I received a package of Bob's Red Mill Bean Soup Mix as a Christmas present from a dear friend. The soup was SOOOO good and easy to make. I think I managed to get several meals from each iteration of the package. I bought my own package from Amazon and was amazed at how inexpensive it was and how easy to make a pot of soup. I recently purchased my OWN pack of the 13 Bean Soup mix as well as a package of Vegetable Soup. (PS The bean soup was absolutely delicious. I still need to add a few more items to the Vegetable Soup mix) Read more
We first started using Red Bob like 3-4 years back. Fast forward to today and Red Bob products can be found everywhere in our kitchen. I really have yet to come across a Red Bob product that I don't like. That said, there are definitely a few that stick out above the others and Red Bob's 13 Bean mix is definitely one of them. We initially made this mix plain, just using the beans and Red Bob's seasoning packets. Then my wife mentioned buying a ham bone from Honey Baked Ham and making ham & bean soup using Red Bob's mix. For those unaware, you can buy ham bones from any Honey Baked Ham store. They are already bagged and can be found in the frozen section. There is actually a TON of meat left on those bones, a perfect amount for full bag of Red Bob's 13 Bean MIx. We use a full package of Red Bob's 13 Bean Soup Mix when making our soup as again, its a perfect amount to use with a ham bone from Honey Baked. We just open up a package of Red Bob's 13 Bean Soup Mix, dump it into a large bowl, fill the bowl with water until all of the beans are covered, and let the beans soak overnight. The next day we rinse the beans with water and put them in a large pot. We then add 4 1/2 quarts of water, 2 Tbsp's of Red Bob's Bean Soup Seasoning Mix, and throw in the ham bone from Honey Baked. We bring it to a boil and then simmer for roughly 2 hours. At about the 30 minute mark, we pull the ham bone out of the soup and start cutting the ham off the bone and into small bite sized pieces. At that point, the ham will be tender and very easy to cut. We then put the small pieces of ham and the ham bone back into the soup for the remainder of the cooking time. It smells FANTASTIC when its cooking. When its finally done, we take the ham bone back out, remove any ham that might be left on the bone and throw it away. Using a full package of 13 bean mix does make a pretty big batch of soup. If your making it for just a couple of people, you can always freeze some of it. Thats what we usually do. We have a couple of freezer containers that are perfect for soups. We prefer doing it that way, as opposed to making a smaller batch, as then you have some in the freezer already made up and ready to go. Just pull it out of the freezer and put it in the refrigerator when your ready to eat it. There is no noticeable decline in quality from freezing it. We thoroughly enjoy Red Bob's 13 Bean Soup Mix by itself, but adding a Honey Baked Ham Bone to the soup....well, its really kicks it up a notch! Its absolutely amazing!! If you enjoy bean and ham soup, you really owe it to yourself to give this a try. Its actually hard going back to just the basic 13 bean soup mix once you have had the Honey Baked Ham in there. All in all, this has become one of our favorite soups. Its just super hearty, perfect for the colder months. Total time, around 2 hours once the beans have soaked overnight. Homemade bean or ham/bean soup in just 2 hours....well, whats not to like about that. Definitely one of Red Bob's best products. If your a soup fan or love beans in general, you really can't go wrong with this one. 5 Stars and then some!! Read more
Easy to make. Absolutely as delicious as my homemade Mexican pintos. Read more
OK, so I'm not a traditionalist. I throw away the seasoning packet and use the beans. I'll put the beans in a stockpot, rinse them off and drain them. Then, cover them with about 2 to 3 inches of water over the top of the beans and add a teaspoon of BAKING SODA to the water. Cover the pot with a lid and let sit overnight or at least 5 hours. Rinse the beans thoroughly. Then cover the beans with 2 inches of water over the top of the beans. If you haven't used baking soda to soak beans before, it's not just to make the beans cook faster, but it's to prevent gas from the beans and gastric problems. Once you cook beans that way, you won't cook them any other way again. It's nice to be able to eat beans without gas. You'll want to bring the beans and water to a boil, then lower the temperature to just simmering and cook about 25 to 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, so your beans don't stick. Check the beans for doneness at about 25 minutes (but not sooner). If you need to add a little more water, then add just a little more. Once your beans seem like they're almost done, drain any extra water off of them and add your seasonings. There are tons of recipes. This is what I use to season my beans, because we're both diabetics: I give a good squirt of Rays Sugar Free Smoked BBQ Sauce, a good squirt of Ketchup, 1/4 cup Golden Monk Fruit (artificially sweetened brown Sugar) and then about a tablespoon of KC Masterpiece Marinade (optional). Stir everything into the beans and simmer it another 15 or so minutes (making sure to stir and add a little water if needed) It makes yummy baked beans. Instead of heating the seasonings and beans on the stovetop, you can also add your seasonings and then put it in the oven at 400 for about 15 to 20 minutes to give it more of that "Baked Bean" taste. If putting it into the oven, you may need to add a little more water to "Loosen" it up. I recommend these beans, for whatever you want to use them in. Thank you for reading my review. Read more
No one was thrilled about this I was thrilled about the number of beans in it but maybe they should have put more split peas. Read more
Best bean selection. I add some veggies and broth. Great meal Read more
Easy to cook and excellent taste. Read more
The older I get, the more i like a good hearty soup and anything from Bob's Red Mill is worth trying. We really like the 13 Bean Soup Mix and add broth, onions, and whatever other vegetables (and sometimes meat) we have on hand. Really good on a cold Winter day. I can almost smell it cooking... Read more
