Monday, October 1, 2012

Canning Navy Bean and Ham Soup

Pin It Pin It I'm still stocking my shelves for winter. I want some easy soups for my husbands lunches or a quick meal when we are running on borrowed time. I have finally figured out a way to successfully can bean soup without everything turning to mush. Thanks to a simple recipe of "Ben's Beans."

Here's my recipe:

Navy Bean Soup
2 lbs dry navy beans, rinsed
half of small onion diced
1-2 medium carrots diced
1 stalk of celery diced
1 cup of diced ham
chicken bouillon, powder
hickory smoked salt
water
7 quart jars, lids and rings

I prep my jars first by washing them and get my lids and rings in hot water. After this I cut up my vegetables and ham. Lastly, I sort my beans, wash with cold water and let drain well.

Then in no particular order I add the following in each quart jar:
3/4 cup dry navy beans (do not soak beans), rinsed
1 Tbsp onion, diced
3 Tbsp chopped ham
1 Tbsp carrot, diced
1 Tbsp celery, diced
1/4 tsp hickory smoked salt (any seasoned or plain salt will work or omit)
2 tsp chicken bouillon, powder


After this I add water to fill to the 1 inch head space. Wipe rim of jar with clean cloth. Affix lid and ring and place in pressure canner.

Process for 90 minutes at 10 lbs of pressure.
The beans in these jars are great northern beans. Any kind of beans will do.


If you choose to reduce to pints you would need to reduce everything by half and process 75 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.

If you make ham and bean soup let me know of any changes you made to the recipe. It's always nice having several different versions of bean soup.

~ Farm girl




70 comments:

  1. I just found this blog via pinterest. So glad I did. I love your canning recipes.
    I know what I will be doing this weekend!

    Thanks for sharing your awesome talents!

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    1. Thanks! I will be doing more very soon and hope to continue as I find and try new recipes. I will only post tried and true recipes.

      Have fun this weekend. This soup is addicting and with winter just around the corner you will have a warm dinner just moments away.

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  2. could you tell me if the water is warm hot or boiling when you fill the jars?

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    1. I just use lukewarm tap water. The water I put in my canner is also lukewarm.

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  3. thanks so much! I was wondering if the beans should be dry or soaked. This is just too easy of a recipe and wonderufl for a quick, quick meal! little corn bread and dinner is done! :)

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  4. In Colorado, it gets pretty cold, so, we like a little 'heat' in our bean soup. I always add chopped green chiles, chopped onions, diced tomatoes, garlic powder, and chopped smoked bacon. In order to reduce the salt, I use liquid smoke instead of the hickory flavored salt. I sometimes, add a bit of red pepper flakes. Chopped fresh cilantro is a great garnish for this soup. I think it's called, Charra Bean Soup. I'd love to can a case, but, every time I cook it, my family eats it, before I can process it!

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    1. Boy does that sound so good. I may have to try your recipe. I don't think you can ever have enough soup on the shelf.

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  5. Do the beans get cooked or partialy cooked during the canning process since you are putting dry beans unsoaked beans in. If they stay uncooked how do you cook everything as one with out everything else getting mushy?

    Also, I just made ham stock today and was wondering if that would work in place of the boullion and water? I am assuming that would work?

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    1. The beans get fully cooked. I don't see why your ham stock wouldn't work. Best thing it do is make a few jars and see how it turns out.

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    2. I've used my own home made ham broth and it is wonderful . once you get your broth the flavor you want don't add any other seasoning

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  6. I'm so very excited to try this! I am a recent city girl transplanted to the country and have found canning to be one of my favorite things! I'm wondering if you have any suggestions for this recipe if I wanted more bean and less soup? I'd like to just be able to open the jar and serve over rice! Thanks so much for taking the time to help newbies such as myself! God bless!

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    1. I try my best to help all that I can. I personally wouldn't go over 1 cup of beans. The beans will swell and you wont have any liquid and a very dry bean. You could always adjust a little each time you make it to see what you like. I actually have some in the canner right now that I adjusted the recipe some according to my children's suggestions. I'll post the results later this week.

      Sorry it took me so long to answer my kids were on Spring break from school so we went to the mountains in TN. Much needed vacation.

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  7. First let me say that I just canned the layered chicken soup and it turned out excellent!!! Now I am going to try the bean soup and was wondering if I could use mixed beans? My family loves beans and ham and I usually use the 15 bean mix, so would that work as well?
    Thanks, Lorrie Seek

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    1. I have never tried the 15 bean mix. My only concern would be with the break down of the smaller beans/peas if that's not an issue for you then I would go for it. If you do it please let me know how it turned out.

      ~ Farm Girl

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  8. Hello
    I just love your blog...Question..one of my concerns is this: Leaving one inch head space in the jars..do you measure down from the top (lip) of jar. I noticed your liquid looked further down than one inch..Thanks so muh

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    1. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

      Headspace is very important. I hope this help you. Insert a clean and sanitized ruler into the canning jar so that it touches the food or the liquid, whichever sits the highest. Hold the ruler next to the canning jar while it rests on the top of the liquid or food.

      Look at the measurement on the ruler where it touches the rim of the canning jar. This indicates the amount of headspace in the canning jar.

      Add or remove food or liquid as needed until you have the desired amount of headspace.

      Hope this helps ;)
      ~ Farmgirl

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  9. Wow... seems so easy. I wonder what is the difference between your way and pre cooking the soup and then presure canning?

    I just make black bean soup and I pre cooked the soup..... wonder if I could have used your method?

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  10. You most certainly can do black bean soup the same way. Or you can precook it then can it.

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    1. Have you compared both methods? Can you share your thoughts on the matter?

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    2. I have not canned it myself. My mom had quite a few years ago and I seem to remember that the beans were broken down more. So I think it's personal taste. Got to remember it all depends on what kind of bean you use too. When I can chili I've canned it both ways and I prefer the precooked beans better.

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    3. Can a water bath canning pot be used instead of a pressure canner?

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    4. You will have to pressure can this soup.

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  11. We just caned some ham and beans using your recipe but we used a ham base instead of chicken bouillon. We found a ham base that is made by Superior Touch. The website for information on this product is http://www.superiortouch.com/retail/products/better-than-bouillon/premium-bases .
    Just finished so we can't comment on the taste yet.

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    1. A ham base would be great! I need to get some myself. I love the flavors of this soup.

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  12. From the looks of the finished jar it seems like more beans would fit. Have you tried a cup instead of 3/4 cup? I really like the idea of starting them dry to keep them going to mush, but want to get maximum bean volume, lol. I also don't want to explode my jars, though. I looked this up, because I really liked the idea of a finished product when it is done, just heat and serve on those long winter evenings. Thanks for posting this!

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    1. You could add just a touch more but I wouldn't add to much more. Due to the exploding concern.

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  13. I just found your blog and have so far only water bath canned.. but just gpt a pressure canner for my birthday! I have a 1/2 gal of a great pinto bean mix in the fridge.. with yellow tomatoes, chopped carrots, peppers, onion, seasons (most veggies from garden :D) I want to can this to put away for later.. but all the recipes show putting in dried beans.. this is contrary to digesting beans.. they are to be soaked and rinsed to release the toxins. That is what all the foam is about. We stopped eating canned beans for this reason and I went back to cooking from scratch. I guess my question is.. how would this be any different from store bought? Wouldn't all those toxins be in the juice/liquid? And if it's soup, you don't want to pour off the liquid and rinse? Any ideas on this?

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    1. I rinse my beans really well before using them. I would assume that some of the toxins you speak of are washed away then. When I do soak my beans for other recipes I have never noticed any foam you speak of nor is my water dirty really. So I really don't have an answer for you. What I do know is if you like you can soak the beans before hand make the soup and then can it if you like.

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  14. Thanks so much for the recipe! I made 3 batches today!! I did increase the beans to 1 C dry and they turned out beautifully. I would not add anymore than that though, as the liquid seems just right.

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    1. Awesome! The amount of beans really depends on how soupy you like it. Glad it worked out for you. Happy Canning!!

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    2. Do U mean U used 2 cups dry beans to 1 quart. I also wanted to have more beans in qt jar. Planning on canning today.

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  15. Has anybody tryed this with hot peppers or honey/brown suger

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  16. I like the idea of not having to pre cook beans to make soup. However, this method is NOT safe and you should consider changing your recipe to hydrate the beans according to the USDA guidelines before canning. It's easy to do and relatively fast. Here is the link to the USDA website: http://nchfp.uga.edu/how/can_04/beans_peas_shelled.html Here is the procedure for rehydrating all dried beans, peas, etc., according to the USDA guidelines: Procedure: Place dried beans or peas in a large pot and cover with water. Soak 12 to 18 hours in a cool place. Drain water. To quickly hydrate beans, you may cover sorted and washed beans with boiling water in a saucepan. Boil 2 minutes, remove from heat, soak 1 hour and drain. Cover beans soaked by either method with fresh water and boil 30 minutes. Add ½ teaspoon of salt per pint or 1 teaspoon per quart to the jar, if desired. Fill jars with beans or peas and cooking water, leaving 1-inch headspace.

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    1. The USDA doesn't know everything! BUT they want you to think so. As long as you are using the "smaller" beans, this is acceptable. My grandmother used to can a lot and none of her children, grandchildren, etc., got sick or died from it. However, you must make sure that everything is VERY clean during this process! Have a wonderful day! :)

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    2. Why is it not safe? A bean not fully hydrated is... just a drier, harder bean. Where's the danger? They come out fully cooked, definitely. They spend 90 minutes boiling in the canner, not to mention the time to get the canner boiling, then vented for 10 minutes, then up to pressure, and then to drop pressure. All in all, the dry beans are cooking for 2 1/2 to 3 hours and they are STILL boiling inside the jar when you finally take them out.

      Please don't just propagate fear without backing it up with solid facts.

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  17. I made a canner full since we got an extra ham this past week. LOVED it so much, I also made some in another pressure cooker while that one was canning. MMMMMMMMMMMMM :)

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    1. Glad you liked it. My daughter just can't keep out of it. I make this like every month just to keep her happy.

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  18. Hi, Yvonne here,
    I was wondering why, when talking about the amounts made with this recipe, you mentioned that if one wanted to do pints just make half the recipe. Why not instead (providing you have a separator for your pressure canner for another layer) just use half for quarts and the rest in pints? Since my husband and I are older (and eat less) I now can soups in quarts and almost everything else in pints and half pints. I ventured into canning preparing for power outages (for whatever reasons) and then when we enjoyed using our own preferences for salt and spices and such things we like it better. And it TASTES better not having all the thickeners and gums and sugars. ...and whatever in it. Why indeed?!?

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    1. If one has the extra divider it would work well as posted and make more at once. I can mine in quarts and can't keep it on the shelf long at all. The kids eat it too fast.

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  19. Hi New at this...can you add a layer of potatoe to this recipe and still pressure can for the same lenght of time? My homemade recipe includes potatoes too and everyone like the soup that way. I was not sure it that is possible or not or if it changes everything? Could you please let me know

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    1. You can add potatoes but they do suck up the liquid so you will need to use less beans.

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    2. Thank you!!!! I appreciate you getting back to you me so quickly. I love your recipes and have already tried the layed chicken soup recipe and it was wonderful especially during these really cold days....2 degrees here. I can not wait to try this one now!!!! I made my own Ham stock from my New Years Ham bone I froze and stocked yesterday and will be using this instead of the Chicken bouillon. I refrigerated overnight, so I could skim off the fat easier and will reheat today after I finish up cutting the vegetables and ham. Again, thank you for your website..I look forward to tring most of your recipes in the next couple of months. Please stay safe and warm and keep posting these wonderful recipes. God Bless!

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  20. Any way to do this without a pressure canner? I only have a regular canning pot. :/

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    1. Pressure can only! For one it has meat in it, Secondly beans are low acid. So it is not safe to do any other way than Pressure can.

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    2. Cook it in a pot and freeze it.

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  21. I love this Farm Girl. I am certainly going to keep checking on your blog. It is spring now, but I am going to make some anyway. I love bean soup and want to look at other soups that you have like the layered chicken. Thank you so much.

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  22. This is such a yummy soup!!! My only suggestion would be to double the recipe! We went through our small supply fast because it was so dang good! Thanks =)

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    1. My grandma gives me free beans that she gets, I make all that I can get from the bags. One batch is just not enough.

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  23. farm girl I made 7 qts of your ham bean soup. Now my question is do you just heat it up or do you add anything to it?

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  24. I made this soup a couple days ago and DH just tried it. Thumbs up! My changes: I doubled the celery, onion and carrot, and I just HAD to soak those beans for 15 minutes. However, next time I will only soak about 5 minutes (I'm paranoid about removing as much as that phytic acid as possible from dem beans) and I will omit the added salt. This, as per DH's comments. The beans were on the verge of mushiness, he said. I did not try it, as I am fasting right now. also, I used smoked pork chops for the meat, so maybe that added sufficient salt. Thank you so much farmgirl for sharing your experience and recipes! Huge thanks!

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    1. The beans do get on the softer side. Its due to their size. I rinse my beans for a good while before I make the soup.

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  25. Hi - could I use great northern beans instead without causing any issues? Thanks much!

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  26. Can you use larger beans such as Snow Cap or Streamline? I have beans of all sizes I would like to use.

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    1. I'm sorry I can't answer this, I'm not firmilar with those kinds of beans.

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  27. Wow...canned 9 quarts yesterday and had some tonite with corn bread for supper. My family loved it. Thanks for such an easy flavorful soup to can. Will definitely be canning this one again throughout the winter. Yummy!!!!!

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  28. Wow...Canned 9 quarts yesterday and had it for supper tonite with some corn bread. My family loved it so much. Thanks for sharing such an easy flavorful canning soup. will be canning this soup again throughout the winter as we deplete the stock. YUMMY SOUP!!!!!!!!

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    1. I know right! Something so simple is so so good! I can't keep it on the shelf. I need to find a ham on sale and make a bunch of it up myself.

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  29. Canned 4 quarts last week.....opened one, warmed it, made "cracklin'" cornbread and was in bean heaven! I love soups in the fall/winter but hubby isn't too fond of soup. However, he did love this and commented on it several times! I now have 6 more quarts in the canner! I did add a bit more onion and used "Better Than Boullion" chicken base instead of granules. Thanks so much for your recipes!

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  30. If I wanted to soak beans, would I still use 3/4 cup of beans to each quart jar?

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  31. I made this last night. It's delicious and so easy! Thanks for sharing!

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  32. Does this work to can using a hot water bath with 'leftover' soup? Thanks!!!

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  33. I canned this and changed two things. I put 2 drops of Hickory liquid smoke in each pint jar instead of using hickory flavored salt, and I used half water and half tomato juice from the tomatoes in my garden to fill the jars. I also used dehydrated onion at half the amount, since I'm not a big onion fan. Thank you for the recipe...it's so darn easy and time saving. =)

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  34. Once bottled, how long are these good for?

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  35. I'm making 28 qts of this again today. I use smoked ham hocks, smoked pork jowl and ham base in the broth. I gave a quart to a coworker who loves ham and bean. He said it was the best he has ever had. Keep up the good work!

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  36. Planning to can today, I would like more beans and i'm just using beans and 1/2 c chopped ham if I use 1 1/2 cup beans quarts would this still work?

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  37. I know most recipes call for 1 cup of dry no soak beans.I wanted more beans in jars so I used qt jars and 1 1/2 c navy beans with 1/2 c chopped ham this week.Don't know if they will be good later.All sealed ok. Did U ever can more than 1 c and what were your results. They had 1/2"-1" liquid above beans at 1" headspace.I guess I won't know till I open jars.
    Didn't lose any liquid.

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  38. I'm going to add some paprika to mine. That is what Campbell's Bean & Bacon soup has in theirs.

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