It’s a Souper Saturday! Ham and Bean Soup plus a Savory Vegan version - pressure canned

Welcome to Covington Creek at Home. This is a first in our new series “Souper Saturdays.” We will be doing a new soup recipe every Saturday. With the cooler weather approaching this will be perfect. This is a great way to have a meal ready to eat that will give that warm and cozy feeling. This recipe can also be frozen or kept in the fridge for a few days.

If there is a recipe you would like to see made please put it in the comments section.

Ham and Bean Soup - 7 quarts plus a small bowls worth
Pinto Beans or your own combination of dried beans (about 13 cups of dry beans) (pre-soak approx. 8 hours or overnight)

Dried Black chickpeas 2 cups (pre-soak in water approximately an hour) – these are optional but a great vegan addition

10 c. stock or water – enough to cover the beans approx. 2 inches in the stock pot (I used veggie broth)

2 cups each chopped onion and carrots

Black pepper to taste

1 c. cubed ham (optional)

Put ingredients in a pot large enough to hold beans and enough water or broth to cover beans by about 2 inches. Add the carrots, onions and black pepper. Gentle boil for approx. 30 minutes if pressure canning the soup. You want beans to be partially cooked. If the beans are cooked completely your soup will turn out mushy if you pressure can it. If you are not planning to pressure can, cook approximately 1 ½ to 3 hours (time depends on how high the heat is and age of the beans). This is a great crock pot recipe. Check often as the beans can stick to the bottom of the pan (trust me on this).

Pressure Canning: Always follow safety rules and safe canning procedures. If you have questions about your type of canner YouTube has some great videos plus the manufacturer and the county extensions are a great resource.

Fill hot jars with just the beans, carrots and onion about ½ to 2/3 full (quart jars I fill it up to the top of the letter “L” if using Ball jars. Add broth leaving 1" headspace. De-bubble, wipe rims with vinegar, center lid and add rings to fingertip tight. Pressure can pints for 75 minutes and quarts for 90 minutes.

Adjusting for altitude as follows

Weighted gauge Dial gauge

0 to 1,000 ft 10 11
1,001-2,000 ft 15 11
2,001-4,000 ft 15 12
4,001-6,000 ft 15 13
6,001-8,000 ft 15 14
8,001-10,000 ft 15 15

This recipe CANNOT be safely water bath or steam canned. Allow jars to cool undisturbed 12-24 hours, remove rings, check seals, wash jars and store in a cool dark place.

This tutorial is provided for informational purposes only. It is your responsibility to know and understand safe canning processes and procedures.

Music Summertime Rain by Little North Fork/ free iMusic