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The Very Best Navy Bean Soup
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4.75 from 4 votes

The Best Navy Bean Soup

This really is the best Nave Bean Soup. It's so very rich and full of flavor. Your entire family will ask for more!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound Navy beans or Great Northern beans
  • 1 ham bone or ham hock
  • 1 carrot
  • 1 stalk celery
  • 2 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 8 cups chicken stock

Instructions

  • Rinse and sort the beans, carefully looking for dirt or small rocks. Put rinsed beans in a large pan and cover with two inches of water. Let soak for at least 8 hours. After the soaking is complete, drain the beans and rinse with fresh water.
  • If you want to sprout the beans to make them easier to digest, keep the soaked and rinsed beans in the colander, set it on a plate, and cover with a kitchen towel for TWO TO THREE DAYS prior to using them.
    It is very important to rinse the colander of beans two or three times every day. After a day or so on the counter, a small sprout will pop out of each bean. When the sprouts are about a quarter-inch long, they're ready to cook.
    (IMPORTANT: The beans may have a slight smell, but it should more of a "sweet" smell and not gross smelling. If the beans smell like they've spoiled, throw them out and start again!)
    Alternatively, if you don't have time to do an 8-hour soak or to sprout your beans, you can use this "quick soak" method. To "quick soak" the beans, put the pot of sorted beans and water on the stove over hight heat. Bring to a rolling boil. Boil for two minutes, then cover with a lid and remove from heat. A spoon of baking soda can be added to the water after removing from the heat to aid in breaking down the beans for easier digestion. Let soak for one hour. Drain and rinse beans before using.
  • For making the soup, dice the carrot and celery stalk. Heat the oil in the soup pot over low or medium-low heat. Add the carrot and celery and cook until tender, stirring often. Do not allow the vegetables to brown.
  • Add the soaked and rinsed beans to the softened vegetables in the pot and cover with the chicken stock. Place the ham bone or hock into the pot, being careful to arrange it as deep into the pot as possible. Turn up the heat to medium-hight and bring to a boil. Then, reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally.
  • After 1 1/2 hours check the beans for doneness (check after just one hour if using sprouted beans). The finished beans should be tender and creamy. They should not be too firm or mushy and falling apart. Keep checking the beans every half hour until they are cooked. This could take about an 1 1/2 hours for sprouted beans, or three hours for beans that were soaked but not sprouted.
  • Once the beans are cooked, remove the ham bone or hock onto a plate to cool slightly until it can be handled. Remove any meat from the bone and stir it into the soup.
  • Add salt and pepper to taste.