Navy Bean and Ham Soup Recipe
Navy Bean and Ham Soup made with canned beans, ham hocks, carrots, celery, dried rosemary and thyme, and a little bacon for flavor.
Servings: 8 servings
Calories: 73kcal
Ingredients
- 4 cans navy beans, rinsed and drained (unsalted if you can find them)
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 1 carrot, chopped
- 1 celery rib, chopped
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 1/2-2 quarts chicken stock
- 2 large smoked ham hocks or 1 ham bone
- 2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 cup diced cooked ham (I buy the packet of diced ham in the meat dept. unless I have ham saved)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 6-8 bacon strips, cooked crispy and crumbled
Instructions
- In large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, carrot, and celery and saute for five minutes. Add garlic and saute for thirty seconds.
- Add 1 and 1/2 quarts chicken stock, beans, ham hocks, parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, and diced ham. Add a little freshly ground black pepper.
- Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. You may need to add additional stock.
- Remove ham hocks or ham bone and allow to cool enough to handle, then cut the meat off the bones and add to the pot along with the cup of diced ham. Discard the bones.
- If you want to thicken the soup, remove about 2 cups of beans and puree in a blender then add back to the soup.
- Taste and season accordingly with salt and pepper. The ham is usually salty so I don't add much salt until I taste the soup. Serve with crumbled bacon on top.
Notes
- Timesaver: Pre-chopped onions, carrots, and celery from the grocery store.
- Use canned navy beans—easy and convenient! You can also substitute one pound bag of dried navy beans for the canned beans. You'll need to soak the beans per the package instructions.
- Use a package of diced ham that you can pick up in the meat department of your grocery store.
- To thicken the soup, take out some of the beans and puree them, then add them back to the pot. You can also use an additional can of beans to thicken the soup. Mash the entire can of beans and stir it into the soup.
