Sixteen bean soup is one of my favorite bean soups. I've been cooking this delicious soup for forty or more years and it really is delicious. The way I make it is almost like a minestrone soup.
I use mild Italian sausage in my soup but you can use hot Italian sausage if you like. I and my mom have worked on this 16 Bean Soup recipe for a number of years and over the years I've added to the soup and taken away from it while trying to come up with the perfect sixteen bean soup and I think I have what I consider the perfect sixteen bean soup. And I think you'll love it to once you give it a try.
For Your Sixteen Bean Soup You Will Need
1. One Package Sixteen Bean Soup.
2. One Pound Ham Cut Into Very Small Cubes.
3. One Large Purple Or Red Sweet Onion Chopped Fine.
4. One Heaping Tablespoon Minced Fresh Garlic
5. One Cup Celery Chopped Fine.
6. One Cup Bell Pepper Chopped Fine.
7. Four Cans Chicken Stock.
8. Two 303 Cans Diced Tomatoes.
9. Three Bay Leafs.
10. One Teaspoon Each Oregano, Ground Sea Salt, Ground Black Pepper.
When you cut up your vegetables and your ham cut them all up into very small pieces so you end up with all the veggies and the ham all about the same size.
You'll want to add all your ingredients to a large slow cooker or crock pot and turn it to high. Cook for about eight hours stirring your sixteen bean soup often about once a hour. Before you serve your sixteen bean soup you'll want to remove and discard the bay leafs.
If you need more liquid while the sixteen bean soup is cooking add chicken broth not water. This is very important so that you don't lose any of your flavor.