Navy Bean Soup

allforyouuApril 2, 2024

0 16 2 minutes read

Add the beans to a colander in the sink. Rinse cold water and sort through them, discarding any debris. Place the beans in a large pot of cold water with at least two inches of cold water over the top of the beans. Allow them to soak overnight or for at least 8 hours, and then rinse and drain again.
Heat the olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots and cook until the onions and celery are soft.
Reduce the heat to low and add the garlic, smoked paprika, dried marjoram, dried thyme, crushed rosemary, and Cajun seasoning. Cook for 1 minute while stirring.
Add the chicken broth, bay leaves, ham bone, and navy beans. Cover the pot and bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook until the beans are tender, approximately 1–1 1/2 hours.
Fish out and discard the bay leaves. Remove the ham bone from the soup, cut the ham into bite-sized pieces, discard the ham bone, and add the cut-up ham to the soup.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped fresh thyme.

For ease and quickness, use two (16-ounce) cans of navy beans, rinsed and drained. This will cut the simmering time down to less than 30 minutes.
Great Northern Beans, Cannellini Beans, Pinto Beans, or white beans can be substituted for navy beans.
Don’t forget to fish out and discard the bay leaves before serving, as they have sharp edges.
Ham hocks, ham shanks, ham steaks, and ham bones all work well in this recipe. Ham steaks are prepackaged and sold with the other smaller cuts of ham at your local grocery store. I have always enjoyed using the Frick brand for many of my recipes, including Ham Steak with Honey Mustard Glaze.
If you prefer this soup a little creamier, use an immersion blender or stand blender to puree a couple of cups of the mixture after removing the ham bone but before adding the cut-up pieces of ham.