It’s a rare day in the winter when I don’t have a pot of homemade soup in the fridge. I can whip up a satisfying meal or a hearty snack on a moments notice and I don’t know anybody who would turn down a steaming bowl of soup when they stop by to visit. White bean and ham is a family favorite and is a stick to the ribs soup that doesn’t need much more than a salad and a slice of good bread to make it a meal. I usually use a ham bone to make the stock but didn’t have one on hand so used ham hocks instead. They give the soup a rich, smokey taste but don’t add a lot of meat to the soup. Either one works well.
White Bean and Ham Soup
- 1 pound of white beans – either Great Northern or canellini
- 8 cups water
- 3 or 4 ham hocks
- 1 cup carrots, chopped
- 1 cup celery, chopped
- 1 cup onion, chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon thyme
- Dash of hot sauce
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
- Salt and pepper
Soak the white beans in cold water for several hours or overnight. Drain.
Put the ham hocks in a large pot and cover with 8 to 10 cups of water. Bring to a simmer and cook until hocks are starting to fall apart. This usually takes several hours. I added a handful of celery tops and the bay leaves to the stock as it simmered. Remove the hocks from the stock when they are done and let them cool. Remove meat from the bones and set aside. Strain the stock to remove celery and any meat bits left in the pot. I chill the stock at this point so I can skim off the fat from the ham hocks.
Saute the carrots, celery and onions in 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot until they are soft. Add stock, beans and thyme and simmer until beans are soft, usually about 2 hours. Season with salt and pepper and add vinegar and fresh parsley. I like to mash some of the cooked beans to thicken the soup a bit.
I’m sending this soup recipe to Michael at Designs by Gollum for this week’s celebration of Foodie Friday. I hope you will stop by to say hello and check out all the wonderful entries.
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{ 46 comments… read them below or add one }
Yum! This looks great! I have a one pound bag of white beans in my pantry just waiting for a recipe like this one!
Thank you!
Best,
Sarah
It looks good and now I know what to do with a ham hock that I see in my local market.
Joyce
There is nothing better than soup on a cold day. Just the smell of it cooking in the kitchen is comforting to me. I'm not a white bean girl myself, but I know my husband would love it!
A great soup for today with rain in the forecast for our mountains. Your photos are spectacular. I have a difficult time photographing soup, but yours are outstanding.
Sam
Oh, your soup looks delicious! Would be great for the chilly day we're having in Nebraska!
Blessings!
Gail
I always like to use the ham hocks in soups. The flavor is so much better. This recipe looks great!
One of my very favorite soups, and your's looks wonderful!!!
How comforting that soup looks – Salvating right now! Excuse my ignorance, but do they sell just ham bones??
Umm….Beans and Ham, makes a wonderful soup. Looks great. I bet the ham hocks did give it a nice smokey flavor.
Ramona
Hi Anonymous – I always buy a bone-in ham so I have it for soup. If you have a Honey Baked Ham outlet near you I think you can purchase a ham bone from them. Otherwise ham hocks are a good alternative.
Thanks, all, for stopping by to say hello. I wish I could share a nice warm bowl of soup with you today.
Cathy, this White Bean and Ham soup looks delicious and simple to make…thanks
This looks delicious! It's 52 F. here and windy as all get-out. Perfect day for a hearty soup like this one!!
I can not begin to tell you how awesome this looks. I woould LOVE this. Everything in it is just perfect.
What a perfect soup for this chilly rainy day, Cathy. You've made me hungry.
Hi Cathy!
I wish I could have a nice bowl of that comforting soup on this foggy day. Not an easy task to make Bean Soup look irresistible but you've succeeded. It looks beautiful!
Hope you have a wonderful weekend. xo
A GREAT!!! soup for those cold weather days. Geri
Oh darn….I wish I'd seen this earlier! I made ham hock & white bean soup last week but I didn't think to add thyme, hot sauce or red wine vinegar.
I bet YOURS tasted waaaay better than mine. I will make a note to use your recipe next time, for sure.
Thanks for the additions! That & 2 Beano & my DH will LOVE it!
Stick to your ribs comfort:)It looks delicious.
Nothing better than a bowl of hot soup on these days – only 39 here..BRRR
Thanks for the recipe!
Looks wonderful. So many good soup recipes, so little time!
Now this is the kind of soup my husband will eat. Nice and hearty and full of great flavor! It looks perfect for a rainy night like tonight!
Oh Cathy, this is one of my favorite soups. Yours looks thick, hearty and so delicious. Wish I had a bowl right now.
Hamhocks and beans is one of my all time favorite winter meals! Yours looks so good. Now all we need here is some cool weather, and let there be soup!!!
OH MY….NOTHING IS BETTER THEN A BIG POT OF SOUP….I LOVE STARTING IT AT NIGHT IN THE CROCK POT BEFORE HEADING OFF TO BED AND IT'S ALL READY WHEN WE GET UP IN THE MORNING (AROUND NOON!!)THIS LOOKS AS GOOD AS PEA SOUP THANKS FOR THE RECIPE I WILL HAVE TO TRY IT….DID YOU BAKE A LOAF OF BREAD TO GO WITH IT?
Wonderful hearty soup! This is up my alley! Thank you.
There is nothing quite as satisfying as a good bowl of soup and your soup looks delicious and hearty! Soups are my favorite cool weather meals.
Mmmmm, hearty and delicious. Filling and comforting. This looks perfect!
Hmmm, I think that me + my slow cooker + the bacon we recently finished curing have a date this weekend!
This soup looks so tasty and comforting. I'm glad I dropped by…
Great soup- it looks so thick and hearty! Hot soup is all I can think of when cold weather arrives.
It's not cold here, Cathy, but your soup looks wonderful! Fabulous picture.
It is in the high 60's..70 the other day!
But we know it's coming!! Just like Christmas..:)
How wonderful to always have homemade soup available! I'm sure this smells great simmering away.
This is a wonderfully hearty and flavorful soup. It must have been so tasty with 4 ham hocks! Yummy!
this looks absolutely decadent! i can't think of anything better for a cold fall day!
Cathy, your soup looks wonderful. That is what I call a rich and satisfying bowl of soup. Chock full of goodness. I think I need to pick up a smoked ham hock.
Ann
Took one look at the picture of this gorgeous soup and said to myself "I want a bowl of that!" Magnificent and the perfect winter soup!
I love that it's soup season! Your soup looks wonderful.
This soup recipe looks fabulous! A good warm bowl of bean soup on a cold day is comforting and soul satisfying. I think it's great that you keep a pot in the refrigerator for guests. What a warm way to welcome guests into your home.
This looks so yummy! I love all kinds of soups.
This is just the thing for a cold, blustery day. Nice and thick, incredibly flavorful and warming to the soul—plus you can make your pantry go a long way with meals like this one. We love it!
This recipe reminds me of the Cassoulet we had in France.
This looks and sounds so good. Bean soup is one of those great comfort foods. I wish I had a bowl right now!
There is nothing more satisfying that a bowl of warm bean soup on a cold day! Yours photos are delicious!
That looks so yummy and comforting- not to mention nutritious!
Hello, I want to share with you that I made this soup (with a few adjustments). I really liked it, wish the rest of my family did too.
I've linked back also:
http://ldylvbgr.blogspot.com/2010/01/ham-and-bean-soup.html
I am new at this, just browzing and saw the recipe!! oh my, have the beans and will go get ham hocks tomorrow and make this soup. sounds awesome … thanks for sharing!!
Pink Hugs,
Dee
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