White Bean Ham Hock Soup (Printable)

A hearty Southern classic combining white beans, smoky ham hock, and aromatic vegetables for a comforting winter meal.

# What You Need:

→ Meats

01 - 1 large smoked ham hock, approximately 1 to 1.5 pounds

→ Beans

02 - 1 pound dried great northern or cannellini beans, soaked overnight and drained

→ Vegetables

03 - 1 large yellow onion, diced
04 - 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Herbs and Seasonings

07 - 2 bay leaves
08 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
09 - 0.5 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 - 0.5 teaspoon smoked paprika, optional
11 - Salt to taste

→ Liquids

12 - 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth or water

→ Finishing

13 - 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley for garnish

# How To Make It:

01 - In a large Dutch oven or soup pot, combine the soaked and drained beans, ham hock, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, black pepper, and smoked paprika.
02 - Pour in the chicken broth and stir to combine all ingredients.
03 - Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
04 - Remove the ham hock and let it cool slightly. Shred the meat, discarding skin and bone. Return shredded meat to the pot.
05 - Continue simmering uncovered for 30 minutes until the beans are tender and the soup has thickened slightly. Add more broth or water as needed.
06 - Taste and season with salt as needed, considering the ham hock contributes saltiness to the soup.
07 - Remove bay leaves. Ladle soup into bowls and garnish with chopped parsley.

# Expert Suggestions:

01 -
  • The ham hock does all the heavy lifting flavor-wise, so you genuinely cannot mess this up.
  • One pot, minimal chopping, and most of the time you're just letting it bubble away while you do something else.
  • It tastes even better the next day, making it perfect for meal prep or feeding a crowd without stress.
02 -
  • Taste before seasoning because the ham hock and low-sodium broth interaction is unpredictable; one person's perfect salt level is another's too much, so you must be the judge.
  • If your soup seems too thin after the 2.5 hours, you can always simmer it uncovered longer, but you cannot undo over-salting, so patience with salt is genuinely important.
03 -
  • If your ham hock is particularly salty, taste the broth after the first hour and remove it early rather than letting it over-salt everything.
  • Resist the urge to add cream or butter at the end; this soup doesn't need it, and the flavor depends on restraint and patience instead.
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