Vegan Mountain Soup Beans! Every spoonful delivers warmth, texture, and a satisfying protein punch, making it a nourishing centerpiece for a weeknight dinner or a casual weekend feast.

These Vegan Mountain Soup Beans are a hearty, delicious bowl that satisfies the soul and the palate. Savory notes mingle with notes of smokiness, all woven together with plump pintos simmered to perfection in a rich, comforting broth. While the traditional Mountain Soup Beans rely on ham hocks to deliver their signature depth, this Whole Food Plant Based rendition is inspired by the Appalachian classic with a twist by using everyday plant-based ingredients to achieve a cozy, robust flavor. Whether you’re craving rustic comfort or a wholesome vegan option, these beans bring the heart of the mountains to your table with a clean, satisfying finish.

Whole Food Plant Based, Vegan, plant based, oil free, dairy free, refined sugar free, no highly processed ingredients and gluten free.

Hi there, Ameera here!

We ate these soup beans with our sweet cornbread like our lives depended upon it, so yummy!! We’re dedicating this post to my Aunt Mary and Cousin Jordan because they LOVE Mountain Soup Beans 😉

The combination of soft, creamy beans and crumbly, lightly sweet cornbread creates a classic Southern-style pairing that elevates every bite. If you’re aiming for a true festival of flavors, drizzle a little hot sauce or a tangy cider vinegar finish over the beans, and serve with a wedge of lime for a bright, fresh kick.

This personal-favorite duo is enough to make anyone rush to the stove, ready to scoop, savor, and share. Give this recipe a go, tag a friend who loves comforting vegan meals, and savor the heartfelt flavors inspired by family and tradition.

Tips for Success:

• Flavor Profile: These Mountain Soup Beans are both hearty and delicious. Savory, slightly sweet, and smoky flavors blend perfectly with hearty pinto beans in a tasty broth. The traditional Mountain Soup Beans dish was made with ham hocks and pinto beans. This Whole Food Plant Based nod to the classic Appalachian dish offers warm and comfort made healthy.
• Broth: There is a decent amount of broth, but not overly brothy. Just enough to be slightly reminiscent of a soup. Perfect for dipping cornbread. This broth is smoky, if you are not a fan of smoky flavors, consider skipping this recipe.
• Spices: The spices are earthy and smoky; however, you can easily ramp up the spices if you wish to suit your own personal preferences.
• Pinto Beans: Feel free to substitute the pinto beans with black beans or kidney beans.
• Ham Hock Flavors: The traditional dish is flavored with smoky ham hocks; however, this dish gives a Whole Food Plant Based nod to ham hocks. It won’t taste the same, but you will definitely pick up on the “ham hock-esqueness” of the dish with its slightly sweet and smoky flavors.
• Tahini: The tahini adds some fat to the dish and helps balance the flavors.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
• Table Salt: If using table salt, you should use less table salt than the amount listed in the ingredients as sea salt crystals are larger than table salt crystals. Since table salt crystals are very fine, less table salt is required to season a dish. We would suggest starting with about 1/4 to 1/2 the amount of sea salt listed. You can always add more salt but cannot take it away. We recommend using sea salt as it is less refined than table salt.

Leftovers and Freezing:

Leftovers will generally keep 5 days in the refrigerator.  Store in a covered air-tight container.

These beans freeze well.

Pantry Products:

• Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.  Feel free to use your favorite vegetable broth.
• Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos. We recommend using reduced-sodium products.
• Liquid Smoke: We used Colgin Natural Hickory Liquid Smoke.  Feel free to use your favorite liquid smoke.
• Molasses: We used Grandma’s Unsulfured Original Molasses.  Feel free to use your favorite molasses.  We do not recommend black strap molasses as it can sometimes be bitter.
• Tahini: We used Ziyad Premium Tahini (Sesame Paste). Feel free to use your favorite brand of tahini.
• Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Kitchen Equipment:

• Large stockpot

If you try this cozy soup, we would love to know if you enjoy it as much as we do! Please leave us a review! Post a picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag us! We would love to hear from you.

Vegan Mountain Soup Beans

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star No reviews

• Author: Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures
• Prep Time: 15 Minutes
• Cook Time: 30 Minutes
• Total Time: 45 Minutes (+Rest Time)
• Yield: 6 Cups 1x
• Category: Soup
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American
• Diet: Vegan

Print Recipe

Pin Recipe

---

Description

These Vegan Mountain Soup Beans are a hearty, delicious bowl that satisfies the soul and the palate.

---

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

Base Ingredients:

• 1 large white onion, fine dice
• 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth *
• 2 cups water

Vegan Ham Hock Ingredients:

• 1 Tablespoon reduced-sodium tamari *
• ½ teaspoon hickory liquid smoke *
• 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup (+/-) *
• 2 teaspoons tahini *
• ¼ teaspoon molasses *
• ¼ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon smoked paprika (+/-) *
• ¼ to 1 teaspoon sea salt (+/-) *
• Pinch to ¼ teaspoon black pepper (+/-)
• 2 bay leaves

Other Ingredients:

• 3 – [ 15.25 oz. cans ] pinto beans, drained and rinsed *

Serving Ideas:

• Cornbread
• Crusty bread

Cook Mode Prevent your screen from going dark

---

Instructions

1. In a large stock pot, add the diced onions, sauté over medium-high heat for 7 to 9 minutes to soften, add a splash of water, if needed to avoid burning.
2. Then lower the heat to medium, add the minced garlic and tomato paste, sauté, stir constantly for one minute.
3. Next add all the remaining Base Ingredients and the all the Vegan Ham Hock Ingredients, stir well. Increase the heat, bring the mixture to a boil, add the pinto beans, stir well, then immediately lower to a low-percolating boil; tuck in the bay leaves, and simmer with a low-percolating boil over medium heat for 20 minutes (uncovered), stirring occasionally to prevent the beans from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
4. After 20 minutes, remove the pot from the stove and allow to sit undisturbed for 10 minutes to allow the flavors to marry. After 10 minutes, remove and discard the bay leaves.
5. Serve with cornbread or crusty bread. Enjoy!

---

Notes

Please reference the blog post for Tips for Success, Pantry Items Used, Storage and Freezing, and Kitchen Products Used.

Sea Salt:  Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.

Servings:  4 (makes 6 cups)

This post contains affiliate links, and we may receive a very small commission if you purchase through those links at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting Monkey and Me Kitchen Adventures! For more information, see our disclosures here.