Friendship Bean Soup

Ingredients

Ingredients in the jar: Spilt peas, Northern beans, Lima beans, Black beans, Red beans, Kidney beans, Pinto beans, Bay leaves. In the baggie: Dried onion flakes, Vegetarian base (salt, dextrose, corn maltodextrin, hydrolyzed soy protein, onion powder, yeast extract, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, natural flavoring, turmeric).

Added by customer: Diced tomatoes, Water, Salt, Pepper

Portrait of happy young couple cooking t

Original Recipe

Additional Ingredients Needed: 1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes, water, salt, pepper.

To Prepare Soup: Remove bay leaves, bag of flake onions, and bouillon - Set aside. Rinse beans. Place in a large bowl. Soak overnight in 6 - 8 cups cold water. Drain. In a large pot, add 8 cups water, beans, 14 oz. can diced tomatoes, and the seasonings that were set aside. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 hours.

Modifications

Instant Pot Recipe

INGREDIENTS:

1 Jar of ZOE Bean Friendship Soup
2 Tbsp of Olive Oil
2 Quarts Water
14 oz Can of Diced Tomatoes (we used Fire Roasted)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Set aside the seasoning packet and bay leaves. Rinse beans in colander and discard any unusable beans.
Add 2 Tbsp of olive oil and the beans. Toss beans to coat. Add 2 quarts of water.
Lock the lid in place. Select High Pressure and 1 minute cook time. When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the beans soak for 1 hour.*
After 1 hour, open the lid and add the can of tomatoes, spice packet and bay leaves, stir to combine. Lock the lid in place and select High Pressure and 3 minute cook time.
When the cook time ends, turn off the pressure cooker. Let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes and then finish with a quick release.
When the valve drops, carefully remove the lid. Remove the bay leaves. Season with Salt and Pepper if necessary.

*You can alternatively cook the beans on high pressure for 35 minutes with a 10 minute natural release.

Some soup addition ideas:

Add a ham bone in step 2 and remove it after the cooking has completed.
If you would like to add additional veggies (onions, celery, carrots etc) select "Saute" and cook in the olive oil for about 3 minutes until tender. Then add the beans and water and continue to cook as in step 3.
This soup is great as is, but you can certainly add chicken, beef, ham, shrimp or sausage to spice it up.
It is great with the addition of 2 cups of chopped spinach after the soup has finished.
1 Tbsp of lemon juice added after the cooking cycle enhances the flavor of the beans.

Zoe children enjoying their own version of bean soup at school.