a meal in it's own right. The recipe is vegan but you can just substitute back in real cream and parmesan if you are not ...
Time To Table : 30 minutes
Ingredients : butter beans, pasta, carrots, cream, parmesan, kale, broth/stock, onion, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, oregano.
Thick Butter Bean Soup
This Middle Eastern inspired thick butter bean soup is strictly speaking thick enough to be a bean stew rather than a bean soup but with its fabulous flavours I couldn't resist including it ...
Time To Table : 20 minutes
Ingredients : butter beans, tomato puree, lemon, onion, garlic, cinnamon, cumin, tumeric, bay leaves, fresh parsley.
Navy Bean Soups
Navy beans, typically known as haricot beans in the UK, are another staple bean for fabulously frugal soups that fill the whole family up cheaply ...
Navy Bean & Potato Soup
This simple navy bean & potato soup isn't the quickest of the bean soup recipes in this collection but the extra cooking time gives the smoked paprika a chance to really work its magic ...
Time To Table : 55 mins
Ingredients : navy beans, potatoes, broth, red wine vinegar, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin
Dutch Oven Navy Bean Soup
This Dutch oven navy bean soup recipe again needs some time for the cumin and pepper to give the soup its rich warmth, but it's worth the wait ...
Time To Table : 1 hour 20 mins
Ingredients : navy beans, red bell pepper, broth, onion, garlic, celery, carrots, thyme, cumin, crushed red pepper, bay leaves.
Slow Cooked Navy Bean Soup
This slow cooked navy bean soup recipe works its heart warming wonders with just a few cheap, basic ingredients ...
Time To Table : 4 hours 15 mins
Ingredients : navy beans, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, thyme.
And there you go, over 30 easy bean soups you can make cheaply for healthy and hearty family meals.
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
For more heartwarming frugal family dinners check out these bean, lentil & chickpea recipes and follow me on Pinterest.
How To Grow Spinach
Spinach is a great addition to a new vegetable garden at it is a very quick growing vegetable, easy to grow for beginners and super healthy.
With very little effort you can have a bumper crop of leafy greens to cut and come again from spring to fall.
In this spinach growing guide I'll take you through everything you need to know to start growing spinach :
- Why Grow Spinach
- When To Grow Spinach
- Where To Grow Spinach
- How To Grow Spinach
- Growing Spinach In Containers
- Growing Spinach Indoors
- Spinach Pests
- Spinach Problems
- Spinach Companion Plants
- Harvesting Spinach
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest for quick reference.
Table of Contents
Why Grow Spinach
Quick Growing
You can start harvesting young spinach leaves just 4 weeks after sowing. New leaves will keep growing back so you will have a new harvest of leaves every 2 or 3 weeks.
Easy To Grow
You can grow spinach easily from seed in very little space in vegetable beds or patio pots and containers.
Spinach grows happily in some shade and can be grown indoors or to save space in a vertical garden.
Super Healthy Leafy Greens
Spinach is rich in immune boosting minerals like iron and magnesium.
The mineral content in freshly cut leaves from your garden is often higher than store bought spinach.
Garden grown spinach is often more tender than store bought so great for smuggling greens into kids food.
When To Grow Spinach
- Spinach grows happily between :
- 25 to 75 fahrenheit
- -2 to 25 celsius
- Spinach can handle light frost
- But hates too much heat and will bolt and go to seed in hot weather.
Spinach In Cooler Climates
In cooler climates sow spinach :
- From early spring to May or
- From late August to September for a late winter - early spring crop.
In London, I often keep spinach going all summer by planting it in a shady bed or in pots moved into a shadier area of the garden.
Spinach In Hotter Climates
In hotter climates grow spinach crops over autumn and winter :
- From September
- Through March.
More heat tolerant spinach varieties, with less tendency to bolt include :
- Malaber
- FanTail
- Indian Summer
- Bloomsdale Longstanding
- Catalina
- Oceanside.
Where To Grow Spinach
- Spinach grows in partial shade & full sun if not above 25c/75f.
- Spinach prefers neutral to alkaline (7+) soil but is not super fussy.
It's typically recommended to rotate spinach and NOT to grow it - or closely related chard and beet - in the same spot within 3 years.
This crop rotation boosts soil health.
If like me you have a small vegetable garden, you can rotate spinach crops through pots for optimal soil health.
How To Plant Spinach
Some gardeners pre-soak seeds to help germination but I don't bother and have never had problems.
I simply sow spinach seeds :
- ½ - 1 inch deep
- In rows
- 2 inches apart.
Seeds sprout in 7 to 10 days.
You can plant a few seeds weekly for a constant crop but I plant all in one go and then harvest leaves at different points so I've alway got cut-and-come-again leaves available.
Sowing Spinach Indoors
You can sow spinach seeds indoors to avoid heavy frost but spinach seedlings are weak stemmed and fiddly to move compared with courgettes, peas or collards.
Growing Spinach From Scraps
You can re-grow spinach quickly and easily from spinach scrap roots.
Simply put scraps in a little jar of water and once new roots and some stem have appeared, plant out.
Caring For Spinach Plants
Spinach plants are very easy to care for as long as you keep an eye on heat and 1 key pest we'll cover later.
The only other care needed is :
- Watering
- Feeding
- Thinning
Watering Spinach
Spinach does get thirsty, so do stay on top of watering, as soon as your seeds have germinated.
Just don't over do the watering!! Yellowing or wilting leaves can be a sign of unhappily soggy roots.
Feeding Spinach
Spinach does grow well in rich soil and you can feed it blood meal or fish emulsion but well composted beds should be fine without feeding.
Thinning Spinach
If you want to grow a single crop of big spinach plants, you can thin seedlings to 3 or 4 inches.
I grow spinach as a cut-and-come-again crop so constantly harvest fairly young leaves for the kitchen and don't bother thinning out.
Growing Spinach In Pots And Containers
Spinach can grow well in shallow pots and containers so can be usefully squeezed into all sorts of ledges around a backyard or patio.
You can even grow spinach in a vertical vegetable garden like this :
To grow spinach in containers :
- Pick pots at least 15cm/6in deep.
- Plant in rich compost.
- Stay on top of watering.
- Move pots into shade if sun too hot as the weather warms up.
If you are starting a vegetable garden on a budget you could grow baby spinach in an old cream tub.
Growing Spinach Indoors
You can grow baby spinach indoors if you can give it a window spot with lots of light that won't get too hot.
Just make sure your pot drains well into a tray of some sort so you can keep the spinach well watered without the roots getting too soggy.
Spinach Pests
Spinach doesn't suffer too badly with pests and it is possible to control them gardening organically.
Spinach pests to be aware of are:
- Leaf Miners
- Aphids
- Slugs & Snails
- Birds
Leaf Miners
Leaf miners are the big spinach pest.
The tell tale signs of leaf miners in spinach are silvery grey trails and areas of rotting blackened leaf.
The damage is called by the black fly larvae burrowing through leaves.
The best ways to prevent and control leaf miner damage to spinach are :
- Cover plants with fine netting, (butterfly nets not fine enough).
- Snip out first signs of any silver trails with fine scissors.
- Remove damaged leaves.
- Look for tiny bright white grain like eggs on underside of spinach leaves and remove manually.
Aphids
Aphids are not typically as much of a problem for spinach as for other leafy greens e.g. chard or collards.
But you can get aphid infestations that suck moisture from plants.
Aphids will often be herded onto vegetables by ants who protect the aphids from natural predators.
The best simple natural ways to protect spinach from aphids are :
- Plant garlic to keep aphids away.
- Spray infected leaves with water and a little low chemical dish soap.
- Get rid of ant nests near vegetable beds with natural ant killers.
Slugs & Snails
Slugs and snails love all young green plants so use these slug & snail repellent tips to stop them wolfing down your spinach plants.
Birds
Keep crows & magpies off spinach with old DVD reflectors on tripods.
Spinach Problems
Spinach really is very easy to grow for beginner vegetables gardeners and there are just a few common problems to be aware of :
- Bolting
- Light Green Leaves
- Bitter Leaves
- Yellowing Leaves
- Mildew
Bolting
Spinach will send up flower stalks instead of leaves & go to seed if the plants lack water or get too hot.
If you are gardening in a cool climate and have a maverick hot spring, you can usually save spinach plants from bolting by moving them, in pots if necessary, into a shadier spot.
Light Green Leaves
Spinach leaves should be dark green. Lighter green leaves can be a sign that the soil isn't rich enough and needs additional feeding.
Bitter Leaves
Bitter spinach leaves are another sign soil isn't rich enough but can be remedied in the kitchen with cream!
Yellowing Leaves
Yellowing leaves can be a sign of poor soil but also of over watering.
Mildew
Mildew on spinach is a sign the plants don't have enough space. If you are growing full size spinach plants rather than cut-and-come-again young leaves, you should thin plants so a good 3-4 inches apart.
Spinach Companion Plants
Spinach releases anti-fungal and anti-bacterial fluid into soil that can be valuable for other plants.
Spinach can be a particularly good companion plant to grow with:
- Turnips
- Peas
- Cabbages & Collard Greens
- Garlic
- Tomatoes
- Strawberries
Turnips
Growing turnip greens amongst spinach is a great way to feed soil for a bumper spinach crop.
Peas
Growing peas and spinach together is very efficient use of space in a small vegetable garden and the peas will feed nitrogen to the spinach.
Cabbages
Cabbages including collard greens can be interplanted with spinach.
Garlic
Growing garlic as a companion plant can protect spinach from aphids.
Tomatoes
Spinach can be grown ahead of tomatoes in cool months to improve soil health as tomatoes are vulnerable to fungal disease.
Tomatoes then in turn provide shade for spinach growing underneath.
Strawberries
Strawberries and spinach are traditionally grown together to get better crops from both.
Harvesting Spinach For Salad & Cooking
Spinach really is quick growing and you can start harvesting spinach leaves just 4 weeks after planting.
If you harvest spinach by cutting the bottom of stems, new stems grow.
This means we can grow and harvest spinach in two different ways :
- Cut & Come Again
- Main Crop
Cut & Come Again Spinach
You can eat cut-and-come-again spinach fresh from the garden week in, week out for months.
From 4 weeks, I cut young leaves from alternate plants to create optimum space for new growth.
Some people suggest harvesting spinach first thing but we cut the biggest leaves available just before cooking for optimum nutrition.
Main Crop Spinach
If you have more space in your vegetable garden, you can grow big spinach plants for harvesting and freezing at the end of the season.
Remove whole plants when thinning early in the season rather than cutting off stems, to stop growth.
To remove soil and creatures, sloosh spinach around in a big bowl of water, then drain leaves using the water for watering other plants.
And there you go, lots of tips to grow spinach easily as a new gardener.
I hope they give you a bumper crop.
Do bookmark or save on Pinterest to come back to.
For more simple gardening tips check out my other grow your own posts and follow me on Pinterest.
Original images by sloely.com
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