This Bean and Rice Soup comes together in minutes. Packed with flavor it’s a great way to use up leftovers, eat well, and save money! You’ll love all the different ways you can prep Rice and Bean Soup.
Want to save this post?
Enter your email below and get it sent straight to your inbox. Plus, I’ll send you budget recipes and money-saving tips every week!
Beans and rice. Rice and beans.
If you’ve ever listened to folks give budget cooking advice, you’ve probably heard some version of the beans and rice mantra. “Just make beans and rice.”
But the thing is…. it works.
It’s true! Beans and rice are affordable ingredients that you can build entire meals around. I know this, because we did it. During our debt-defying years, I featured beans, with or without rice, on our menu at least three times a week.
It was healthful, tasty, and fit the budget.
Now, at first glance, that might not seem exciting, but in all honesty, there are lots of bean recipes that make beans more exciting. Stir them into Smoky Bean Soup, pile the toppings high on your Pinto Beans and Rice, use your crockpot to make a Taco Soup or Bean and Meat Crockpot Enchilada.
You really could have a bean dish every night for a week and not get bored — or go broke.
One way to not get bored is this Rice and Bean Soup.
Why Make This Recipe
It helps you use what you have. This simple soup recipe was a brainstorm of mine to use up some leftover rice and beans that we had had for dinner the night before. Making soup from leftovers is one of my favorite ways to reduce waste and make the most of what we have. And this Bean and Rice Soup is a great way to do that!
It’s an easy pantry recipe. Most of these ingredients are easy pantry staples to keep on hand, making it an easy emergency supper as well.
It’s delicious. It’s packed with flavor and so versatile. Feel free to jazz it up with your favorite vegetables and toppings. I’ve included a list of variations so that you can take your rice and bean soup all over the culinary world.
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Rice and Bean Soup – just five ingredients!
rice – You can use cooked rice or uncooked rice, depending on what you have. If it’s already cooked, like from leftovers, you can use up to one cup.
black beans – Any kind of beans can be used, a single variety or a combination, like pinto beans, black beans, kidney beans, or canellini beans. You can even add refried beans which will make for a thicker broth. This is great for using up leftovers from a meal. You can save even more if you cook dried beans and freeze them for later. They are full of fiber and protein, and will fill you up.
broth or stock – you can use canned chicken broth or make your own chicken stock. You can also use other flavors of broth. Just shop your kitchen.
a favorite seasoning mix – If you want the soup to have a Mexican flavor, use taco seasoning. Other seasoning mixes will take the soup in another flavor direction.
tomato sauce – This adds flavor and body to the soup, but you can use other sauces instead, such as pesto, pasta sauce, or even salsa.
Optional toppings for soup : grated cheese, salsa, chopped fresh cilantro, dill, or pesto, chopped onion, pesto, chopped avocado, croutons, tortilla chips
Variations: There are so many ways you can jazz up this soup to fit your favorite flavor profiles.
- wild rice, white beans, gravy, and Seasoned Salt
- long grain rice, garbanzo beans, pasta sauce, Italian seasoning
- brown rice, red beans, BBQ sauce, and Cajun seasoning
- arborio rice, white beans, pesto, and Italian seasoning
- Any leftover cooked meat or veggies can be stirred into the soup.
Step by Step Instructions
Here’s how to make this easy rice and bean soup recipe:
To Make the Soup in a Slow Cooker:
- Place all ingredients in the crock of a slow cooker. Stir gently.
- Place the lid on top and turn on the cooker. Cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
- Serve with preferred toppings.
To Make the Soup in a Pressure Cooker:
- Place all ingredients in the pot of an electric pressure cooker. Stir gently.
- Press the saute button and allow the soup to simmer, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with toppings.
To Make the Soup on the Stovetop:
- Place all ingredients in a medium stockpot. Stir gently.
- Cook over medium heat, simmering for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with toppings.
FAQs
Bean soup is a great meal to make for lunch or for dinner. I like to serve it with taco toppings, like shredded cheese, salsa, and sour cream. For a side dish, you can also serve corn bread, tortillas, or chips.
Forget diamonds, a Crock-pot is a girl’s best friend. (Well, after the freezer, that is.) Who else will slave away on lunch or dinner with nary a complaint while you go galavanting about the place doing whatever you want?
I use one of my three crockpots at least twice a week. In fact, many homeschool lunches are made sooo much easier by the using the crockpot. I just put the ingredients in the slow cooker when I wake up and can go about my day, knowing that our lunch plan is taken care of.
This soup was originally developed for slow cooking. Just toss all the ingredients together in the pot, turn it on low, and walk away. The soup will be ready in 2 to 4 hours.
Since this soup uses ingredients that are already cooked, it’s quick work to assemble the soup. You can use your pressure cooker to make this soup, but you won’t need to use the pressure setting. You can use the slow cooker setting or simply hit the saute button and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes.
How to Save More Money
By their very nature, bean dishes are very budget-friendly. However, here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe even more economical:
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When you see a good price on tomato sauce, beans, or your spices, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. Stocking up can save you money.
- Cook dried beans. It’s a lot cheaper to cook dry beans than to buy canned. Recently I’ve started using my electric pressure cooker for beans and it has been a game changer.
- Make your own spice mixes. Spice mixes, like taco seasoning, are super simple to mix up in big batches and are so much cheaper than buying the packets at the store.
- Buy spices in bulk. I regularly buy larger containers of spices I use frequently, like pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. I store excess dried herbs and ground spices in the freezer if I know it will be awhile before I go through the large container.
More Bean Recipes
Tell us what you think!
We love to hear your experiences with Good Cheap Eats. Click the STARS on the recipe card or leave a STARRED comment to let us know what you think of the recipe.
Bean and Rice Soup
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup uncooked rice
- 2 15-ounce cans black beans drained, can be other beans if you prefer
- 4 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix or other favorite seasoning mix.
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- toppings for soup : grated cheese, salsa, chopped cilantro, chopped onion
Instructions
To Make the Soup in a Slow Cooker:
- Place all ingredients in the crock of a slow cooker. Stir gently.⅓ cup uncooked rice, 2 15-ounce cans black beans, 4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 cup tomato sauce
- Place the lid on top and turn on the cooker. Cook for 6 hours on low or 3 hours on high.
- Serve with preferred toppings.toppings for soup
To Make the Soup in a Pressure Cooker:
- Place all ingredients in the pot of an electric pressure cooker. Stir gently.⅓ cup uncooked rice, 2 15-ounce cans black beans, 4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 cup tomato sauce
- Press the saute button and allow the soup to simmer, for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with toppings.toppings for soup
To Make the Soup on the Stovetop:
- Place all ingredients in a medium stockpot. Stir gently.⅓ cup uncooked rice, 2 15-ounce cans black beans, 4 cup chicken stock, 2 tablespoon Taco Seasoning Mix, 1 cup tomato sauce
- Cook over medium heat, simmering for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Serve with toppings.toppings for soup
Notes
- Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When you see a good price on tomato sauce, beans, or your spices, buy a few extra to stash for later. You know you’ll use them. Stocking up can save you money.
- Cook dried beans. It’s a lot cheaper to cook dry beans than to buy canned. Recently I’ve started using my electric pressure cooker for beans and it has been a game changer.
- Make your own spice mixes. Spice mixes, like taco seasoning, are super simple to mix up in big batches and are so much cheaper than buying the packets at the store.
- Buy spices in bulk. I regularly buy larger containers of spices I use frequently, like pepper, sea salt, garlic powder, and chili powder. I store excess dried herbs and ground spices in the freezer if I know it will be awhile before I go through the large container.
- Use whatever broth or stock you have on hand. I keep Better than Bouillon in the fridge for easy soup nights.
- Add noodles or chopped potatoes instead of the rice.
- Stir in cooked meat to make it more.
- Use a different seasoning mix like Cajun or Italian to change the flavor profile.
- Stir in salsa, pesto, or other favorite sauce to change the flavors.
Nutrition
This post was originally published March 9, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.
Sara
Delicious! And healthy and frugal. This definitely checks all the boxes.
Kathleen
I’d never thought about putting beans and rice in soup before, but we like beans and rice, so I thought this was worth a try. We loved it! I like that it’s versatile enough to switch out the ground meat and beans to use what’s on hand.
Adrienne
Well enjoyed here! I made my own black beans in the instant pot and I feel like that made it taste better too.
Jan
Perfect thing to be making on this rainy day, as we are “sheltered indoors” during this strange and crazy time.
Thanks!
MaryAnne
Hi. This sounds wonderful. Except I don’t like meat. Possible to make this without it? Maybe add an extra can of beans?
Jessica Fisher
Absolutely! This soup is versatile. Swap out the meat for more beans or you can add corn, hominy, or other vegetables.
Lynette W.
Hi Jessica! I’m trying this out for the first time today, but I noticed that there was no listing of how many this feeds or a crock size (another indicator of servings 😉 ) I know you have 6 kids, but after dumping everything in, it’s right around 1/2 of my 6 qt crock-pot. Do you normally double this to feed your family of 8? We have 6 here, and luckily one of mine is a Fiver so she won’t eat much (plus it’s new….plus she happens to be sick right now!) So we should get by on one batch today, but I’m guessing – you double right?
Thanks so much! Love your blog!
Jessica Fisher
Well, four years ago my kids ate a lot less! LOL To make it now, it would get doubled for sure.
Lynette W.
LOL! I forgot to check the date on that 😉 I made the soup yesterday and it was PHENOMENAL!!! Everyone here loved it and ate it!! It’s really a filling soup! I will double the recipe in the future for some leftovers for the next day – but wow! Great Soup! Thank you for the recipe!
Jessica Fisher
What a difference, eh? I can’t believe that they could eat so little once upon a time. 🙂 Glad you liked it!
Karen
I’m going to have to try this one! We have some navy beans (can’t get black beans here in Eastern Europe), some leftover chicken, and all the other ingredients. Thanks for sharing this!
Ellen
Could you put the rice in uncooked in this recipe? I’m guessing you might have to increase the amount of liquid…
Jessica Fisher
Yes, just add 1/3 cup uncooked rice and add liquid as needed at the end.
Sarah K. @ The Pajama Chef
everything looks yummy 🙂
Jen@Dear Mommy Brain...
Thank you for hosting! I am always on the prowl for new recipes and I love to come home from work and have dinner ready!
Kay
I’d love to try this receipe but I have one question. I usually don’t have tomato sauce on hand. What can I use as a substitute for that?
Jessica Fisher
@Kay, how can you LIVE without tomato sauce? 😉 It’s a staple here since my kids don’t love tomato chunks in their food. I add tomato by sauce.
You could sub fresh or canned tomatoes instead of sauce.
Wendy R
Question: If I wanted to use dried beans instead of canned, how much would I use?
Jessica Fisher
@Wendy R, the recipe won’t work as is if you use dried beans. I usually cook up huge pots of beans and freeze them in 2 cup portions.
If you’re going to cook the beans in the soup, you’ll have presoak, omit the meat and rice, cook the beans all day, with possibly more liquid, and then add the other things an hour or two before serving. It’s pretty much a different recipe if you go with uncooked beans. Hope that helps!
Michelle @ Simplify, Live, Love
@Jessica Fisher, What if you have frozen dried beans that you cooked ahead of time? Does that question even make sense? I cook dried beans and then freeze them in 2 cup portions. Thanks!
Michelle @ Simplify, Live, Love
@Jessica Fisher, Disregard my question…as usual, with a more careful read of your response, I figured it out for myself! 😉
judee@glutenfreeA-Z
Beautiful presentation of the soup on the white platter.. Looks really good.
Susie's Homemade
Beans and rice…classic combo:-)
Kim
I affectionately refer to my crock pot as my “slave” because it does all the work! Nothing better than being out all afternoon for errands & coming home to a meal ready to eat. I shared an old post but it is one of my favorite soups to come home to on a rainy day!
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy
I LOVE crockpot recipes! I use mine like once a week. I can’t wait to come back tomorrow and check out all the recipes, thanks! The soup looks awesome!