This navy bean soup recipe is made from scratch with dried navy beans, a leftover ham bone, basic vegetables, and seasoning for a tasty hearty meal. Perfect for a cold winter day or anytime you want a warm brothy hearty soup.
Today I'm sharing a rich and hearty navy bean soup recipe. This is a stove top recipe that uses a leftover Christmas ham bone, although you could use a ham hock, bacon, or liquid smoke to get a similar flavor.
The stars of the show are these little navy beans. They are dried beans so you need to cook them first or soak them overnight. Did you know that they are called navy beans because at one time they were a huge part of the US Navy's diet?
What You Need
- ham bone or ham hock
- dried navy beans
- onion
- butter or olive oil
- carrots
- celery
- garlic
- chicken broth or stock
- dried thyme leaves
- ground smoked paprika
- salt and black pepper
Here's our leftover ham bone from a spiral ham we had on Christmas day. It's perfect for giving this soup extra flavor.
Like so many soups you start by sauteing onions, celery, carrots, and a bit of garlic in butter or olive oil. Then add your spices. Here, I've used thyme, smoked paprika, salt, and pepper.
Add in the beans, chicken stock, and the ham bone and simmer until the beans are soft and tender.
Substitutes and Additions
- As I mentioned above you can substitute ham hocks for a ham bone. You could also saute a little bacon with the vegetables or use a little liquid smoke for a vegetarian option.
- You could add some chopped up leftover ham in the soup but it really doesn't need it.
- If you don't have any navy beans you could try great northern beans or cannellini beans.
It takes a little while to cook making it perfect for a lazy weekend dinner. The bonus is that this soup will make the whole house smell amazing.
More Hearty Soup Recipes
Navy Bean Soup Recipe
This navy bean soup recipe is warm and hearty that starts with dried navy beans and a leftover ham bone.
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone or ham hock
- 1 pound bag of dried navy beans
- 1.5 cups diced sweet onion (1 medium)
- 2 tablespoons of butter or olive oil
- 1/2 cup diced carrot (1 large)
- 1/3 cup diced celery (2 ribs)
- 1 clove of garlic minced
- 2 quarts of chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon of dried thyme leaves
- 1 teaspoon of ground smoked paprika
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Rinse beans and remove any unsightly bits.
- Place beans in a large heavy pot and cover with 4 cups of cold water.
- Bring to a boil, then turn off the heat and let the beans soak for 1 hour.
- Drain beans and set aside.
- Clean pot and then use it to saute the onions, carrots, celery and garlic in the butter for about 5 minutes or until the vegetables soften.
- Add salt, pepper, thyme, and paprika. Stir well.
- Add stock.
- Bring the vegetables and stock to a boil.
- Add beans and ham to the pot and reduce to a simmer on low heat.
- Cook for 1.5 hours or until the beans are soft and tender.
- Remove ham bone and cut off any ham bit to return to the pot if desired.
Notes
If you don't have a ham bone you can use ham hocks, bacon, or liquid smoke to give the soup a nice smoky flavor.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 168Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 1552mgCarbohydrates: 14gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 12g
Nutritional information for the recipe is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only. We cannot guarantee the accuracy of the nutritional information given for any recipe on this site.
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