Anasazi Bean Soup (Slow Cooker or Stovetop)

Anasazi Bean Soup is a fun soup I used to make with my fourth grade students as we learned about the ancient people who lived in Utah! And there are instructions for making this tasty soup with other beans, and it came be made in the slow cooker or on the stove.

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Anasazi Bean Soup is made from delicious dried beans that are an interesting part of Utah history! When I taught fourth grade we learned about the earliest Utah people, and the word Anasazi means “ancient ones.” I used to cook these beans every year for the students when we had our Anasazi Feast at school.

And I do love the delightful flavor of these ancient beans! In Salt Lake I can find Anasazi Beans at Whole Foods, or you can order them online. Unfortunately they lose much of the delightful speckled look when they’re cooked, but they still taste great.

You can also make this tasty soup with pinto beans if you can’t locate the Anasazi beans. I like to make Anasazi Bean Soup in a slow cooker, but if you’re not a crockpot fan, I’ve got instructions for cooking them on top of the stove in the complete recipe below.

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

• dried Anasazi Beans (affiliate link)
• celery
• carrots
• onion
• chopped cabbage
• ham
• ham rind if available
• water (or use homemade Ham Stock if you have some)
• Dried Parsley (affiliate link)
• Garlic Powder (affiliate link)
• Onion Powder (affiliate link)
• Bay Leaves (affiliate link)
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate, optional but good (affiliate link)
• balsamic vinegar for serving, optional

What are Anasazi Beans?

I learned about Anasazi Beans when I taught Utah history! The Anasazi people were early native Americans living in the four corners area as far back as 130 A.D. They often lived in the structures called cliff dwellings. Anasazi Beans were one of very few crops cultivated by these people, and the beans were first found in the ruins.

What makes Anasazi Beans so good?

Anasazi Beans are a slightly sweet bean that contains less of the gas-producing carbohydrates found in many types of dried beans!

What size Slow Cooker did I use?

I’d recommend at least a 5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe, and a slightly bigger size wouldn’t hurt.

Can you make Anasazi Bean Soup on the stove?

Scroll down to the complete recipe below and you’ll find easy instructions for making this tasty soup on the stove.

How to make Anasazi Bean Soup (Slow Cooker or Stovetop):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. I first bought Anasazi Beans from Ranch Gordo but now I don’t find them on their website. Luckily you can buy Anasazi Beans at Amazon.com! (affiliate link)
2. I soaked the beans overnight in cold water in the crockpot. I recommend soaking for this soup, so plan ahead. 
3. In the morning, drain beans, discard the soaking water, and return beans to the crockpot with 8 cups of water.
4. Chop one cup each of finely chopped onion, carrot, and celery, and add to the crockpot.
5. Chop 2 cups ham into small cubes and add to the crockpot.
6. I always buy a ham with a rind on it, and I add the rind to the soup for even more flavor.
7. Add 2 cups of very finely chopped green cabbage to crockpot.
8. Add dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and bay leaves to crockpot and start to cook on high.
9. Depending on the model of slow cooker you have and how hot it gets, you may want to reduce heat to low after 4-5 hours.
10. After the soup has cooked for about 8 hours (or a bit less if your slow cooker gets hotter), I remove ham rinds and taste to see if I want to add ham flavor base. I love Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link), for a flavor-boost in soups with ham. (This is optional, some ham is so flavorful you won’t need it.)
11. Soup is done when the beans are starting to break apart and the cabbage has almost completely dissolved into the soup.
12. Cooking time will depend on how hot your slow cooker gets, but the soup in this photo was cooked nearly 10 hours on high.
13. Serve hot, with a sprinkle of balsamic vinegar if desired.
14. If you prefer making this soup on the stove, scroll down to the complete recipe below.

Weekend Food Prep:

This recipe for Anasazi Bean Soup has been added to a category called Weekend Food Prep where you’ll find recipes you can prep or cook on the weekend and eat during the week!

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Yield: 8 servings

Anasazi Bean Soup (Slow Cooker or Stovetop)

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 10 hours

Total Time 10 hours 15 minutes

This Anasazi Bean Soup is perfect for a cold fall day and Anasazi beans are delicious and have an interesting history! And this tasty soup can be made in the slow cooker or on the stove.

Ingredients

• 1 pound dried Anasazi Beans, soaked overnight in crockpot
• 1 cup diced celery
• 1 cup diced carrots
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 cups very finely chopped cabbage
• 2 cups ham, cut into small dice
• ham rind if available (remove for the last few hours of cooking time)
• 8 cups water (you can also use partly ham stock if you have it)
• 2 T dried parsley
• 1-2 T garlic powder
• 2-3 tsp. onion powder
• 2-3 bay leaves
• fresh ground black pepper to taste
• ham flavored concentrate or ham bouillon (optional but good)
• balsamic vinegar for serving, optional

Instructions

1. Soak beans overnight in cold water in the crockpot.
2. The next morning, drain beans, discard soaking water, and put beans back in the crockpot with 8 cups water (or a combination of water and ham stock if you have it.)
3. Cut up celery, carrots, onions, cabbage, and ham.
4. Put all ingredients in crock pot (including ham rind if you’re lucky enough to have some) with dried parsley, garlic powder, onion powder, and bay leaves, and start to cook on high. (It may look like there isn’t enough liquid, but in the crock pot foods give up liquid and you end up with more than you started with.)
5. I cooked this soup on high for 10 hours or longer, until about half of the beans have disintegrated into the soup and the cabbage is mostly dissolved. My large crock pot is the original “slow-cooker” type, which may cook a bit less hot than some. If you have a newer model, you might want to cook on high 4-5 hours, then reduce to low.
6. After about 8 hours, remove ham rind if using, then taste for seasoning and add ham bouillon or ham flavor concentrate if desired. (Use of this is optional, and will depend on how much flavor is in your ham. If you have really good ham you might not need it.)
7. Cook until beans are starting to break apart and the cabbage has mostly dissolved into the soup.
8. Serve Anasazi Bean Soup hot, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar if desired.  This soup freezes well.

Stovetop Instructions:

1. You could cook this on the stove if you don’t have a crock pot or want it done sooner.
2. For stovetop cooking, add all ingredients to heavy soup pot and simmer about 3 hours, or until beans are very well done and cabbage has disintegrated into the soup.
3. I would increase the amount of water I started out with  by several cups for cooking it on the stove, since some of the liquid will evaporate.
4. Check for seasoning after a few hours, and add more ham ham flavor base as desired.

Notes

I like Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) for soups with ham, but there are other good brands.

I’d recommend at least a 5 Quart Slow Cooker (affiliate link) for this recipe.

Recipe created by Kalyn.

Nutrition Information

Yield

8

Serving Size

1
Amount Per Serving Calories 195Total Fat 4gSaturated Fat 1gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 2gCholesterol 43mgSodium 1006mgCarbohydrates 24gFiber 5gSugar 9gProtein 19g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

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Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
Dried beans are considered a “good carb” on the original South Beach Diet, but you’d have to leave out the carrots for this Crockpot Anasazi Bean Soup to be approved for phase one. Soup with Beans is high in carbs for a traditional low-carb diet. 

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Slow Cooker Recipes to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This tasty soup made with Anasazi Beans was first posted in 2006, when I was still teaching and making Anasazi Bean Soup at school! In those days, a lot of kids would request their mom to make the soup at home. The recipe was last updated with more information in 2025.