Spanish Bean Soup (Garbanzo Bean Soup)

Spanish Bean Soup (Garbanzo Bean Soup) takes you on a trip to Tampa Bay, where Cuban heritage is so alive & full of flavor. This simple soup is made with garbanzo beans, potatoes & savory sausage and is just bursting with deliciousness!

Items you need to make Spanish Bean Soup:

dried garbanzo beans
salt
black pepper
Minced garlic, garlic powder or garlic salt
Vigo spanish seasoning
chicken stock
red potatoes
beef smoked sausage (or any smoked sausage) – chorizo is traditionally used
Water

Ingredients:

1 lb bag of dried garbanzo beans
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 to 2 cloves garlic minced (you can also use garlic powder ½ to 1 teaspoon according to your taste)
3 packets Vigo Spanish seasoning
32 ounces chicken stock
3 pounds red potatoes cut up into bite sized cubes
2 packages beef smoked sausage sliced & quartered
6 cups Water Approx 3 cups to soak and more to add as needed as soup cooks down

Instructions:

Prepare Garbanzo Beans (Chickpeas)
Rinse beans, cover with water and add 1 tablespoon salt. Soak overnight. If you forget this step, just boil on stove top for ½ hour.
Soup
Add beans with water to crock pot or soup pot. (If you want less sodium drain first, add ingredients then fill with fresh water as needed after all other items are added) Add chicken stock, cubed potatoes, cut up sausage, minced garlic, pepper and Vigo seasoning.
Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours in crock pot or bring to boil on stove top then reduce to med low for 2 to 3 hours (or more).
Notes
I always taste soup (a few hours before done) and add any additional salt, pepper, garlic (or garlic powder) as needed to taste.
You may also use chorizo sausage for the more traditional recipe. (But this one gets rave reviews and is a family favorite so I recommend trying it as is)
For a thicker consistency: As the soup cooks the beans often break down and thicken the soup. If you want it thicker you can pull out some of the beans and mash and return to pot.