Great Northern Bean Soup

Gluten Free Living – 2019

Great Northern Bean Soup is one of the best Ham and Bean Soups I’ve ever eaten. And that’s saying something because I’ve eaten a lot of them. I love Ham and Bean Soup. In any variety. In any way. It’s especially awesome with bacon cornbread crumbled into a hot, steaming bowl. That’s the way Texans enjoy eating it.

Follow Me On Instagram!

I cooked off a ham back in late October. I froze the leftovers and decided to pull out the ham bone in November for a Friday night supper. My husband left a good portion of meat on the bone when he cut it down so this soup is meaty. (Which is the way he likes soup or chili).

I saw a recipe in one of my Gooseberry Patch cookbooks and decided to give it a go. I’m so glad I did. Great Northern Bean Soup was awesome! I did add a leek because they always add so much additional flavor to soups, casseroles and pasta. But I actually followed the recipe pretty closely. One of the gals brought bacon cornbread that night. It was doubly good with cornbread added into the soup as a garnish. My bowlful probably ended up with at least two pieces of cornbread before I was done.

This soup was so mouthwatering that everyone at our table oooohed and aaahhhhed over it. Seriously. People went back for seconds and thirds. It was one meal where everyone loaded up on the main course instead of dessert. 🙂 This recipe is gluten free. I recommend this delicious Bacon Cheddar Cornbread recipe if you want your cornbread to be gluten free as well.

This is a great way to use up leftover ham from the holidays. Plus, it’s usually cool around Christmas or New Year’s so a bowl of this hearty and filling soup should be on the menu! Without exception, our company found that Great Northern Bean Soup was some of the best comfort food they’d had in a while. This is truly one very irresistible and satisfying soup.

Great Northern Bean Soup is one of the best Ham and Bean Soup recipes I’ve ever eaten.

All of us just salivated over this mouthwatering soup.

Everyone at the table started automatically crumbling up their cornbread and adding it to the soup. That’s how Texans enjoy hearty soups and chili recipes. 🙂

Here’s what I did.

I used these ingredients.

Rinse and wash beans. Check for stones or bad beans and discard. Drain thoroughly before using.

Place beans in a large Dutch oven. Add 8 cups water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for two minutes. Remove from heat and allow beans to sit in covered pan for one hour.

Bring to a boil again and add ham bone. Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.

Remove ham bone to a plate. Remove meat from bone and dice. Set aside. Discard cartilage, gristle, fat and bone.

Add ham back into Dutch oven. You need at least two cups. Add more ham if your ham bone doesn’t yield this much ham.

You can see that my water really cooked down a lot. I ended up adding more water than the original recipe so the soup would have the right consistency.

Add sliced carrots, diced celery and leek.

Add diced onion and quartered red potatoes.

Add salt, pepper, thyme and Tabasco sauce.

I added an additional quart of water because there was very little broth left in the Dutch oven.

Stir ingredients to combine. Cover with lid and allow vegetables to cook about 30 minutes, or until vegetables are tender.

If desired, garnish soup with more thyme before serving.

This soup is meaty, filling and so satisfying.

Serve Great Northern Bean Soup with Bacon Cheddar Cornbread for a spectacular comfort food meal.

Yeah, go ahead and crumble the cornbread into the soup. It’s absolutely wonderful eating it that way.

Great Northern Bean Soup is a terrific way to use up leftover holiday ham.

Here’s the recipe.

GREAT NORTHERN BEAN SOUP

(Recipe adapted from Gooseberry Patch, Come On Over, “Bean and Ham Soup.”)

Great Northern Bean Soup

Teresa Ambra

Great Northern Bean Soup is one of the best Ham and Bean Soup recipes we've ever eaten. This amazing soup is chocked full of ham and veggies. It's hearty, filling, satisfying and some of the best comfort food you'll ever eat. This is a terrific way to use up leftover holiday ham. We found it was absolutely irresistible served with Bacon Cornbread crumbled into it!

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Soup, Stews and Chowders

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 228 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large Dutch oven with lid
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 vegetable peeler
• 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 soup ladle

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb. pkg. dried Great Northern Beans rinsed
• 8 to 12 cups water (see note below)
• 1 1/2 lb. ham bone
• 2 cups diced ham
• 1 lb. petite red potatoes quartered
• 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs celery diced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 leek green top removed, thoroughly washed and diced (optional, but better if added)
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme plus more for garnish, if desired
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 drops hot pepper sauce to taste

Instructions

 

• Rinse beans.
• Pick through beans and discard any stones or bad beans.
• Combine beans with 8 cups water in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Remove Dutch oven from heat.
• Cover with lid and allow beans to stand for one hour.
• Bring beans to a boil again; add ham bone.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
• Remove ham bone.
• Cool and remove meat from ham bone.
• Cut ham chunks into small dice.
• Add meat to ham broth in Dutch oven.
• Add diced ham and remaining ingredients.
• Cover with lid.
• Simmer soup until vegetables are tender, approximately 30 minutes.
• Serve with cornbread.

Notes

NOTE: The beans seemed to absorb all the water, so I added an additional four cups of water when I added all the veggies.

 

NOTE: The ham bone needs to be meaty enough to yield 2 cups of diced ham once cooked off. If not, add additional ham to achieve a full two cups of meat.

 

NOTE: This is a great Bacon Cheddar Cornbread recipe if you're looking for a gluten free cornbread to add to this meal.

 

Recipe adapted from Gooseberry Patch.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 15gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 441mgPotassium: 939mgFiber: 11gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2608IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 4mg

Keyword beans, carrots, gluten free, ham, main dish, pork, potatoes, soup, vegetable

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Great Northern Bean Soup is one of those stick-to-the-ribs meals you will really enjoy.

This is a great entree in fall and winter when you want something hot to warm you up on those cold days.

Every bite of Great Northern Bean Soup is awesome. But we liked it even better with Bacon Cornbread crumbled into it. 🙂

You may also enjoy these delicious recipes!

Ham and Lima Bean Soup

Navy Bean Soup

15 Bean Soup with Veggies

Great Northern Bean Soup

Teresa Ambra

Great Northern Bean Soup is one of the best Ham and Bean Soup recipes we’ve ever eaten. This amazing soup is chocked full of ham and veggies. It’s hearty, filling, satisfying and some of the best comfort food you’ll ever eat. This is a terrific way to use up leftover holiday ham. We found it was absolutely irresistible served with Bacon Cornbread crumbled into it!

No ratings yet

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 45 minutes mins

Course Main Dish, Soup, Stews and Chowders

Cuisine American

Servings 10

Calories 228 kcal

Equipment

• 1 large Dutch oven with lid
• 1 wooden spoon
• 1 vegetable peeler
• 1 sharp knife to cut vegetables
• measuring cups
• measuring spoons
• 1 soup ladle

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 lb. pkg. dried Great Northern Beans rinsed
• 8 to 12 cups water (see note below)
• 1 1/2 lb. ham bone
• 2 cups diced ham
• 1 lb. petite red potatoes quartered
• 2 large carrots peeled and sliced
• 2 ribs celery diced
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 1 leek green top removed, thoroughly washed and diced (optional, but better if added)
• 3/4 tsp. dried thyme plus more for garnish, if desired
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 drops hot pepper sauce to taste

Instructions

 

• Rinse beans.
• Pick through beans and discard any stones or bad beans.
• Combine beans with 8 cups water in a large stock pot or Dutch oven.
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Remove Dutch oven from heat.
• Cover with lid and allow beans to stand for one hour.
• Bring beans to a boil again; add ham bone.
• Reduce heat to low and simmer for one hour.
• Remove ham bone.
• Cool and remove meat from ham bone.
• Cut ham chunks into small dice.
• Add meat to ham broth in Dutch oven.
• Add diced ham and remaining ingredients.
• Cover with lid.
• Simmer soup until vegetables are tender, approximately 30 minutes.
• Serve with cornbread.

Notes

NOTE: The beans seemed to absorb all the water, so I added an additional four cups of water when I added all the veggies.

 

NOTE: The ham bone needs to be meaty enough to yield 2 cups of diced ham once cooked off. If not, add additional ham to achieve a full two cups of meat.

 

NOTE: This is a great Bacon Cheddar Cornbread recipe if you’re looking for a gluten free cornbread to add to this meal.

 

Recipe adapted from Gooseberry Patch.

 

^© Can’t Stay Out of the Kitchen

Nutrition

Calories: 228kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 15gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 441mgPotassium: 939mgFiber: 11gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 2608IUVitamin C: 10mgCalcium: 113mgIron: 4mg

Keyword beans, carrots, gluten free, ham, main dish, pork, potatoes, soup, vegetable

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!