Senate Bean soup is a famous soup that is flavorful, filling, and comforting. But in my mind, it needed to be made a bit more accessible for folks who don’t have all day to cook their beans, so this is my shortcut recipe. Fortunately, it tastes every bit as good as the old fashioned version.
You’ll need: 4 cans Navy beans, minced garlic, one onion, stick of butter or margarine, four chicken bullion cubes, 3 stalks celery, instant mashed potatoes, and a smoked turkey leg.
As far as instant mashed potatoes go, I didn’t even know such a thing existed until I was sixteen. I was invited to dinner at a friend’s house and her mom sent me into the pantry to get the potatoes. I went in there and looked all over the place trying to find the bag of potatoes and came out empty handed. She walked right in there and came out with a box. A box? I had to have that one explained to me and then went home and explained it to Mama! I love pretty much anything that makes life easier but I reserve instant potatoes for use as soup thickeners. They are really brilliant at that.
*Smoked Turkey Legs are pretty easy to find when you’re looking. I usually get mine from Walmart, Sam’s, Costco, etc. Usually near the smoked hamhocks and such.
Place bullion cubes in pot with six cups water (you can sub straight chicken broth for this if you prefer). Add turkey leg. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer thirty minutes. Turkey leg does not have to be covered with water/broth.
Place butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Saute until lightly browned.
like this.
Remove turkey leg from broth and dice up when cool.
Add onion mixture, beans, and diced turkey. Stir in salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to simmer for thirty minutes before serving.
Oh my goodness, glorious comfort food on a chilly day!
I hope you get to make this soon!
This freezes VERY well. I took my leftovers and put them in a mason jar, leaving plenty of head space, and froze it to eat later.
“Later” ended up being the very next day but still…
Ingredients
- 4 15 ounce cans Navy Beans undrained
- 3 stalks celery chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 chicken bullion cubes or 6 cups chicken broth
- 1 smoked turkey leg
- 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- Stick margarine or butter 1/2 C
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Place bullion cubes in pot with six cups water (you can sub straight chicken broth for this if you prefer). Add turkey leg. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer thirty minutes. Turkey leg does not have to be covered with water/broth.
- Place butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic. Saute until lightly browned.
- Remove turkey leg from broth and dice up when cool. Add instant potatoes to broth and stir. Add onion mixture, beans, and diced turkey. Stir in salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to simmer for thirty minutes before serving.
Nutrition
Gentle reminder: We don’t talk politics on any of my platforms. This post was originally published in 2010. I updated the photos and post in 2020.
This recipe featured in Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!
Here’s my trick for ham seasoning in soups and beans. I go to The Honeybaked Ham store and buy a ham-bone. They sell hambones with LOTS of meat left on them for about six dollars. I boil that bone in a big pot of water and I end up with enough ham and ham stock to season several pots of beans that I freeze. It’s my quick and easy way to have yummy seasoned soups, peas and greens.
I didn’t know you could do that, either!!!
How cool!
this reminds me of when my grandma would have been soup waiting for us when we came in running off the bus. 🙂 good memories and instant potatoes are amazing for quick soup fixes love it love it 🙂
Ain’t nothin’ like a memory with your Grandma in it!
So, 🙂 I learned not only how to make another great soup, but (yep buts are allowed anywhere in a sentence) I learned you can put Mason Jars in the freezer. So (one of my favorites again) be gone all you aggravating plastic containers that are everywhere hiding in the nether regions of my home, and mostly without lids. And am writing that blessing in stone,Mason Jars can go in freezer (with plenty of head space allowed). Bless you too.
So you know, Kim, that you’re totally awesome, right????
Cook your corn on the cob as usual. Cut it off and freeze in Mason jars, any size. I use pints for myself. Like Christy said, leave headspace for expansion or it will break the jar! When you are ready to use, put in microwave on defrost until it comes out of the jar. Add butter and salt and pepper and heat for about 3 minutes until ready. Tastes like you just cut it off. Silver Queen corn does well with this. Sometimes I just put a dollop of butter on top and finish it off in the jars. No plastic taste!
Be aware – speaking from experience – not all Mason jars can be used in the freezer. As a canner for decades, I do have some older jars. I froze quart jars of vegetable soup with plenty of headspace. When I removed and defrosted, the jar was in several pieces. There are no markings on jars to identify if they can be used in the freezer, only on the original box. Just a small heads up.
Christy – Did you know that you can buy ham base, not in the cubes like beef bouillon,I don’t think, but we have it here in our local grocery store in this little town I live in. It’s in a paste form with other bouillon above the canned soups and it is pretty wonderful stuff!! I always make my bean soup from scratch with northern beans and it really doesn’t take that long to get done – maybe a couple of hours. I NEVER soak the beans either. Just takes more time…. What a wonderful meal for a cold day, like today,along with those yummy looking Jordan rolls!!! I’ve made many of your recipes and your email is the first one I look for every day!!! Marlene
Hi Marlene,
What a great tip to share!! I have the little glass jars of ham base, turkey base, ckn base…all in my refrigerator right now, ready to add full-bodied flavor to whatever dish needs a particular flavor. Until now, it WAS my secret weapon. Hugs to you, SP friend, for giving everyone a shot at Chef of the Year status. The world will be a better place because of you ~winks~. Thanks to Christy for a great soup recipe too.
I did not know that!!! Now I have to look! Thank you!
Watch out when you buy the bases… some have MSG in them which is very high in sodium. Some have to be refrigerated and some don’t. I love them but can’t handle MSG-monosodium glutamate. You will love them, Christy!
“By the way, where IS the Senate restaurant and how do I get to eat there on my next trip to D.C.?”
To answer your question above, the Senate restaurant is in the Capitol Building on the Senate side. I used to work on The Hill and ate in the House restaurant alot, which is where else? — on the House side of the Capitol. They serve the bean soup there as well. It’s been many years since I worked there, but I can tell you the soup is outstandingly delicious…..
So my next question would be…
When are we chartering a Southern Plate bus and calling it a Field Trip?
Dear Christy
Do we have to write an essay about it afterwards?…..lol
sounds like fun lets go.the soup looks real good and I was wondering where the name came from thanks for explainging.have a blessed night and keep on cooking and shearing.one more question what did the marry Poppins and Bountifull mean?I know theres a good movie called trip to Bountifull.
LOL! Someone has outed my soup/stew thickener secret. I learned it when I had too much liquid in a pot of soup. As they say, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” For my navy bean soup, I just take my trusty old potato masher and mash a few beans to thicken it. When I use ham hocks, I pressure cook them first. The meat becomes very tender and the broth is a wonderful addition to the soup. I am so excited about your upcoming cookbook and can hardly wait. You have to be on cloud 9.
Hey Jane, thats brilliant!
I’m kinda on cloud 1..because everyone else is on cloud 2-9 and I’m looking around blinking and wondering how I even made it to cloud one, while they are all waving and carrying on saying “come ‘ere! come ‘ere! Join us!!” and I’m still thinking “but I’m the one who gives baths, cleans out ears, and wipes rears…I don’t belong on the upper clouds!”
hehe
It hasn’t really sunk in and I’ve really tried to get it to sink in but I guess it won’t ever make sense to me.
I am awfully grateful though!!!!
And your comment just made me so hungry… 🙂
I should have clarified, I mash the beans right in the pot and I pressure cook the smoked ham hocks for about 15-20 minutes. Sorry.
You wouldn’t believe all of the stuff that Mary Poppins left at our restaurant when y’all did your last photo shoot! It was like Christmas in our refrigerator! ;0)