Hearty Navy Bean Soup with Ham (Senate Bean)

Navy bean soup is filling, healthy and uses affordable ingredients. Made popular in the restaurant on site at the U.S. Senate in Washington, D.C. it’s great for making ahead and enjoying rewarmed for lunch or at dinner with some crusty rolls.

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A big bowl of pinto beans are always popular in the south. Stick some cornbread on the side and a slice of onion and everyone gets a little bit happier.

So we know a good bean when we taste it and this recipe is a nice change from the usual.

If you’ve always be a canned soup kind of person, let me encourage you to take the time to make a big pot of these. You’ll fall in love with a flavor and texture that doesn’t depend on synthetic thickeners or tons of sodium to bring in flavor.

Do Senators actually eat this soup?

It’s still on the menu in Senate restaurants today. Invented somewhere around 1900-1903, equal credit is given to senators from Idaho and Minnesota who expressed their love for this navy bean based soup.

While the recipe has changed a bit (the original had mashed potatoes in it), the slow cooked flavors are still tremendously popular among legislators.

Are Great Northern beans and navy beans the same thing?

Here in my stores I often see Great Northern and navy bean labels both on the same package. However a Great Northern bean is larger–more like a lima bean and has a thin skin. Great Northern beans tend to cook faster than navy beans.

Do navy beans need to be soaked?

No. You can cook your beans without soaking them but be prepared to cook them longer. I always soak mine if I can to cut down on the cook time. Soaked beans will need about an hour and a half of simmering time for the recipe but unsoaked may take two to two and half hours.

How to soak navy beans

To soak your beans, add the dry beans to a bowl then rinse them a couple of times and sort through them to make sure there are no small rocks or dirt. Add hot water to cover the beans by 3 to 4 inches and allow the beans to soak at room temperature 4 to 5 hours. Drain the water before adding your beans to the pot to cook and cover with new, fresh water.

What beans will substitute for navy? Can I use pinto beans in this recipe?

Great Northern or Canellini beans are your best options. If you only have pinto beans they would work. Their flavor will be a bit different and of course they are darker so you’re soup won’t be a “white bean soup” version, but it would be fine.

I often find my pinto beans take much longer to get soft than navy beans do, so you may need to plan for a longer cook time. Pinto beans often take 4 to 5 hours of slow simmering.

Build flavor in your beans with ham hock (and what to do if you can’t get one)

Ham hocks are as common in the south as men named Bubba. I buy a hock from a salty country ham back by my meat department. Because they are cured, you’ll find them in a display near the meat but not refrigerated. You can buy a hock online here or alternatively you can use a few slices of country ham or some good quality thick cut bacon.

Should I use broth, stock or water in my beans?

My first pick for consistency (and it’s how I tested the recipe) is with water.

But there are some people who like to start their navy bean soup in chicken broth or stock. Less frequently you might even have some kind of ham stock you’d like to use. Do your own thing with that and be cautious of the salt levels.

If you’re going to simmer the soup for a few hours, the stock is going to concentrate and the salt levels could get really out of control.

Use an unsalted stock and add salt after simmering the beans so this doesn’t happen.

Do NOT use bouillon cubes of any flavor or type here. They are too salty and unpredictable.

Warning: Don’t use a ham bone from this ham!

If you have a pre-glazed spiral sliced ham or a leftover holiday ham bone that had glaze on it, don’t use that unless you want sweet soup.

The glaze flavors will most certainly transfer in to the final product and your maple and brown sugar glazed beauty from December will be making a subtle–and not very appropriate–reappearance.

How to thicken navy bean soup if it’s too watery

I didn’t have any issues with this soup being watery but do take note of the step that calls for slightly mashing the beans before serving.

I think I simmered my beans a tad faster than you should so they broke down on their own. If yours don’t, use a potato masher, an immersion blender or a plain old fork to mash some of the beans and potatoes to thicken the soup.

You can also simmer it a bit longer with the lid off to evaporate some of the liquid if you need to.

What to serve with navy bean soup

My first thought goes to cornbread. We would probably skip the deep skillet version and make pancakes or “hoe cakes” from that recipe.

A loaf of homemade bread or rolls would also be wonderful alongside.

I’d also not be upset by a big bowl of simmered mustard greens with a dash of vinegar on ’em and a slice of Vidalia onion on the side.