Looking for Mayocoba beans recipes? Take a look at this Mayocoba bean soup with potatoes. A thick, hearty, delicious and healthy bowl of soup, and a recipe large enough to feed a hungry crowd. Perfect for a cozy Winter Sunday family dinner.
I’m proud to add this to my growing list of bean soups, like this favorite for Hearty Red wine Bean and Beef Soup.
What You Can Expect From This Recipe
This mayocoba bean soup recipe is a hearty, healthy soup, bright and complex with flavor.
It makes a large batch of soup that will feed a crowd or provide a lovely stash of leftovers. After all soup always tastes better the next day – right?
Once the vegetables are prepped, the soup comes together quite easily.
Most soup recipes start with a customary Mirepoix to create a base layer of flavor. And this recipe takes advantage of it’s flavor beginnings. For this recipe, we’re keeping the vegetables chunky for a true comfort food experience.
What is Mirepoix? (pronounced Meer-pwah) is a classic French aromatic flavor base, commonly used in soups and sauces. It’s made by lightly cooking a mixture of two parts chopped onion, one part chopped celery and one part chopped carrot. For instance, 2 cups onion, 1 cup celery and 1 cup carrot. The vegetables are cooked slowly in butter or oil to bring out thier flavors without browning or caramelizing.
Use your slow cooker to make easy work of cooking the Mayocoba beans. This is a method I’ve used for over 40 years for cooking any variety of dried beans.
Depending on which side of the “soaking beans” fence you’re on, you can either soak the beans overnight in water and then cook in chicken broth the next morning, or simply cover the beans in chicken broth and start them in the slow cooker early in the day. I’ve done both, don’t find much advantage to the over-night soak, so I subscribe to the no-soak method.
Once the Mayocoba beans are tender, you will finish the soup stove-top.
A quick puree of cooked onion, garlic and fresh parsley and lemon added at the end, gives this soup an extra special boost of flavor.
The result is a hearty “stick to your ribs” bean and potato soup. A no meat, gluten free and healthy dinner.
They’re a great bean to use as a substitute for Cannellini or great Northern beans. It’s a popular bean all over Mexico but especially in the state of Jalisco, where you often see them used to make super creamy refried beans. I’ve also used them in this Chorizo Albondigas Bean Soup.
What Are Mayocoba Beans?
Mayocoba beans, sometimes called the Canary Bean or Peruano Beans, have a thin skin, a buttery taste and a creamy texture that performs well on its own or as a component with other ingredients.
They’ll soak up any flavor that you throw at it and still hold their shape. Mayocoba beans are a wonderful addition to mixed vegetable and potato soup because they take well to a variety of seasonings…particularly herbal.
Mayocoba beans are originally from Peru, has now made its home growing in Eastern Colorado. Colorado is nationally a major producer of dry beans. A combination of altitude, bright sunshine, fertile soils and Rocky Mountain water provide the prime mixture of elements for dry beans to flourish in taste and color. (source Colorado Dry Beans).
Let’s get started:
Ingredients You’ll Need
Ingredients To Make Mayocoba Beans In The Slow Cooker
- Two cups Mayocoba beans, rinsed and picked over.
- Chicken Broth
- Lard, Crisco or butter. Adding fat to the slow cooker will make any dried bean creamier.
- Bay Leaf
Ingredients You’ll Need To Make The Soup
- Potatoes: I like to use packaged petite Yukon Gold Tomatoes. The skins are thin, so no peeling required. Simply rinse and quarter. Any waxy potato will work, like red-skinned potatoes. Save those starchy russet potatoes for Baked Potatoes.
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onions: Sweet or yellow onion.
- Garlic
- Canned Tomatoes: I like to use Petite Diced. Their small size are more pleasant in the soup and they break down easier.
- Lemon: Lemon will add a delightfully bright flavor.
- Parsley: Italian flat leaf.
- Spices: Rosemary, Dill, Thyme, Basil, Oregano, Salt and Pepper.
Step by Step Instructions
- Step 1: Cook the beans in the slow cooker. Add the Mayocoba beans, chicken broth, a scoop of fat and a bay leaf. Cook on low for about 5 hours or until beans are soft and cooked through. You can also cook them in a Dutch oven stove-top, partially covered.
- Step 2: Heat oil over medium heat until hot. Add chopped onion, sliced carrots and celery. Cook for about 7 minutes or until fragrant and starting to become tender.
- Step 3: Add potatoes, cooked beans (bay leaf removed) and canned tomatoes, 2 cups of chicken broth and all spices and seasonings. Simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender. About 20-30 minutes.
- Step 3: While the soup is cooking, in a small skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add the remaining onion and saute until softened about 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Step 4: Scrap the onion and garlic into a food chopper. Add the parsley and lemon juice. Puree until smooth. Stir the puree into the soup and simmer for about 5 minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasonings for salt, or perhaps more lemon juice.
Questions You Might Have
Rancho Gordo is a company that is the expert on all things beans. You can order them directly from their online store to be shipped to your home. Also check your local specialty or Farmer’s markets. I’ve never found them for sale in major grocery store chains.
Dried Cannellini or Great Northern Beans.
Purchase 3-14.5 ounce cans of Cannellini or Great Northern Beans. Drain and rinse before adding them to the recipe.
When cooked properly Mayocoba beans are mild with flavor, creamy and delightfully buttery. You’ll also find a very mild sweetness to their flavor.
Tips For Success
- If you’d like to make this soup creamier, mash some of the beans with a potato masher or fork. If using a fork, press them against the side of the slow cooker before adding them to the soup.
- Use Petite Gold potatoes. The skins are tender and the potatoes don’t need peeled. Just rinse and quarter the potatoes.
- Use vegetable broth to make this soup vegetarian.
More Bean Soup Recipes
And if you’re a soup lover like us, you won’t want to miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of delish ideas. Including the most popular on my site, Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Style Beef Chili. And a personal favorite for this 15 Bean Soup Crockpot Recipe.
What People Are Saying:
Ms. Lee Ann: “I want to thank you for you Lemony Potato Soup with Mayocoba Beans! It was my first time using this particular bean and they are an absolute delight.
Additionally, I typically use the recipes of others only as inspiration but for whatever reason I felt compelled to follow this one to a T (except I used red potatoes because it's what I had on hand). I'm so glad I followed my instinct! Wow! This is definitely going into regular rotation at my home. Plus, it's nutritious and economical to boot. I served with homemade cornbread and the meal was a hit!
Many thanks for sharing this delicious recipe!” Regards, Leeann
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Lemony Potato Soup with Mayocoba Beans
Ingredients
- To Cook The Beans
- 2 cups Dried Mayocoba beans 1 pound, Washed and picked over
- 6 cups Chicken broth divided
- 2 Tablespoons Lard or Crisco
- 1 bay leaf
- To Make The Soup
- 2 Tablespoons Neutral oil canola or vegetable oil works well here
- 2 large sweet onions or yellow onions, chopped – divided
- 2 medium carrots peeled and sliced
- 2 ribs celery, with leaves diced
- 1 pound potatoes Petite Gold, rinsed and quartered
- 2 15-ounce cans chopped tomatoes undrained
- 1 tablespoon oregano dried, preferably Mexican
- 1 tablespoon basil dried
- 1 teaspoon thyme dried
- 1 teaspoon dill dried
- 1 teaspoon rosemary dried
- 1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon Freshly ground black pepper
- To Finish The Soup
- 1 tablespoon Neutral Oil
- 2 cloves garlic peeled
- ½ cup flat-leaf parsley fresh, rough chopped
- ½ lemon juiced
Instructions
- To Cook The Beans
- Rinse the mayocoba beans in a colander. Pick through them to remove any bad beans. Place the beans, 4 cups of chicken broth, lard and bay leaf in a slow cooker. Cook on low until beans are tender. Cooking time will depend on the freshness of the beans. Plan on about 5 hours.
- To Cook The Soup
- Once beans are tender, heat oil in a 6 quart Dutch Oven.
- Add one chopped onion, carrots and celery. Cook for about 7 minutes or until fragrant and starting to become tender. Add potatoes, Mayocoba beans (bay leaf removed) and tomatoes. Pour in the 2 remaining cups of chicken broth and all spices and seasonings. Simmer uncovered until potatoes are tender. About 20-30 minutes.
- To Finish The Soup: While the soup is cooking, in a small skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the remaining onion and saute until softened about 3 minutes, add the garlic and cook until fragrant. Scrap the onion and garlic into a food chopper. Add the parsley and lemon juice. Puree until smooth.
- Stir the puree into the soup and simmer for about 5 minutes longer. Taste and adjust seasonings for salt, or perhaps more lemon juice.
- Serve and garnish each bowl with parsley and paprika – all optional.
Notes
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- If you’d like to make this soup creamier, mash some of the beans with a potato masher or fork. If using a fork, press them against the side of the slow cooker before adding them to the soup.
-
- Use Petite Gold potatoes. The skins are tender and the potatoes don’t need peeled. Just rinse and quarter the potatoes.
-
- Use vegetable broth to make this soup vegetarian.
- Substitute 3- 14.5 ounce canned beans for dried beans. Rinsed and drained.
- Adding Crisco, lard or butter to the crockpot while cooking the Mayocoba beans will make them delightfully creamy
