Last updated on March 19, 2021 by Liza Hawkins
This hearty chicken and pinto bean soup is the perfect cold weather comfort meal. It warms you to the bone and is super versatile. Cook it stove-top, in your Instant Pot, or all day in the slow cooker like I’ve shown here. Change up the spices, or give it a punch of flavor by adding a mix of herbs and spices!
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A few years ago for Christmas we decided to cut back on material gifts to our families.
I mean, my parents and my in-laws don’t actually *need* anything, and (in the name of downsizing) prefer not to be given more “things” to clutter up their houses.
So, instead, we got creative!
At the time, we lived on the same property as my parents and my grandfather, and in lieu of traditional holiday gifts we decided to give them once-a-month Sunday suppers, cooked and delivered by none other than yours truly.
January’s meal was vegetarian lasagna rolls and a spinach salad dressed with a simple homemade lemon vinaigrette.
February’s meal was a hearty chicken and pinto bean soup made in the slow cooker, paired with an artisan loaf of warm, crusty bread.
Perfect warm-you-up food for a day where the temperature (not counting wind chill) never made it above twelve degrees. Brrrr….
The starch from the pinto beans turned the homemade chicken stock into a creamy broth that paired perfectly with the fresh spinach and bites of tender onion.
My only regret? Not making enough for leftovers this time!
Hearty Chicken and Pinto Bean Soup
This hearty chicken and pinto bean soup is the perfect cold weather comfort meal.
Ingredients
- 1 bag dried pinto beans
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- 8 white mushrooms, sliced
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup water + more for the beans
- 1 cup diced cooked chicken
- 1 bag fresh baby spinach
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
Instructions
- Add the beans to a large pot, and then fill the pot with water until it's 2" above the beans.
- Bring the pot to a boil, reduce heat to keep it at a simmer, and let it cook for 10 minutes, uncovered.
- Remove the pot from heat, cover, and let it sit for 1 hour. Drain.
- Add the beans, onion, mushrooms, chicken, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning, 1 cup water, and chicken stock to a slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours.
- Add the spinach, and continue cooking for 1 or 2 more hours, or until the beans are tender.
Notes
Serve with crusty bread.
Let it cool completely before freezing leftovers in quart-sized zip top freezer bags. Easily make this soup vegetarian by substituting vegetable stock for chicken stock and omitting the chicken!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
6Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 194Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 42mgSodium: 1242mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 5gSugar: 5gProtein: 16g
What a perfect gift and seriously both meals so far sound absolutely delicious and inspired to me. Definitely cold here too and so want try your soup now. So, thanks for sharing 😉
Hope you enjoy it!
Oh, this looks like something I could really use right now during this freezing weather. Hearty chicken and pinto bean soup sounds and looks great. Pinning
I know, right? It’s sooooo cold.
Hi! Curious if you cook the chicken before putting it in the slow cooker?
Yep, recipe calls for 1 cup of diced cooked chicken. You can use cut up rotisserie, pre-packaged diced, or just sear a couple breasts or thighs and cut them up.
Am totally giving this a try today, making my grocery list now, thanks for the idea! Pinning too!
I love the idea of giving meals as gifts. This soup sounds delicious and perfect for this cold winter weather we are having in the northeast.
Something different, and we’re all having fun with it so far! 🙂
This is perfect for us right now since it’s so darn cold and snowy in NY. I have to say I just love the Christmas gift you gave your family. That is wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe and lovely post!
I’m SO ready for spring, Kathy. 🙂
You do a fantastic job of including great photos with these recipes. Really adds some punch to what I read.
Thanks, Jack! 🙂
This looks delicious and easy – I’ve been on such a soup kick lately!
It’s that time of year, for sure!
What a nice idea for a gift! This soup looks so hearty and delicious, perfect for a snowy day like today.
Needing to go through my pantry to clean it up, I found I had a over abundance of pinto beans! Why, I don’t know, but I needed to do something with them. I found this recipe, seemed easy enough. I threw it all together & when it came time to serve it up I was a pretty hesitant. My boyfriend commented there was way too much spinach, I also found we had an overabundance of frozen spinach & asked him to put one of the big bag in the crockpot for me being he got home before I. We put it in a bowl & I’ll be honest that I set out hot sauce & soy sauce, just in case. We had a friend over & I already started to apologize however this was so surprisingly delicious! Served up with some garlic toast & we were all happy campers! It was so perfect on a chilled night & so simple yet just wonderful! There was no need to add anything, sauce wise, it is really a good soup! Thank you! Highly recommend this & will be making another pot to freeze
Oh, I’m so glad you guys enjoyed it, Angelina! You’re right — it is perfect for a chilly evening!
I was looking for something with ground beef and pinto beans when I found this. I’m going to give it ago with ground beef
Let me know how it is with ground beef!
One question. When you say a bag of pinto beans how big is this bag meant to be? Don’t want to over or under do it.
Hi Dionne! It’s the small bag, 16 ounces.
Do you have a bread recipe?
Hi Mariah! I do — check these out: https://www.amusingfoodie.com/category/savory-bread/
Hi, I’m not very creative and/or I don’t have very good abstract thinking ability. My brain mostly does literal so I need and use recipes.
But it finds patterns or connections others don’t.
Anyway, could you please also post in the notes a general comment as to how the recipe would be altered if the beans have already been soaked?
Also noting an alteration to allow for crock pot cooking would be very much appreciated as cooking a soup on high for 6 hours and having to stir it occasionally and be home for that many awake hours in one sitting sounds unrealistic at this juncture. 🙂
Hi Steph! This recipe is for a Crock Pot (I use the generic term “slow cooker” since “Crock Pot” is actually a brand name for a slow cooker). So, the adjustments you’re asking for are actually very simple. If your beans are ready to go, then just skip step one altogether and throw everything into your Crock Pot slow cooker! Easy peasy!
Awesome! Clearly I missed the transition of putting the stuff from a pot into a slow cooker. Although I am creative enough to add some grated zucchini instead of spinach. I know it will taste COMPLETELY different but I’m poor and it’s what I have on hand and I have a giant zucchini that I need to use with little time lol. I’ll probably have to freeze some still because it’s so enormous.
Eh, I think zucchini will be fine! Use up what’s in your pantry, and if you happen to have spinach another time when you’re craving this soup, use it. It’s tasty without, too.
What size bag of fresh spinach did you use?
Just the regular sized bag in the fridge section of the produce aisle — usually 8oz.