16 Bean Soup with Ham and Kale
Winter has finally arrived, and there’s nothing quite like a pot of soup simmering all day to warm you up. This a wonderful 16-bean soup to make any time you have leftover ham from the Holidays. More recipes I love making any time I have leftover ham are this hearty, Leftover Ham Bone Soup with Potatoes and Cabbage, and the popular Crustless Ham and Cheese Quiche.
This is the kind of soup I like to cook on a Sunday, when I am home with nowhere to go. This makes a lot of soup, perfect for meal prep. One of my favorite meal prep strategies is to cook a meal big enough for two nights or more, so you can have dinner and freeze the rest for the future. This will last in the freezer up to 3 months in an airtight container. You can refrigerate this up to 4 days.
Ingredients
(see recipe card below for full recipe)
Beans: one pound bag of 16-bean soup mix, discard flavor packet if it comes with it. This is usually sold in a bag by brands like Goya with a mix of large lima beans, baby lima beans, great northern beans, small white beans, red kidney beans, navy beans, pink beans, pinto beans, small red beans, green split peas, and yellow split peas. Vegetables: Kale, onions, carrots, green or red pepper, celery, green onions and garlic. Herbs: Cilantro, rosemary and thyme. If you wish you can also add a bay leaf or two. Meat: Diced smoked ham steak, or you can use bacon, sausage, or a smoked turkey leg. Additional seasoning: salt, black pepper, cumin and tomato sauce.
How To Make Bean Soup
Notes and Variations
If your bean mix comes with a seasoning packet you’ll want to discard it. Also, it’s best to soak the beans overnight, then discard the water the next day before cooking. You can also make this in the pressure cooker, to speed it up, just use a little less water and cook it in half the time, about 1 hour on high pressure. Swap the ham for sausage, a ham hock or smoked turkey leg.
Can you freeze bean soup? Yes, you can freeze bean soup. Cool it, use freezer-safe containers, portion it, leave headspace, label, freeze promptly, thaw and reheat properly. Some soups with dairy may have texture changes, but bean soups freeze well. How To Thicken Bean Soup To thicken bean soup, here are a few methods you can try:
More Bean Soup Recipes you might like:
Smoked Turkey Black Bean Soup Turkey Chili Taco Soup Chickpea Tomato Soup Pressure Cooker Split Pea Soup with Ham Lebanese Lentil Soup
