Slow-Cooker White Bean and Kielbasa Stew

This is one of our winter go to soups! Simple and easy...

I made this tonight for dinner and was not entirely impressed. I did use some kielbasa from Sprouts, but it just didn't have the necessary saltiness to carry the dish. I might try again with another kind of sausage. It did soothe my throat on a day when I had an icky cold though! ;-)

This turned out great! I pre-soaked my beans overnight and it took about four and one-half hours to cook. I made one changes though, I added baby bella mushrooms and used frozen defrosted spinach instead.

I use boiling water when cooking dried beans instead of presoaking.

Cooked on low for about 8 hours. Used dried beans - came out perfectly.

I followed the recipe exactly except that I used precooked turkey kielbasa. The beans were just fine and in fact, I had it on high and it only took 4.5 hours to cook. Next time I would make it with half the beans and more tomatoes...there was just WAY too many beans. Other than that, it tasted good, not fabulous, but good.

For anyone who used canned beans, how many cans?

This was gooood!! I used canned butter beans instead and I added more broth than was necessary because it was more soupy than stewy but delish just the same. I also added crushed red pepper for that extra oomph!

I was nervous about the lack of pre-soaking, so I started this on high. After about 4 hours the beans were getting tender, so I turned it to low and cooked it for 3 more hours. They were fine! This dish was so simple and tasty, will definitely make it again.

I want to make this recipe with chicken instead. Does anyone have any advice for cooking time?

Used canned beans instead of dried (a mixture of red and white, drained) and used tomato soup + water instead of chicken stock. It was delicious! The toasted baguette to soak up the broth is important and the spinach is key. 15 minutes prep in the morning and then stir the spinach in just before dinner. Easy and delicious.

We loved this and I look forward to the leftovers. I made the recipe as it was written, using the low setting on my crockpot for 8hours and then switching it to warm and had zero problems with the beans being tender. But...when beans take too long to cook, many times it is a function of them being too old. That could be the culprit.

Sounds like you have a nicer slow cooker; could you tell me what cooker you have?

I've made this several times. Absolutely wonderful. I usually double the spinach .. And haven't ever had a problem with the beans.

great flavor, but i had the same problems as many others with very al dente beans. i boiled them for about 10 minutes last night, then soaked for an hour before draining. left the stew on low in the crock pot for 11 hours today, and still the beans were relatively hard (although edible). this tasted very good but i'll pre-cook the beans a lot longer next time. don't forget to add the spinach; it makes a big difference.

We just had it and really enjoyed it. Beans were cooked in 7 hours, we did not soak the beans. Maybe different slow cookers do not cook as hot. We will definitely have again and have already passed on to others. Loved the spinach in it too!

I soaked the beans overnight, since I know dry beans MUST be soaked before cooking! I doubled the amount of the broth and the tomatoes, as suggested by another member. It cooked on high for about 8 hours before the beans were edible. As another member commented, it tasted like bean & bacon soup. Although it was relatively easy to prepare, and cook, it was not worth the time invested in this meal. I ate it with biscuits, (to soak up the liquid) and mainly enjoyed the kielbasa! Will not be making this again, sorry

It's been 8 hours and the beans are still not done. Now what are we going to have for dinner??? Kicking myself for not reading this before making it.

doubled the recipe so I had to cook it on the stove. had no problem with the beans cooking after simmering for hours. did have to add more water to accommodate, though. a little disappointed because it ended up tasting like 'bean with bacon' soup. I could've bought that for much less than it cost to make this.

I have to agree with Marinel1. I followed the recipe exactly. The beans were still hard after 9 hours in the slow cooker. I decided to let them sit overnight and serve them the next day. Still hard! By then the kielbasa had shriveled up. I loved the idea, but it suffered in execution. Too bad.

I followed this recipe to the LETTER. It was awful. The beans were still hard after 7 1/2 hours in my slow cooker. The kielbasa was waterey with out much flavor.

Husband and I loved this. I modified it freely - I used 2 cans beans (with liquid), only 2 cups broth, and 1/2 pkg frozen spinach for convenience. Used 1/2 the 14oz pkg of kielbasa since we prefer less meat. I used the basil and garlic flavored diced tomatoes for flavor. Also added a small sweet potato that needed to be used up. Definitely a keeper at our house, we will make this again.

This was really good on a cool Wisconsin night! I added 1/2 tsp kocher salt and @ 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper before I started cooking. At the 5-hr mark, the beans were a little firmer than I wanted, and I thought the broth needed something, so I added @ 1 TBLS balsamic vinegar and cooked another 1/2 hour. I didn't pre-soak the beans.

cooked beans, dump in last hour.. but don't sweat the toxicity thing with white beans.. I agree it needs a bit more spice, we added some hot sauce near the end and it was delicious and freezes great (just leave out the spinach if you are going to freeze it)

Made this last night with some changes. 1. I used raw kielbasa from our butcher, not the vaccuum-packed kind. I crumbled it instead of slicing it. 2. I used cannellini beans, which are my favorite type anyway. They're slightly smaller than kidney beans. After 5 hours on high / 1 hour on low, they came out tender but not mushy. 3. In the last hour of cooking I added about 2 tsp of Penzey's Bavarian Spice and a TB of tomato paste. Then I served the soup with more Bavarian spice, which some folks added. I found it a bit bland without the spice. This bean toxicity thing is news to me...having to soak the beans actually makes the recipe less appealling because to me, the best part of the CrockPot is you just throw stuff in and it cooks! I am curious about how it would work with canned beans.

I make many bean type soups. Firstly rinse beans, put in kettle, cover with plenty of water. Bring to boil, simmer for 5 min. or so, turn off heat. Cover and leave it for one hour. Drain and they're ready for use.

I presoaked the beans according to the "quick" method on the package. Beans still didn't taste cooked after 8 hours in the crockpot. But the keilbasa was tough. I don't recommend this recipe at all.

http://www.home-ec101.com/cooking-kidney-beans-slow-cooker-crock-pot/: Other times people consume partially cooked red kidney beans, which is far worse. There is an interesting phenomena with phytohaemagglutinin and slow cookers / Crock Pots™. The potency of the toxin in kidney beans can actually increase by 5x if the beans are heated only to 80°C or 176°F¹. When you simmer on the stove, the temperature is 185°F – 205°F or 85°C – 96°C and it's quite easy to turn the stove up a little for ten minutes after the beans have begun to soften.If you must use your slow cooker, adjust the recipe to accommodate canned or thoroughly cooked kidney beans.The FDA recommends:Soaking for at least 5 hours, discarding the water, and boiling in fresh, clean water for at least 10 minutes, before using a slow cooker.FYI: The toxin is also found white kidney beans at about 1/3rd the concentration and broad beans at about 5 to 10%. Use your common sense with these beans, too.

Howdy...I made this over the weekend. I'm curious if I should have soaked the beans before putting them in the crock to cook. Anybody know? Been reading that you should soak beans before cooking in crockpot because there are toxins associated with NOT doing this? Please advise!!! I'm holding off on serving the dish until I receive some responses!