Senators come and go. One ham and bean soup recipe stays the same.
Here’s the authentic, official U.S. Senate bean soup recipe, a hearty and easy ham and bean soup that has been on the Capitol Hill menu for ages. Perfect for cozy fall and winter nights.
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Why I Love Senate Bean Soup
As a former U.S. Senate staffer, I can testify to the merits of the Senate Bean Soup recipe.
For my first job out of college, I worked as an entry-level Senate staffer in one of the country’s most expensive cities. The job barely paid the rent — though I did once ride an elevator with Mikhail Gorbachev. On the days I did not bring a sad, homemade lunch, I headed to the Senate cafeteria and got a cup of (very affordable) Senate Bean Soup — stuffing a fistful of free Saltine cracker packets into my bag for good measure.
This easy Navy bean soup, though sometimes labeled touristy, is salty and thick and stick-to-your-ribs. Maybe that’s why it’s been on the menu every day but one, for over 100 years.
Food History of Senate Ham and Bean Soup
According to the U.S. Senate, the history of Senate Navy Bean Soup is more legend and guesswork than verifiable fact. One story says that in the early 1900s, Idaho senator Fred Dubois actually passed a resolution that the soup remain on the menu every day. (In its early days, the Senate Bean Soup recipe included potatoes; it no longer does.)
Another story says that in 1903, Minnesota senator Knute Nelson expressed his fondness for the soup.
Either way, some form of Senate bean soup has been on the menu every single day for 110 years — with one exception. For one day during World War II, the bean soup was unavailable due to food rations.
The House of Representatives has its own competing bean soup, which likewise remains on the House cafeteria menu every day.
Senate Bean Soup: Recipe Notes
If you want to enjoy official Senate Bean Soup today, there are two options. One option is to head to the Senate cafeteria, on the ground floor of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The other is to make the recipe yourself.
Because this is an easy soup to make, and requires no more travel than to the grocery store, the “make your own” ham and bean soup option gets my vote. Just a few notes:
- Start with the ham and beans. Many soups call for cooking the onions first, and then adding everything else. But here, the ham and beans cook together first. This not only makes a delicious ham stock, but the beans cook and get infused with flavor from the outset.
- Cook the onions in the butter just until translucent, then add to the soup. Stir, simmer, and season.
Adapting the Senate Bean Soup Recipe for Home Kitchens
The soup flavors are best described as hammy and beany. Probably because those are the only ingredients other than an onion and dab of butter! That is a good thing.
The original recipe is vague, so I have added a few specifics, like a suggested quantity of salt and pepper. I start with cold water, instead of the suggested hot water, because hot tap water generally is not as clean. This should be a very thick soup.
Technically, I would have liked to add something like, I don’t know, a bay leaf? Thyme? A little diced carrot, celery, and onion? But I stuck to the original as much as possible, so that is why the recipe is so simple. And yet somehow, so very good.
Sometimes people ask if this can be made in a crock pot or instant pot.
The answer is yes! The instant pot will certainly speed the cooking time due to the high pressure. That said, you will have to adapt the cooking times for a crock pot or instant pot on your own; I am an old-fashioned pot person!
Finally: This Senate ham and Navy bean soup makes a fantastic recipe for those leftover ham bones around Easter or Christmas.
Did you make this Senate Bean Soup recipe? How was it?
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Senate Bean Soup (The Official Recipe)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry navy beans
- 3/4 pound smoked ham hock
- 2 quarts cold water
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda (optional, but I recommend as it will help the beans soften)
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- Kosher salt, to taste (I do about 2 teaspoons)
- Fresh black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Rinse the navy beans and pick over. Place the beans into large pot with the ham hock and add two quarts of cold water and the baking soda, if using. PRO TIP: Baking soda is not part of the official recipe, but it is my secret weapon when cooking dried beans. The alkaline pH helps soften the beans' tough exterior and helps speed cooking a bit.
- Bring just to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook for approximately three hours (yep) in a covered pot with the lid barely cracked, stirring occasionally, until the beans have fully softened. TIP: The water quantity should be accurate, but if the pot of beans starts to look a little dry, add more water until you have a very thick, creamy soup consistency.
- Remove the ham hock and set it aside on a dish to cool. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent and golden. (Doesn't that smell good?) The onions should soften and become translucent, but not brown. Add the diced, buttery onion to the soup.
- Pull meat from the ham hock into bite-sized pieces and return the meat to soup. Stir. Discard the picked-over ham bone. Before serving, bring the soup to a boil and season with salt and pepper. Serve on its own or with a nice green salad to complement the richness of the soup.
Notes
Nutrition
Disclaimer: Nutrition information is provided for courtesy purposes only, and is an estimate not verified by medical or nutrition experts. Read the full nutrition disclaimer.
182 comments
Robert Marcario
I’ve been making this for many years and love it! Two changes I’ve made is to put sliced carrots in it and substitute chicken broth for the water.
Jen
I grew up eating ham and beans and always hated it. So glad I decided to try this recipe! The soda makes a huge difference on the cook of the beans and the onion at the end also has a huge impact. Definitely a keeper of a recipe!
Lisa Ruland
So glad you liked it! I love the baking soda trick 🙂
Leigh
I add 1-2 chicken bullion cube lots of pepper some garlic diced carrots celery onions (frozen mix), beans, ham, water. instant mashed potatoes only if thickening is needed. yum
Lisa Ruland
Great additions! Glad you enjoyed and thanks for the note.
Timothy Gladieux
Your recipe is not original. Our company ran the Senate cafeteria in the 1960’s.
1. The dry beans were always soaked overnight.
2. A touch of saffron was added at the end which makes all the difference.
Thanks!
Lisa Ruland
Hi, Timothy! This is so interesting. According to the U.S. Senate’s Historical Office, the original recipe and it’s sole documented variation did not include that ingredient or direction. You can read about it here: https://www.senate.gov/about/traditions-symbols/senate-bean-soup.htm. That said, your variation is a fascinating historical detail about its evolution throughout the decades. The version I enjoyed by the early 2000s as a Senate staffer, and more recently when I returned to the cafeteria to taste it again, contained no saffron. Thanks again for this note.
Marti
Everyone says I am a good cook (brought up German) but I cannot for the life of me make a good tasting soup. I followed your recipe to the letter and woo and behold, I can make a good tasting soup. Everyone has raved about it so thanks so much for sharing this.
Lisa Ruland
What a wonderful note and congratulations! I am so glad you (and everyone) enjoyed it. It’s such a great, hearty bean soup.
Eric
Christmas Day in our house is (usually) a double smoked ham glazed with a spiced apricot sauce. You buy the usual bone-in, smoked, spiral cut ham. Then trim the heck out of it and get ALL the external fat off the ham since fat is not water soluble and will not “melt into the meat” or any of the other myths. Plus, people cut the fat off their ham and that means they will cut away that beautiful glaze. Once prepped, I smoke the ham for an hour, then wrap in foil with the glaze inside and let it steam until about 130F. Then open the foil, spread the glaze, crank the grill up hot and let that glaze get good and hard on the ham. Serve that for Christmas Dinner.
Then, a few days later, turn the bone in to Navy Bean soup. I use Rancho Gordo’s Marcella beans (lovely Italian Cannellinis), that ham bone, some onion, bay leaf, a handful of peppercorns, and some garlic. Cook it for 3-4 hours until the beans are nice and creamy inside, but a bit of a bite left to the skin. Let it naturally reduce over the 3-4 hours of cooking. Add a bit of water if necessary. Add some butter at the end, season to taste if needed (ham has plenty of salt), pull the meat off the bone and return to the pot. Add some carrot and celery if you like. Serve with sourdough rolls and a glass of white wine.
Been doing this for 20 years now ….. was just surfing Navy Bean soup recipes while the beans are cooking right now and found your recipe. So close to what I do that I felt like commenting and sharing our tradition. My wife and kids always want to know when I’m gonna cook the ham and beans 🙂
Lisa Ruland
Thanks so much for sharing this, Eric! What a wonderful tradition–and recipe. The house must smell so good with the soup cooking! And good call on the Rancho Gordo beans; they’re the best. Happy New Year!
Cindy Vee
I have made this often during the winter months. However, I take a baked potato and gently mash it and put some in the bottom of the bowl before adding the bean soup. Everyone raves about it – comfort food.
Richard Boyd
I have always enjoyed the official Senate bean soup in the Dirkson building when I lobbied in DC but am trying this recipe for the first time. WISH ME LUCK!!
Lisa Ruland
So glad you were able to try the real thing at the source! Hope it turned out well for you.
Lisa Ruland
I love the addition of the potato! Thanks for the nice comment.
Donna M Ellingson-Mack
I did not make the soup from this recipe but I have a story. I worked for a law firm in South Dakota for 40 years. The senior partner who hired me always made “Congressional Bean Soup” once a year for his “girls.” He was an old guy who seemed to be curmudgeonly, but he wasn’t. He treated us well, and he regularly brought sweet rolls or minnie muffins (that he baked from the tubes himself) in the morning that only his “girls” could partake in. Woe be the attorney who tried to have any. Anyway, I have his soup recipe, and it was a sin to deviate from it, so I always make it to the letter. It was a great tradition that we continued long after his death.
Lisa Ruland
This is a fantastic story!! Thank you so much for sharing it–and keeping the tradition alive.
Chef Tom
Excellent Recipe. Came out perfect. I added one thinly sliced carrot and two diced medium potatoes. Used one large sweet yellow onion. Two pinches of sea salt and dash of pepper, Added a dash of cream to thicken and add richness. Cooked in a crock pot for about 7 hours. Perfect for the first snow day of the year.
Lisa Ruland
Glad you enjoyed it! Those sound like such excellent additions, and you’re right–it’s the perfect soup for a snowy day!
Hutch
This recipe is great and authentic, but I learned to cook from my grandmother and she always added bay leaves and diced potatoes, I used to eat bean soup with ketchup, but I’m an adult now and only do that when I need the comfort. So nourishing!
Angelica
@Hutch, you might also love the famous Rochettes beans of Lowell , Massachusetts as ketchup is one of the main ingredients!!
Lisa Ruland
So glad you like it! Personally, I always add a bay leaf to my soups, but I wanted to keep the recipe as accurate and authentic as possible, true to the Senate recipe. SO glad you made it your own.