Spanish Bean Soup takes you on a trip to Tampa Bay, where Cuban heritage is so alive & full of flavor. This simple soup is made with garbanzo beans, potatoes & savory sausage and is just bursting with deliciousness!
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This soup is a staple in the Tampa Bay Area. The Cuban heritage here brings with it such wonderful food. I am a very lucky girl to live here. We have such diverse cuisine and I get to enjoy and share it all with you!
Now let me say y’all this is my version of this soup. (This is my disclaimer for all the die hards -lol) Some people use Chorizo and ham and it is wonderful like that, but this a little spin on it I came up with. Actually, I should give my mom some of the credit. She made it similar to this, I just adapted it a bit. I let this cook in the Crock Pot all day, mom made hers on the stove top. It can totally be done that way as well. My family and friends just love it and request it often. So, I hope you will too!
A little background on my recipe
We started out making this soup from a Dixie Lilly bag mix (shhh, don’t tell anyone), but found it hard to find at one time and came up with my own recipe. I must say I am so glad I did! This recipe is so much better. It’s such a savory, heartwarming bowl of Cuban vivaciousness! Are you dancing yet!!
Oh you mustn’t forget some warm Cuban bread to dip in it! Or an Authentic Cuban Sandwich is perfect with this! Um Ummm UMMMMMM!!! Just completes it!
Items you need to make Spanish Bean Soup
- dried garbanzo beans
- salt
- black pepper
- Minced garlic, garlic powder or garlic salt
- Vigo spanish seasoning
- chicken stock
- red potatoes
- beef smoked sausage (or any smoked sausage)
- Water
How to make Spanish Bean Soup (Garbanzo Bean Soup)
Step 1. Rinse beans, cover with water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Soak overnight. If you forget this step, just boil on stove top for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Step 2. Add beans with water to crock pot or soup pot. Next add chicken stock, cubed potatoes, cut up sausage, minced garlic, pepper and Vigo seasoning. I do the seasoning last so not to splash it out. You will see what I mean – lots of color 🙂
Step 3. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours in CrockPot or bring to boil on stove top then reduce to med low for 2 to 3 hours (or more).
TIP: I always taste soup (a few hours before done) and add any additional salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder) as needed to taste.
This makes enough for you to Enjoy and then Share with Friends!
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Things you may need for this recipe
Other Recipes you May Enjoy
-
- Authentic Cuban Sandwich
-
- Slow Cooker Mojo Pork Roast
-
- Instant Pot Black Eyed Pea Soup
-
- Pasta Fagioli Soup
Spanish Bean Soup (Garbanzo Bean Soup)
Ingredients
- 1 lb bag of dried garbanzo beans
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic minced (you can also use garlic powder 1/2 to 1 teaspoon according to your taste)
- 3 packets Vigo Spanish seasoning
- 32 ounces chicken stock
- 3 pounds Red potatoes, cut up into cubes
- 2 packages beef smoked sausage, sliced & quartered
- Water to cover beans and as needed as soup cooks down
Instructions
Soak Beans
- Rinse beans, cover with water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Soak over night. If you forget this step, just boil on stove top for 1/2 to 1 hour.
Soup
- Add beans with water to crock pot or soup pot. (If you want less sodium drain first, add ingredients then fill with fresh water as needed) Add chicken stock, cubed potatoes, cut up sausage, minced garlic, pepper and Vigo seasoning.
- Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours in crock pot or bring to boil on stove top then reduce to med low for 2 to 3 hours (or more).
Notes
I tried this very good. I did use canned beans and find them to hard
Any way to get them to soften, if I would have cooked any longer my potatoes would be mushS
I would try giving the beans a quick hard boil for 30 minutes first. You can also add potatoes a little later in the cooking as well. Say if you are starting in the morning add the beans around noon. If you can find the dried beans I think they turn out much better, but I know they are hard to find in some areas.
Try going to a Latin market and getting dried chorizo and cutting it into bite sized pieces along with (surprisingly enough) a stick of pepperoni cut into bite sized pieces also and diced ham, instead of the smoked sausage. I was born and raised in Tampa and that is how I’ve had it since I can remember. It gives it a different flavor that is really good
Yes, I have made it with chorizo and ham. It is delicious like that as well. I have lived in the Tampa Bay area all my life and I agree that is a more traditional way to make it. This is a version my family loves. When I make it there are usually rave reviews, so tend to stick to this recipe. But feel free to add any type of meat you enjoy. That is what is so wonderful about recipes we can adjust a bit. I love all the delicious foods we get in this area! Are you still in the area?
How much seasoning is in a packet? I had to make my own seasoning—couldn’t find the packets.
The seasoning comes with 4 – .035 OZ envelopes in it. I use three of them.
This is a great opportunity to add Turmeric (one of the most healthy herbs you can eat). Remember to saute it with black pepper and fat (coconut oil) to boost curcumin effect by 2,000%.
It layers in a new layer of rich flavor too.
I added 1 tbsp onion powder and 2 tsp bird pepper and served over rice. I also cut back on the beef smoked sausage and used 1 1/2 links. Before adding the onion powder and bird pepper it tasted nothing like the cuban recipe and smelled more like a hot dog stew
My version is a bit different than the Cuban version as stated in the blog post, but it is always a hit when I make it! I hope you enjoyed your version as well. You can add ham and/or chorizo too! It’s delicious that way as well.
I too grew up in Tampa Bay and was raised on Spanish Bean soup. I was disappointed when I could no longer find the Dixie Lee package. I can’t wait to try this recipe. Have to go shopping first. Will comment after I make it.
I love that you used dried garbanzo beans! I had the hardest time finding them for a while, but I prefer them to canned. It’s great that you adapted your mother’s recipe, too. Nice! P~
I love passing down family recipes. These beans are a staple around here. If you do have a hard time you can use canned. I have made it with them a couple of times when I wanted to cut my cook time. Thank you so much for stopping by! Hope to hear from you again soon!
I love this idea because it is a perfect crock pot mid-week dinner! I love the idea of pairing it with a cuban sandwich too!
Thank you Barrie! We love this soup at my house. Make this one year round! It’s so delicious with a cuban sandwich or some cuban bread with butter and a little garlic! So glad you stopped by!
I’m so thankful for finding your recipe! I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m sure it will replace our old stand-by of the Dixie Lily mix. Just like you, we grew up on Spanish bean soup made with DL( I’m from Z-hills). If I had known that DL would be bought again (by China Doll co.) and they would do away with the mix, then I would have stockpiled all of the soup mix that I could find! I knew something was up when I couldn’t find it in Publix!
This will be my first attempt at making SB soup without the mix for our New Years tradition!
Happy New Year in 2017
Tina
Tina, I hope you enjoy this recipe! Let me know how it turns out! Happy New Year!
Hi Tina, You can actually buy Dixie Lily products online at Southerntraditionalfoods.com in bulk or individually. I grew up in Florida and my grandmother would always make Spanish bean soup! I remember not being able to find the Spanish bean soup mix at Public and just happened to look it up online and found it.
Amber that is great! Once I created this mix I think I like it better. But great to know!
Hi Nikki,
Im trying so hard to find the recipe for spanish bean soup that is most like my Moms it was the best and I never wrote it down and your recipe looks the most like it including the warm cuban bread of course , you have to have that, I live in Texas and can’t get cuban bread but when i do go home I go to the bakery and get it hot and we eat a whole loaf in the car and take 2 more for the house. She did use chorizo instead of sausage a certain brand from publix and vigo saffron and ham/with bone, also delicious. Cant wait to try this for that home feeling. My mom and Daddy passed away with in a years time and Im the only child and i miss her cooking so I’m glad I found your recipe, we lived in Temple Terrace. God Bless
Thank you for sharing and I hope you enjoyed this. So sorry it took me so long to reply this went into spam and I am just now seeing this. You could use Chorizo most people do. I have made it both ways and this is my families favorite! I use Hillshire Farms and Eckrich and sometimes a mixture.
Hope this gave you that feeling of being at home! God Bless!
best ive ever tasted!
Thanks James! Now lets see if you can make it 🙂
This looks so yummy! I love that you use a crock pot – I always think the best soups are made in crock pots 🙂 Thanks so much for linking up with us over at the #HomeMattersParty – we hope to see you again next week!
Yes, crock pots are the best! Something about cooking the soup all day makes it so delicious! Look forward to linking up again next week!
Yum!!! I can’t wait to make this. I love Spainish Bean Soup.
It really is easy and delicious. Let me know how it goes for you!
if you want really good ingredients and are in tampa try caccitores meat market
+ everything else that is yummy. i probably killed the name but its on hanly rd and paula dr. in town n country google it
Thank you Albert! If I am over that way I will check it out. I love trying new markets.