Ham and Bean Soup

January 18, 2025

Hearty ham and bean soup with lots of vegetables and seasonings. This recipe is easy to make and a great way to use a leftover ham bone.

Summary

  • Prep Time: 15 min
  • Cook Time: 1 hr 30 min
  • Other: 1 hr
  • Total Time: 2 hr 45 min
  • Servings: 8
  • Yield:

Ingredients

  •  8 cups water
  • 1 pound dry great northern beans, sorted and rinsed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup (130g) chopped carrots
  • 1 cup (150g) chopped onion
  • ½ stalk (50g) celery, chopped
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1 teaspoon mustard powder
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 ham hock
  • 2 cups (300g) chopped ham
  • ½ teaspoon ground white pepper, or to taste

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.
  2. Soak beans
    • Quick – Place water and beans in a large pot; bring to a boil over high heat. Stir in salt and remove the pot from heat; cover, and let stand for 1 hour.
    • Overnight – Place water and beans in a large pot and let sit overnight (> 6 hours)
    • Regardless of method, simmer the beans for 1-2 hours before progressing to step 3.
  3. Add carrots, onion, celery, garlic, mustard, and bay leaves to the pot with beans; stir well. Add ham hock and bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and simmer for 1 hour.
  4. Remove ham hock and discard. Stir in chopped ham and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.

Adjustments

  • Add ham bone if I have one.
  • Not happy with the beans being too crispy after original cooking times so added 1-2 hours of simmer time after reconstituting the beans.

History

  • 2025-01-06 – All went well but good to note that this batch and the one on Jan 4 were made with beans that I hydrated a couple of days before. Since the original water was gone I estimated the amount to add back. Next batch should establish the standard plan going forward.
  • 2025-01-04 – Have started adjusting cook time to get the beans to a better texture. Otherwise followed the recipe. This made the difference and it tasted great.
  • 2025-01-18 – Made this per recipe except I added the leftover ham bone along with a small ham hock. I also added 30 minutes to the cooking time for step 3. It came out good but the beans were still under-cooked.

References