Great Northern Bean Soup
- Bobbi Jo Lathan
- Feb 21
- 3 min read
Great Northern Bean Soup
Recipe by: Bobbi Jo Lathan
Recipe type: Soup
Cuisine: Appetizer or Entrée
PREP TIME
15 mins
COOK TIME
1 hour 15 mins
TOTAL TIME
1 hour 30 mins
INGREDIENTS
1 bag of dried Great Northern Beans (10-ounce bag)
1 large smoked ham hock (I get mine online from Father’s Country Ham…they’re GREAT…super flavorful!)
½ yellow onion (diced)
5 cloves fresh garlic (chopped)
3 carrots (peeled and diced)
2 ounces butter
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken broth (I always have fresh frozen chicken broth in the freezer from stewing chicken for the dog once a week. Let it cool after cooking and then pour into freezer baggies and place in freezer)
1 bay leaf
1 good-sized sprig of fresh thyme (or a teaspoon of dried thyme)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
INSTRUCTIONS
1. The night before, pour the bag of beans into a small pot, cover with purified water, and let them soak overnight.
2. The next day, place a colander in your kitchen sink. Pour the soaked beans into the colander to drain. Once drained, run some water over the soaked beans to rinse them off and leave them in the sink in the colander to drain while we ready the rest of the ingredients.
3. Get out your cutting board and chop the onions, carrots, and fresh garlic. Once chopped, set it aside for a minute.
4. Get out your soup pot.
5. Place your smoked ham hock into the pot along with 2 cups of purified water. Place the lid on your pot and let it cook over medium-high heat for about 10 minutes.
6. While the ham hock is cooking, chop all the carrots, onion, and garlic. Then, get out a skillet, add the butter and the olive oil, and cook over medium-high heat. Once the butter is all frothy, add the chopped onions, carrots, and garlic, and stir until the onions are translucent and the carrots are beginning to soften, about 4-5 minutes. Remove from the burner.
7. Take the lid off the soup pot with the ham hock, and you will see that the water has taken on the flavor of the hock. Yum! Now, add the soaked beans to the ham hock and add 2 cups of fresh chicken stock, as well as 2 cups of purified water.
8. Stir in the bay leaf, fresh thyme, salt, black pepper, and cayenne.
9. Let all these ingredients come to a soft boil and cook for another 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally. At which time, you should get a spoon and taste the broth and see if you need more salt or garlic powder. If the beans are still hard, you can add another cup of water and let them cook until they are buttery and soft. (NOTE: feel free to add another tablespoon of butter at any time to make it nice and creamy.)
10. Once the beans are soft, turn off the soup and remove the ham hock to a cutting board. Pull the meat (discarding the fat and bone) from the ham hock and chop it into bite-sized pieces, and then return the meat pieces to the soup and stir to incorporate. 11. Then, serve up your dee-lish-us Great Northern Bean Soup with some hot-buttered cornbread, and, believe me, you won’t even remember that it’s snowing and only 22 degrees outside!
