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My Grandma’s yellow bean soup was one of my very favourite dishes from my childhood and one that not many people have even heard of! She most likely invented the recipe to use up her bounty of her yellow beans – she grew the most plentiful garden of beautiful yellow beans that I have ever seen- and I remember sitting at her table in her small farm kitchen relishing bowls of this all summer long. I have changed it to a Creamy Yellow Bean & Potato Soup recipe for the website, but feel free to use only yellow beans for a really nostalgic taste!
Creamy Yellow Bean & Potato Soup
Yellow bean soup is a must try for any yellow bean lover. Bean season is upon us and if you’ve had a hot summer like we have here in Edmonton, you are going to have a bounty of beans to use up! If you are like me, you might still have an abundance of yellow beans in your garden. I tend to plant yellow beans more than once during the season to ensure I have these gorgeous yellow beauties fresh from my backyard for as long as possible.
This soup is something my grandma used to make all the time when we were kids. She had a massive country garden and yellow beans featured heavily in the yield. She would blanch and freeze bags upon bags for meals, stocking up on her favorite bean to last her family through the harsh Manitoba winters.
While I never have any extra beans to freeze, we enjoy them for months during garden season. Every year I vow to plant more beans and freeze some for winter and every year I simply run out of space. My garden is large for a city garden, but when you grow potatoes, carrots, beans and squash and more, there’s a lot of food to fit into one space!
My grandma’s version of this soup had no potatoes in it, which lends it a light summery feel. A bowl of her version made for a delicious, lighter midday meal. I wanted a hearty, warm-up-your-bones soup that would be great for dinner, something more filling that would stick to your ribs. The potatoes from my garden did the trick.
I also love adding green onions onto the top of soups for an extra zing and bacon? You’d be surprised how delicious it is with yellow beans and potatoes. It adds a bold flavour to what is a lovely mild soup, just that little extra salt and punch that a cream soup can need.
Yellow beans are so often overlooked when it comes to soup. I suspect that it’s from the fact that very few grocery stores ever carry them while they are in season, leaving us with the options of buying them at the local farmers market, growing them ourselves or using canned. Unless you freeze up batches like my Grandma did, it’s canned beans for us the rest of the year.
If you don’t have fresh yellow beans, you can definitely use canned ones. If you are using canned however, remember that they are already cooked and you simply have to warm them up. Add them in at the end when you are thickening the soup and it will be perfect.
Happy cooking everyone!
Love you more than chocolate,
Karlynn
Creamy Yellow Bean & Potato Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 cup of white onions chopped
- 4 cups yellow wax beans cut in 3
- 4 cups of peeled & chopped russet potatoes bite sized
- 6 cups of chicken broth
- 1 1/2 cups ) milk
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped grren onions to garnish
- 2-3 tablespoons cooked bacon to garnish
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Fresh chopped chives to taste
Instructions
- Sautee the onions in butter in the bottom of a large soup pot until tender.
- Add in the beans, potatoes and chicken broth. Bring to a low boil on your stovetop then simmer until the potatoes and beans are tender.
- Whisk the cornstarch into the milk, then whisk into the soup quickly.
- Cook for another 5 minutes until the soup has thickened.
- Ladle into soup bowls and top with green onions and bacon.
Nutrition
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The Real Person!
The Real Person!
My grandson discovered this soup on the last trip to Slovakia and has been asking for it since.
In Slovakia we used to thicken the soup with flour, never with starch.
By now, I just grate a potato and stir it in at the end, let it boil couple of minutes. It thickens the soup.
And yes, at the end I add either the sour cream, or some vinegar and lots of dill.
Dick B. says
I am 70 years old and my mother used to medium dice new potatoes,fresh wax beans, fresh whole milk with extra cream and butter and thin sliced salt pork. served with unleavened bread on the side slathered with butter. still make it myself every once in a while.
Wendy says
I make my German grandmother’s version of this soup. Hers included potatoes, vinegar and lots of fresh dill. I make one pot each summer and it brings back lovely childhood memories. I did not receive the recipe from her before she passed, but luckily my aunt who also loved the soup, shared with me how to make it.
Linda Drewlo says
This soup is good but needs some extra zip! I like the idea of adding dill or vinegar!
Donna says
Thank you so much for posting this recipe! I looked at several but this is the one closest to what my Mom used to make. I loved this soup and still love it. The garnishments are a great idea. Keep up the great cooking – all the best!
Christine Maybery says
The creamy yellow bean soup was easy and delicious! I did tweek it a bit. I used Campbell’s roasted garlic chicken broth 3 cup and 3 regular. Would definitely make it again. Thanks for sharing. Was a great way to use some yellow beans from our garden for sure. Thanks again Christine .
Shelly says
Was your grandmother Hungarian? My Hungarian immigrant grandmother made a yellow bean and ham soup she called (pasuee la veche). This is a phonetic spelling of the name. It was ham broth based with yellow beans, potatoes, carrots (only because my grandfather liked them added) all thickened with a rue and sour cream stirred in at the end. There were some little chunks of ham from what came off of the hock. It is still an incredibly delicious soup.
Lynn says
I have eaten this soup since I was child, my Mom made it similar to your receipt !
Since I am now the cook I have really made it a GARDEN Soup. I use yellow & green beans, onion, carrots diced, salt potatoes cut in half or 1/4s if needed. I cut the kernels off of 2 ears corn. Sauté onions & carrots in some bacon fat slightly then add rest of vegetables. I do use chicken broth as my liquid. Cover and simmer till veggies are fork tender. Then add 1/2 n 1/2 a dab of butter and heat till hot. Add chopped bacon to each serving Enjoy! You can thicken if you like. My husband really enjoys this soup too !
Judy says
Can this soup be frozen for future use?
Karlynn Johnston says
No, cream soups don’t freeze well. You’d have to freeze it before you add the dairy and then add in the milk when you reheat it.
Magdalena Ardelean says
can i skip the cornstarch?
Brad and Pat says
My Grandma and my Mom and now “we” make this. Have always loved it. Our version just uses water with a bay leaf added, (instead of broth) and of course rich cream! Thanks for sharing.
Frances Tuma. says
Recipe is excellent the same my mom made who was from Slovakia but for added ness smoked colbassa can be added to frying onions giving it more flavour if desired. This is an original soup from Europeans
Sarah says
I add prepared yellow mustard to mine…..try it!
Norman Broome says
I was looking for this type of recipe and found yours. it sounds a lot like the one my grandmother used to make. Loved your info about the broccoli and cocktails. You sound like a fun person. Thanks Norm.
Karlynn Johnston says
Thanks Norman! This is a really old recipe and not a common one! Thanks for stopping in and welcome to my website!
Lou says
My wife grew up with this sour cream & yellow bean, carrot & potatoes dish in Somerset Co PA. Her parents were of Eastern European ancestry . The coal miners all had huge gardens and canned everything for the harsh winter. This Italian learned to love their cuisine.
Linda says
I live in a southern state in the USA. This recipe sounds like one made by my grandma using baby green lima
beans, I have never seen or heard of
yellow wax beans. I assume they do not grow in our part of the USA because of our heat and humidity, or
perhaps they go by another name. I sometimes put sausage in it. My grandma would put sausage in the soup in the fall when it was time to
Kill the hogs. Do you know of any other name they might go by ? I would like to try them.
Diane Marrel says
My mother started her soup with a pork broth from like spare ribs. It made it more hardy. She only cooked it without meat on Fridays of lent.
Also, took flour,milk and sour cream mixed together to thicken by adding the hot broth to the thickening mixture first then when it was warm added it all to the soup. She also added vinegar about 1/4 to 1/3 cup to the pot after vegetables were tender to stop the cooking of them so they wouldn’t turn to mush. The carrots, potatoes,celery and wax beans.
Yellow wax beans look like green beans only yellow. Grow just like green beans on a bush.
Linda says
I live in a southern state in the USA. This recipe sounds like one made by my grandma using baby green lima
beans, I have never seen or heard of
yellow wax beans. I assume they do not grow in our part of the USA because of our heat and humidity, or
perhaps they go by another. I sometimes put sausage in it. My grandma would put sausage in the soup in the fall when it was time to
Kill the hogs.
Peace says
Hi Dear,
I just want says, U save my life I meant that. Thank you for brought this up site awesome amazing recipe Creamy yellow bean n potatoes soup that made me fall in love with it 🙂 I made it last night from my own veg garden. it is kind of like almost same idea for sweet corn chowder But this is so much better than corn chowder. Hey U all guy n Ladies, U should have to try this one n trusted her Karlynn ,Believe in me !. Thank you so much again, Have a great day. U champion ! 🙂
Peace <3 <3 <3
Ivor David says
Must try it
Benita Bartus Boyko says
My mom made this all the time. I thought it was weird because she made us put vinegar in it!
The Kitchen Magpie says
That’s very borscht -like, the vinegar! Are you Eastern European? That’s traditional to put vinegar on veggie soups! We didn’t use vinegar in this one though.
Benita Bartus Boyko says
Yes, Hungarian!\U0001f60a can’t wait to try it!
Julie Scriver says
OK, maybe. off to Kelowna in a few days.
Cheryl Clyne says
You and I have the same roots. This is another one that my mom used to make!
The Kitchen Magpie says
Try canned. Seriously. It’s SO good.
The Kitchen Magpie says
It’s very uncommon! Hardly anyone has heard of it! Ukrainian roots for me!
Terri says
I too Ukrainian. My mother would make a rue, somehow add yellow beans, potatoes and egg and flour dumplings or as our family would call kluski and last add a little vinegar. Yum. With my mother gone, been looking and asking for 5 years for her recipe. Anyone know or heard of the one I describe.
Cheryl says
Thanks for this recipe!
I’m making this soup today in honor of my (Polish) mother with the last of the garden fresh yellow beans.
Don’t have a recipe, my mother’s gone now, and thought I’d look online to see if I found one – your’s the only one!
I will add carrots and celery and a touch of vinegar as well.
Didn’t think of corn starch – thanks will definitely appreciate a bit of thickening up!
Julie Scriver says
rats! just ate the last of my garden beans.
Cheryl says
Oh! And Dill! Definitely lots of dill 🙂
Cheryl says
Yes! Lots of Dill! I to am making in honor of my Polish mother, who’s also gone, was going to ‘wing’ it and found this recipe.
Smacznego!