Best Ham Bean Soup Recipes

BASIC HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Rinse the beans, sorting out any broken or discolored ones. In a large pot over high heat, bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and the beans and remove from heat. Let beans sit in the hot water for at least 60 minutes.
• After the 60 minutes of soaking, return the pot to high heat and place the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard and bay leaves in the pot. Stir well, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer for 60 more minutes.
• Remove ham bone and discard. Stir in the chopped ham and simmer for 30 more minutes. Season with ground white pepper to taste.

HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• 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. 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 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.

THE BEST BEAN AND HAM SOUP

Steps:

• Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.
• Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

HAM BONE AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place bean mix into a large bowl and cover with several inches of water; soak for at least 24 hours. Drain completely.
• Bring chicken stock to a boil in a pot large enough to hold the beans and, eventually, the ham bone. Add the soaked beans; reduce heat and simmer until tender, about 1 hour.
• Bring stock and beans back to a boil. Add ham bone, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and bay leaves. Reduce heat to low and simmer until vegetables are soft, about 1 hour. Add chopped ham, liquid smoke, and mustard powder. Stir and let simmer until flavors blend, about 30 minutes more.
• Remove ham bone from the soup. Season with salt and pepper.

BEST HAM & BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Quick Soaking Beans: Heat beans and water until boiling, remove from heat. Cover and soak beans for 1 hour.
• Pressure Cooker: After quick soaking beans, drain and rinse. Add fresh water, the ham bone and seasonings. Cover and heat equivalent to 15 lbs PSI; time for 7 minutes, plus 1 minute per 1000 ft above sea level. Remove from heat, to allow pressure reduce normally.
• Soup Ingredients: Uncover, add the remaining soup ingredients (except pasta); simmer 45 minutes. Stir in pasta and simmer 15 more minutes, or until tender.

BEST HAM AND BEAN SOUP EVER

Steps:

• In a 3 quart saucepan, saute ham, onion and garlic in butter until onion is tender.
• Add the next seven ingredients; cover and simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are tender.
• Add peas and cook for 5 minutes. Add parsley and serve.

CONTEST-WINNING HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place beans in a Dutch oven; add water to cover by 2 in. Bring to a boil; boil for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat; cover and let stand for 1 to 4 hours or until beans are softened. Drain and rinse beans, discarding liquid. , In the same pan, saute onions in oil for 2 minutes. Add celery; cook until tender. Stir in the beans, water, ham, potatoes, carrot, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper and bay leaves. Add ham bone. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours or until beans are tender. , Discard bay leaves. Remove ham bone; and set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove ham from bone and cut into cubes. Discard bone. Return ham to soup; heat through. Garnish soup with parsley.

MOM'S BEST HAM AND BEAN SOUP

Steps:

• Place dry beans and 3 cups of water in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, remove from heat, and allow to stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse beans.
• Place 3 more cups fresh water into a large pressure cooker. Add the soaked beans and ham bone, and stir in parsley, bay leaves, dried onion flakes, garlic, thyme, dry mustard, chili powder, and paprika. Seal the pressure cooker, and heat to 15 pounds per square inch. Cook under pressure for 7 minutes; add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Remove from heat, and allow pressure to subside naturally.
• When pressure has reduced, open the lid of the cooker. Stir in 5 more cups of water, celery, olive oil, tomato puree, ketchup, chicken soup base, molasses, brown sugar, and cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer the soup until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in shell pasta, and simmer until the pasta is tender, about 15 more minutes.