Home » Food & Drink » Southern Cooking » Beans ~ A Southern Staple

Beans ~ A Southern Staple

© Dar Cheek

When it gets cold in the south, you can find a bean soup simmering away in a crockpot in just about anyone's home! We even begin our New Year with the versatile black-eyed pea. Of course with any article on beans and bean soups, you have to have an article on cornbread. While you're getting out your crockpot and a cast iron skillet, I'll share some recipes.

My Version of Hoppin' John

1 bag black-eyed peas
6 cups of water
1 diced onion
1 whole cayenne pepper
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
a dash of worcestershire sauce
tobasco sauce to taste
1 tsp salt
6 oz pkg of country ham pieces, chopped small
3 cups cooked rice

Slow cook all ingredients except for rice until most of the water is cooked out and peas are tender. If you have to add any water, don't add much at a time, as you want this to be in an almost thick broth and not be soupy. To serve, put rice in a bowl and top with black-eyed peas. I serve this one with sweet cornbread to complement the spicy peas.

Black Bean Soup

1 bag black beans
6 cups of water
1 diced onion
1 cup of chunky salsa
1/4 cup chopped green chili peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper

Boil black beans, spices, and onions for 2 hours, then add remaining ingredients and cook until beans are tender. This can also be cooked down until all the water is out of it and then pureed into black bean dip!

Bean & Bacon Soup

1 bag navy beans
6 cups of water
1 small onion, diced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp each salt & black pepper
12 oz bacon, fried and chopped (set aside, grease reserved)
1 cup half and half

Add beans, water, onion, garlic, salt, pepper and a tablespoon of reserved bacon grease to a large pot and cook on medium high for 3-4 hours until beans are tender and soup is thickening. Remove half of the beans and puree in a blender with the cream. Stir into beans and add bacon in at the last minute before serving. If it is too thick at this point, just add a little water to your preference.

15-Bean Soup

1 bag of 15-bean mix
8 cups of water
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
6 oz pkg of country ham pieces

Slow cook all day. Some of the beans in this mix tend to take a bit longer to cook than others, so make sure you cook it until the tougher beans are tender.

The copyright of the article Beans ~ A Southern Staple in Southern Cooking is owned by Dar Cheek. Permission to republish Beans ~ A Southern Staple in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.