🥣🥩 Old-Fashioned Ham & Bean Soup
Servings:
6–8🛒 Ingredients* 1 lb dried great
northern beans, rinsed* 1½ lbs
smoked ham hock or leftover ham,
chopped* 1 large onion, diced* 3
carrots, sliced* 3 celery stalks, sliced*
4 garlic cloves, minced* 8 cups
chicken broth* 2 cups water* 1 bay
leaf* 1 tsp dried thyme* 1 tsp smoked
paprika* ½ tsp black pepper* ½ tsp
salt, or to taste* 2 tbsp fresh parsley,
chopped👩🍳
Instructions
1. Soak the
beans: Place beans in a large bowl and
cover with plenty of water.
Soak overnight, then drain and
rinse.
2. Start the soup: Add beans, ham
hock, onion, carrots, celery, garlic,
chicken broth, and water to a large
pot.3. Season: Add bay leaf, thyme,
smoked paprika, and black pepper.
Bring to a boil.
4. Simmer:
Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for
1½–2 hours, stirring occasionally, until
the beans are tender.
5. Add the ham:
Remove the ham hock. Pull the meat
from the bone, chop it, and return the
meat to the pot. If using chopped
leftover ham, simply stir it in during
the final 20–30 minutes.
6. Adjust: Taste and add salt if needed
. Remove the bay leaf.
7. Finish: Stir in fresh parsley and
serve hot with cornbread or crusty
bread. 🥖❤️Tip: For a thicker soup
, mash a cupful of the cooked beans
against the side of the pot and stir
them back in.