This is easily the best Ham and Bean Soup we’ve ever had! Plenty of beans, tender chunks of carrot, a perfectly thickened broth with no shortage of spices, and giant chunks of salty ham.
Little tricks here and there make this soup truly stand out from the rest. It’s perfect any time of day (and it freezes well too!)
Our Ham and Bean Soup Recipe for Life
It’s always been important to have classic American comfort food recipes in our arsenal. Dishes like meatloaf, beef stew, spaghetti and meatballs, and banana bread that you want THE perfect recipe for. The one that you can reach for through the years and generations.
This recipe comes from my aunt, who has always been a master of cooking up classic comfort foods. (She was the original author of the Baked Chicken with Sticky Rice, one of our favorites!)
It’s thick and comforting, with lots of vegetables, a blend of different kinds of beans, and a little bit of smoky flavor from the addition of ham hocks (we’ll get to that in a second).
When you dunk big chunks of bread into it, or serve it with a piece of cheesy toast, it’s heaven. We loved it as soon as we tried it, and knew we had to document it for our family archives!
Bonus Points!
Bonus if you use my dad’s recipe for Artisanal Sourdough Bread! It’s the perfect companion for this hearty soup, which really helped us get through the last of the early spring chill.
When you can’t find ham hocks…
A key part of my aunt’s original recipe is smoked ham hocks. However, I couldn’t find them at any of the grocery stores around us. We checked multiple spots! My workaround is a high quality chunk of ham, plus a drizzle of liquid smoke.
(Anyone who saw my Vegan Korean BBQ: King Oyster Mushroom “Samgyupsal” Bowls knows that I’m on a liquid smoke kick…)
The Importance of a Dutch Oven
Having a Dutch oven is important for this recipe. It will allow the soup to bubble over a long period of time with relatively low risk of burning.
I alternated my heat between medium and medium-low. This way, the soup simmered enough to cook down, but not so intensely that beans burned at the bottom of the pot.
I started my soup early in the afternoon. It was perfect by the time we had finished dessert that day.
This recipe uses canned beans, but if you’d rather use dried beans, you’ll need a pressure cooker. I included my aunt’s pressure cooker instructions at the end of this recipe if you’d like to go that route. Or if you happen to have bags of dried beans in the pantry that need a purpose!
Ham and Bean Soup: Recipe Instructions
Heat a Dutch oven over medium heat for about 3 minutes or so, until it’s nice and hot. (You can also use a thick-bottomed soup pot, but may need to stir more often to prevent burning.)
Add the oil and the onions. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
Stir in the chopped celery and carrots, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Add the beans, followed by the water. Increase the heat to high.
Add the bay leaves, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, black pepper, paprika, and chicken bouillon paste. (If you don’t have chicken bouillon paste, simply use chicken stock in place of the water.) Bring to a boil.
Stir in the ham. I like to cut it into big shards/shreds for extra texture. (Sarah likes hers cubed and orderly though. I won’t judge either way!)
If you’re using a ham hock instead of ham, you can add it in now.
Reduce the heat to medium-low. The soup should be at a somewhat energetic simmer. It should always be at a low bubble.
Cook for 4-5 hours, stirring periodically. For the first half of the cooking time, I keep the lid on. For the last hour or two, I will leave the pot slightly uncovered so some steam can escape. If the soup isn’t cooking down, you may want to increase the heat to medium. Every stove is different, so don’t just set it and forget it. Periodically check liquid levels.
In the last hour of cooking, add the fresh parsley and liquid smoke (if desired), and cook for another hour.
It’s done when the beans and carrots are tender, and the soup is thickened.
If you used a ham hock, fish out any bones, and chop up any large pieces of meat and skin (keeping the skin is optional—though strongly encouraged) that don’t break down during the cooking process before serving.
This soup is quite forgiving. If it ends up too salty for your tastes, just add water, and lightly mash some of the beans to release their starchiness and rethicken the soup.
If you are reheating the soup and there is not enough liquid, just add 1-2 cups of water to bring it back to your desired consistency. This soup freezes well too! It’s best consumed within 3 months, but will last up to 6 months.
Serve with my dad’s Artisanal Sourdough Bread!
If you want to use dried beans (AKA, my aunt’s original recipe):
If you’d rather use dried beans, which arguably do result in superior flavor and texture, you’ll need a large pressure cooker. My aunt’s is a 12-quart (11 liter) size.
If starting with dried beans, cook 2 pounds (0.9 kg) of mixed beans with enough water to cover them by a couple inches for 1 hour first to remove any bean skin. Skim off the skins of the beans.
Keep the soaking water, and add 4 cups of low-sodium chicken broth, along with 2 large smoked ham hocks (she gets hers from a specialty German butcher shop), and the large bay leaves. Cook for another hour.
After an hour, release the pressure, and carefully open the lid (safety first!). Then add the fresh garlic, onion, celery, carrots, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, white and black peppers, and 1-2 tablespoons chicken bouillon (to taste), and fresh parsley (she likes to also add an extra 1 tablespoon dried parsley). Cook for another hour. The soup should be very thick.
Fish out any ham bones, and chop up any large pieces of meat and skin (keeping the skin is optional but very much recommended) that don’t break down during the cooking process before serving.
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Recipe
Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
- Dutch oven (or pressure cooker, if using dried beans)
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil (olive oil, vegetable oil, canola oil, etc.)
- 1 1/2 cups onions (diced, about 1 medium onion)
- 4 large garlic cloves (chopped)
- 2 cups celery (diced, about 5 ribs of celery)
- 2 1/2 cups carrots (diced, about 6 medium carrots)
- 5 15 oz. cans assorted beans (such as cannellini, red kidney, pink beans, pinto beans, or black-eyed peas, drained—no need to be super thorough about draining)
- 9 cups water (a 15-ounce/425g bean can, filled 5x; can use low-sodium chicken stock if you don't have the chicken bouillon paste the recipe calls for)
- 2 large bay leaves
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 2 tablespoons chicken bouillon paste (adjust to avoid over-salting if using powdered bouillon)
- 14 ounces ham (roughly shredded or diced; or 2 large smoked ham hocks)
- 1/2 cup fresh parsley (chopped)
- 1/4-1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke (optional, to taste: not needed if using smoked ham hocks)
Instructions
- Heat a Dutch oven (you can also use a thick-bottomed soup pot, but may need to stir more often to prevent burning) over medium heat for about 3 minutes or so, until it’s nice and hot. Add the oil and the onions. Cook until the onions begin to turn translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Stir in the chopped celery and carrots, and cook for an additional 5-6 minutes. Add the beans, followed by the water. Increase the heat to high.
- Add the bay leaves, dried thyme, garlic powder, onion powder, white pepper, black pepper, paprika, and chicken bouillon paste. (If you don’t have chicken bouillon paste, simply use chicken stock in place of the water.) Bring to a boil.
- Stir in the ham. I like to cut it into big shards/shreds for extra texture. (Sarah likes hers cubed and orderly though. I won’t judge either way!) If you’re using a ham hock instead of ham, you can add it in now.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low so the soup is at a somewhat energetic simmer–it should always be at a low bubble. Cook for 4-5 hours, stirring periodically. For the first half of the cooking time, I keep the lid on. For the last hour or two, I will leave the pot slightly uncovered so some steam can escape. If the soup isn’t cooking down, you may want to increase the heat to medium. Every stove is different, so don’t just set it and forget it. Periodically check liquid levels.
- In the last hour of cooking, add the fresh parsley and liquid smoke (if desired), and cook for another hour. It’s done when the beans and carrots are tender, and the soup is thickened. If you used a ham hock, fish out any bones, and chop up any large pieces of meat and skin (keeping the skin is optional) that don’t break down during the cooking process before serving.
- This soup is quite forgiving. If it ends up too salty for your tastes, just add water, and lightly mash some of the beans to release their starchiness and re-thicken the soup. If you are reheating the soup and there is not enough liquid, just add 1-2 cups of water to bring it back to your desired consistency.
