Senate Bean and Ham Soup (+video)
This recipe for Senate Bean and Ham Soup is inspired by the one served everyday in the cafeteria of the United States Senate. So flavorful!
A DELICIOUS, HEARTY SOUP
The recipe I am sharing today is, hands-down, one of my absolute favorites. There is just something so comforting about bean and ham soup. This particular soup recipe is inspired by the famous soup served for the United States Senate every single working day. No matter what else is on the menu, you can guarantee, this will always be there.
Growing up in Virginia, we went to Washington, D.C. for a lot of school field trips. And once, long ago, before there was the tight security, you could easily visit your congressmen and women in Washington and you could take a trip to their cafeteria and enjoy some of this soup. It’s a whole different world now. But I still hold fond memories of this soup.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (FULL RECIPE AT THE BOTOM OF THE POST)
- onion
- celery
- carrots
- vegetable stock
- smoked ham bone with meat
- canned navy beans
- instant mashed potatoes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
HOW TO MAKE SENATE BEAN SOUP:
Heat olive oil in dutch oven pot over medium high heat. Add chopped onion, celery and carrots and cook until starting to slightly soften.
Add vegetable stock and ham bone. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for an hour.
Remove ham bone from pot and pick off ham.
Return meat to pot. Add the beans.
Add package of instant potatoes and stir thoroughly.
Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, to taste. Serve and garnish with chopped parsley and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Note: The ham bone really adds TONS of flavor here. You can usually purchase a ham bone at a local butcher or sometimes you can get one at the meat counter of your grocery store. But if you can’t find a ham bone, just go with a small, smoked (unsliced ham). Cut ham into 1-inch chunks. Then simmer for only 30 minutes instead of an hour. Also, if you can’t find navy beans, use great northern beans instead.
CRAVING MORE? GIVE THESE RECIPES A TRY
Senate Bean and Ham Soup
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion, decided
- 2 stalks celery, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 (32 ounce) containers vegetable stock
- 1 smoked ham bone with meat (see notes)
- 2 (16 ounce) cans navy beans, rinsed and drained
- 4 ounce package instant mashed potatoes
- salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in dutch oven pot over medium high heat. Add chopped onion, celery and carrots and cook until starting to slightly soften.
- Add vegetable stock and ham bone. Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer for an hour.
- Remove ham bone from pot and pick off ham; return meat to pot. Add the beans.
- Add package of instant potatoes and stir thoroughly.
- Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve and garnish with chopped parsley and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Video
Notes
- The ham bone really adds a lot of flavor here. You can usually purchase a ham bone at a local butcher or sometimes you can get one at the meat counter of your grocery store. But if you can’t find a ham bone, just go with a small, smoked (unsliced ham). Cut ham into 1-inch chunks. Then simmer for only 30 minutes instead of an hour.
- Also, if you can’t find navy beans, use great northern beans or cannelloni instead.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Hi, Brandie! How about making this in the crock pot???? I would think maybe adding the potato flakes towards the end? Just curious! Thank you so much!!
Kristin from Indiana
I don’t see why not! You could definitely do it in a slow cooker!
Thank you for the great bean recipe. We all loved it! It was wonderful!
Yay! Thank you Sherry! Appreciate your feedback!
I had to drop you a note to let you know how many compliments I have gotten on the Senate bean soup. It was very good if I say so myself. That Final Touch of the instant potatoes and it seemed to give it the creamy effect.Thank you so much…. I will always be a follower of yours.
You made my day! Thank you so, so much!!
Great recipe – thanks for posting. The only thing I needed to watch was that the instant mashed potatoes that I used had no MSG and since I could not find any; I just used regular boiled potatoes that I riced in the food processor first. That worked great as they are just used as a thickener.
Sounds great. Will try it soon. Check with your local Honey Baked Ham store. They sell ham bones and ham pieces. Always keep them in my freezer.
Great recipe! Any chance this can be cooked in a crockpot instead?
Ham and bean soup is a definite must have during fall. I didn’t know this was a senate cafeteria staple though. You learn something new every day!