Slow Cooker White Bean Soup with Andouille & Collards

Trust me when I tell you this is a recipe you are going to want to try.  I'm in the process of trying out slow cooker meals for this fall in preparation for Baby H's arrival, and my first trial could not have been more of a success.  Not only did it taste fantastic {with very little effort}, it made our entire apartment smell fantastic all. day. long.  

I love that you start with dried beans, which saves you that messy step of having to drain canned beans before using.  It's the little things that make me happy!  The only slightly labor intensive part {and, it's very slight} is the de-stemming of the collard greens.  You won't toss in the greens until 20 minutes before serving the soup, but I would suggest preparing them while you are chopping up the rest of the vegetables at the beginning of the cooking process and storing them in an air-tight container in the refrigerator until you are ready to add them to the soup and eat dinner.

Slow Cooker White Bean Soup with Andouille and Collards

Serves 4 easily

1 lb. dried white beans {I used cannellini}

4 pre-cooked smoked andouille sausage links, halved lengthwise and cut into half moons
{I used a 12 oz. package}

1 large onion, diced

2 celery stalks, chopped

dried thyme or 4 fresh thyme sprigs

8 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 bunch collard greens, stems cut off and cut into bite-size pieces

1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Add the beans, sausage, onion, celery and chicken broth to your slow cooker.  If you are using fresh thyme, toss the sprigs on top.  You'll need to pull out the stems before later adding the collard greens.  I just used dried thyme {because that's what I had} and sprinkled a little bit on top of the soup before cooking.  As always I didn't use an exact measurement {sorry!}.  Stir everything together.  Put the lid on the slow cooker, and cook on low heat for 7 hours.

About 20 minutes before you are ready to eat dinner, add the collard greens, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir everything together, and put the lid back on the slow cooker.  Allow the soup to cook for another 20 minutes, or until the collard greens are yummy and wilted.

Ladle into soup bowls, drizzle with olive oil, and serve immediately.

Recipe adapted from Real Simple