10/01/2026
🍂 Fall is soup season! 🍲 Try a new recipe, cozy up, and savor the flavors of the season. Leave a comment about your favorite soup for us to try as well.
Navy Bean Soup With Ham
Ingredients
3-4 cups dried navy beans (about a pound), soaked and rinsed
2 tablespoons butter
1 onion, finely diced
3 celery ribs, finely diced
5 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and trimmed
3 small parsnips, peeled and trimmed
1 smoked ham hock or smoked turkey thigh, about 2 pounds
2-3 fresh bay leaves - yes, dry will work, too
1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
8 cups water
kosher salt to taste
¼ cup flat leaf or curly parsley, finely chopped
Place navy beans into a medium-sized bowl. Add cold water to cover. Soak for at least 8 hours, rinsing the beans and changing the water twice.
Melt butter in a large soup pot on medium heat. Add chopped onion and celery, stirring to combine. Cover and cook for 3 minutes to sweat and soften.
Strain the beans adding them to the pot with the garlic, peppercorns and bay leaves.
Tuck the carrots, parsnip and ham hock into the pot, then add the water.
Turn heat up to medium-high and cook until soup comes to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cook for 2 hours.
At the 1-hour mark, remove the carrots and parsnips allowing them to cool.
At the end of the full cooking time, remove ham hock or turkey thigh from the pot and set aside to cool. Remove bay leaves and discard.
Transfer hock or thigh to a cutting board and carefully pull the meat away from the bone. Trim and discard skin and fat from the meat throughout.
Chop the trimmed meat, carrots and parsnips into bite-sized pieces and return to pot. Stir. Add salt to taste.
Stir in chopped flat-leaf parsley. Serve immediately in bowls or soup plates.
Note: I don't remove the whole peppercorns from the soup before I serve, but I do let everyone know that they're there!
