THE BEST BEAN AND HAM SOUP

The Best Bean and Ham Soup image

I make this hearty soup using the ham bone from our Easter spiral ham. I serve it with corn muffins and fresh fruit. It makes a huge pot of soup, so invite some friends or just freeze several portions for later use. Remember to soak the beans the night before you make the soup.

Provided by BenevolentEmpress

Categories Soups, Stews and Chili Recipes Soup Recipes Pork Soup Recipes Ham Soup

Time 10h25m

Yield 12

Number Of Ingredients 18

Ingredients

1 (20 ounce) package 15 bean mixture, soaked overnight
1 ham bone
2 ½ cups cubed ham
1 large onion, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
5 large carrots, chopped
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with liquid
1 (12 fluid ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice
3 cups vegetable broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon chili powder
3 bay leaves
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dried parsley
3 tablespoons lemon juice
7 cups low fat, low sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Steps:

Place the soaked beans into a large pot and fill with enough water to cover by about 1 inch. Bring to a boil, then simmer over low for 30 minutes. Drain. Add the ham bone, ham, onion, celery, carrots, tomatoes, vegetable juice, and vegetable broth. Season with Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, chili powder, bay leaves, pepper, parsley and lemon juice. Pour in enough of the chicken broth to cover the ingredients.
Simmer over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about 8 hours. Add more chicken broth as needed throughout the day. Remove the ham bone and season with salt if needed. Continue to simmer for a couple more hours. Remove bay leaves before serving.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 259.7 calories, Carbohydrate 37.9 g, Cholesterol 13.9 mg, Fat 3.6 g, Fiber 14.8 g, Protein 17.3 g, SaturatedFat 0.9 g, Sodium 1105.3 mg, Sugar 6.5 g