Sometimes there's nothing better than a bowl of smokey/creamy ham and bean soup. My kids love this so much - they are always asking me to make it. This whips up quickly with just a few ingredients. I use my homemade chicken broth, but any chicken broth or bullion will do. I use 1 pound of dried pintos, reconstituted in my pressure cooker. That's the equivalent of about four 14/15 ounce cans. Use whatever you have on hand or have access to.

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Warming, frugal and so delicious! Smokey ham, creamy pintos and aromatic vegetables mingle together to make a delightful soup. My secret ingredient is a little salsa verde (green salsa) added at the very end of cooking – it makes the flavors sparkle!

Canned beans or dried beans?

I like to use dried beans over canned beans, although either will work well. I like dried beans better because they fit more efficiently in my pantry. The equivalent of one pound of dried beans is four 14/15 oz cans of beans. I like to use my pressure cooker to reconstitute dried beans. Honestly, that’s my favorite use of a pressure cooker (Instant Pot). I set the pressure cooker to 30 minutes and use as much water as the pressure cooker will allow. As with canned beans, I prefer to drain the beans of their starchy cooking water before adding them to soups.

Ham and Pinto Soup

Shannon Vavich

Sometimes there's nothing better than a bowl of smokey/creamy ham and bean soup. My kids love this so much – they are always asking me to make it. This whips up quickly with just a few ingredients. I use my homemade chicken broth, but any chicken broth or bullion will do. I use 1 pound of dried pintos, reconstituted in my pressure cooker. That's the equivalent of about four 14/15 ounce cans. Use whatever you have on hand or have access to.

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Servings 0

Ingredients

  

• 1 16oz bag of dried pintos – or 4 cans of pinto beans I reconstitute my pinto beans in the pressure cooker. Pressure cook for 30 minutes in water – no salt. You can also use 4 cans of pinto beans.
• 2-3 Tbs olive oil
• 1 large yellow onion peeled and diced
• 4 cloves garlic peeled and chopped
• 3 carrots peeled and chopped
• 3 ribs celery chopped
• 1 1/2 cups ham cubed
• 8 cups chicken broth
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 1 7oz can salsa verde (green salsa) a little under 1 cup

Instructions

 

• In a large heavy soup pot, warm olive oil over medium high heat and saute the onions and garlic until cooked down and slightly caramelized.
• Add the carrots, celery and ham and continue to saute for about three more minutes.
• Add the drained cooked pinto beans, either pressure cooked dried beans or canned beans.
• Next, add the chicken broth. Stir well and let the heat rise again to a low simmer. Cover pot and simmer on medium/low for about 40 minutes.
• As a finishing touch, add salsa verde just before serving. Salt and pepper to taste.
• This soup freezes excellently. I freeze this soup in gallon-sized freezer bags.

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