
Bean soup is on the menu in the U.S. Senate’s restaurant every day.
No one is exactly sure why this tradition started, but since 1903, U.S. Senate bean soup has been served in the Senate dining room every day - the only mandatory recipe on the menu.
The only exception, according to Senator Elizabeth Dole, as told to her by her husband, Bob Dole, was in 1943, during World War II rationing. It only happened for one day, and then bean soup was back on the menu.
Senate bean soup a simple recipe - navy beans, ham hocks (or ham and a hambone), onions sauteed in butter, and salt and pepper. “The Senators like their soup straightforward” said Don Perez, the Senate dining room’s executive chef back in 2003.
I’m taking a couple of liberties with the soup - Chef Perez admitted he adds a little garlic - and a recipe attributed to Senator Fred Dubois in 1903 includes mashed potatoes and parsley. I’m skipping the potatoes, but the parsley adds a splash of color that I can’t pass up.
So, why bean soup? Because I will have a ham bone and leftover ham from Easter dinner. (I’m notorious with my in-laws for taking bones home with me from family dinners.) This recipe was invented to use up leftover ham. (Well, I don't know that for sure...but it looks like what the Senate's chef would do the day after serving ham.) That said…the pictures have a (huge) smoked ham hock from my butcher. Don’t be afraid to use leftover ham; this recipe was made for it.
If you're looking for other recipes with dried navy beans, check out my Instant Pot White Turkey Chili. For another bean soup, try my 15 Bean Soup with Sausage (Instapot).
Recipe: Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup
Adapted from: Senate Bean Soup (via Senate.gov)
Video: Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup (1:47)
Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup - Time Lapse [YouTube.com]
Equipment
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot Electric PC)
Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 6-8 1x
Description
Pressure Cooker Senate Bean Soup recipe. It doesn't get more American than bean soup from the United States Senate lunchroom.
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans, sorted and rinsed
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 large onion, cut into ½ inch dice
- 2 cloves garlic, sliced
- ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1 ½ pounds smoked ham hocks (or a hambone and some leftover ham)
- 8 cups water
- 1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
- Salt to taste
- Minced parsley for garnish
Instructions
- Sort and rinse the beans: Sort the navy beans, removing broken beans, stones, or dirt clods. Rinse the beans and set aside.
- Saute the aromatics: Heat the butter in the pressure cooker pot over medium-high heat until it stops foaming. Add the onion, garlic, and ½ teaspoon salt. Saute until the onions are softened and browning around the edges, about 8 minutes.
- Pressure cook the beans: Drain the navy beans, rinse, and add to the pressure cooker. Set the ham hocks on top of the beans, then pour the water over everything. Lock the lid on the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for 30 minutes in an electric PC, or 26 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure release naturally, about 20 minutes. Remove the lid carefully, opening away from you - even when it’s not under pressure, the steam in the cooker is very hot.
- Shred the ham hock, season, and serve: Remove the ham hock from the pot with a slotted spoon or tongs, and set aside to cool. Ladle 2 cups of beans into a blender and puree the beans, then stir back into the pot. (I use my stick blender for this step.) When the ham is cool enough to handle, shred it, then stir the ham back into the pot. Stir in the fresh ground black pepper. Now, taste the soup, and add salt until the soup tastes sweet and full of body, and you can just feel the taste of salt on the tip of your tongue. (I needed 2 teaspoons of kosher salt to get the taste I wanted.) Serve with a sprinkle of minced parsley on each bowl.
Notes
- Want to speed up the cooking time of the recipe? Soak the beans.
- Overnight soak: Sort the navy beans, removing broken beans, stones, or dirt clods. Rinse the beans and put them in a large container with the salt. Cover with 2 quarts water. Let the beans soak for at least 8 hours, or overnight.
- Quick Pressure soak: Sort the navy beans, removing broken beans, stones, or dirt clods. Rinse the beans, put them in the pressure cooker pot, add the salt, and cover with 2 quarts water. Lock the lid, bring the pressure cooker up to high pressure, and cook for 3 minutes at high pressure (stovetop or electric PC). Let the pressure come down naturally (about 20 minutes - there’s a lot of water to cool down), then drain and rinse the beans.
- Cooking soaked beans: With soaked beans, change the cooking time to 12 minutes at high pressure in an electric PC, or 10 minutes in a stovetop PC. Let the pressure release naturally, about 20 minutes.
- Look for meaty ham hocks, if you can - the ones in the video I shot were from the end of the hock, and didn't have much meat on them. Larger hocks are usually meatier, so if you have an option, get big hocks instead of small ones.
- Please, do not forget to season to taste at the end! Soup tastes bland and flat without added salt. Don’t worry if it seems like a lot of salt - you’re still adding a lot less salt than you’d get in canned beans.
Tools
- 6 quart or larger pressure cooker (I love my Instant Pot electric pressure cooker)
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Category: Sunday Dinner
- Method: Pressure Cooker
- Cuisine: American
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Sources
- Senate Bean Soup Ladles Up Tradition for 100 Years Jennifer Frey, Washington Post (via OrlandoSentinel.com)
- Senate Bean Soup (via Senate.gov)
What do you think?
Questions? Other ideas? Leave them in the comments section below.
Related Posts
Pressure Cooker Black Bean Soup
Pressure Cooker Pasta and Bean Soup (Pasta e Fagioli)
Pressure Cooker Tortilla Soup (Sopa de Tortilla)
Instant Pot Tuscan Bean Soup
My other Pressure Cooker Recipes
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Arora says
This was the first recipe I made in my Instant Pot. It did not disappoint. Making it again tomorrow but I'm going to soak the beans overnight. Had too many beans that weren't fully cooked last time. I blame that on it being my first time using a pressure cooker of any sort. Thanks for the amazing recipe.
Steph K says
Senate bean soup a simple recipe!
Diya says
Only have a 4 quart pressure cooker. Had to cut recipe in half. Good flavoring. Liked the taste.
ROBYN says
Too long time for this post but I just did try it the first time. Thank you more informative post!
Ray Melling says
I've done ham and beans in the crock pot before and always been disappointed. The flavor was good, but the texture turned out closer to refried beans. I'd end up throwing the leftovers away.
I just tried your recipe on my stove top PC, so good! The beans came out al-dente, and the broth was the best part. I had it for lunch and dinner today, and I'm already looking forward to lunch tomorrow!
Laura says
Thank you for posting this great recipe. It is easy to make & is a meal in itself, and my husband and kids all love it (along with your lentil, chicken, and bacon recipe).
Mike Vrobel says
You're welcome!
Rosalie says
I'm still learning how to use my stove top pressure cooker. I made this soup yesterday and cooked with high pressure (my cooker allows 8psi and 15 psi) for 26 minutes - maybe a minute or so longer; took it off the heat and opened it 20 minutes later to remove the ham hock. I should have checked the beans then, but instead let the hocks cool and tried getting meat off of them. I checked the beans before I planned to serve them - and they were pretty crunchy! I ended up cooking them at least another hour and a half. The soup eventually turned out fine, but how did I get such raw beans? I don't think they were ~that~ old. Thanks,
Mike Vrobel says
Are you sure your cooker is pressurizing and cooking at high pressure? A total cooking time of 2 hours is about what navy beans would take on the stovetop without any pressure.
Larry says
Very good and simple navy bean soup. Instead of blending some beans at the end for thickening, I added instant potato flakes after the cooking was complete and the ham shredded. Just sprinkle some instant potato flakes in and stir until you get the consistency you want.
Merme says
Made this soup twice now and I love it. Wish my husband liked bean soup but he doesn't. So I freeze it and it makes a great quick meal for me. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe and techniques. Next I'm trying the black bean soup.
SusanM says
Thanks for sharing this recipe, we just made it in our Instant Pot here at the office and it was an instant hit! We had soaked the beans the night before, and the 12 minute time was spot on. Added a bay leaf, because I rarely cook any kind of beans without one, and used half sea salt and half Tony Cachere's Cajun salt to add a little spice. If I had a piece of fresh lemon I would have squeezed that in to brighten it up, but used 3 drops of Doterra lemon oil instead. Served with some rosemary flatbread crackers, we are keeping this recipe in our favorites binder!
Trish Farano says
Excellent recipe and I have been recommending your website/videos to new IP owners on the FB IP page. I always soak my beans with a pinch of baking soda to reduce the gassiness associated with them. Then I drain and rinse with fresh water before adding to the IP.
I did add a couple of diced carrots because I like carrots in my bean soup. Next time, thinking I'll add a little celery and also a bay leaf. It won't be Senate Bean Soup, but it will be good.
Thank you for the excellent base recipe.
Brooke Kubath says
I have made this so many times and every time, my husband says this is the best bean soup he has ever had. So quick and easy. Thanks!
Karen Beghly says
I’m making the soup today. I have an 8 quart pot. Could the recipe be doubled without any problem? Also, if I speed cook the beans you say to cook the soup for 12 minutes. If the ham hocks are frozen, should I still add 5 minutes to the cook time? Thank you!
Mike Vrobel says
There will be too much liquid if you double the recipe. You can double everything except for the water - put everything else in the pot, and fill up to the max fill line on your 8 quart pressure cooker. (I think you'll get about 10-12 cups of water in there, which is plenty to cook the beans.)
If you're going with frozen ham hocks, I'd go with the unsoaked beans, 30 minutes under pressure version of the recipe, and not do the overnight soak or quick soak. 30 minutes under pressure is plenty of time to cook the frozen hocks.
Angela Brown says
Thank you Mike. I was wondering the sane question about doubling it for Christmas dinner. I will go with your advice on the water and since my ham is not frozen then I am going to do 25 minutes. I will post back to let everyone know how it turned out. About to start it now. Merry Christmas!
Jo Linhard says
Best and easiest Senate bean soup recipe I have ever tried! Loved it!!
Alicia Shields says
Made this tonight and it was delicious. I will definitely be following your blog! Thanks for the great recipe.