Senate Bean Soup (With a Shortcut)
This is an old-fashioned Senate bean soup recipe with a shortcut that includes tender beans and smoked turkey in a flavorful broth for the most hearty comfort food dish imaginable.
Have you heard of Senate bean soup before? Made with navy beans, ham hocks, and onion, its name originates from the fact it’s been traditionally served in the dining room of the United States Senate daily since the early 20th century. I love this famous soup because it’s simultaneously flavorful, filling, and the ultimate comfort food dish.
But in my mind, it needed to be made a bit more accessible for folks who don’t have all day to soak their beans as you do for my pinto beans and ham recipe. So, this is my shortcut Senate bean soup recipe. Fortunately, it tastes every bit as good as the old-fashioned version. So, wondering what ingredients you need to get your hands on to make Senate soup? It’s simple: lots of navy beans, onion, garlic, celery, butter, chicken broth, instant mashed potatoes, and a smoked turkey leg is the piece de resistance!
The instructions are just as easy. We first cook the turkey leg in the broth, saute the veggies and seasonings in the butter, then combine all the ingredients together. Then we just have to patiently wait for it to simmer and for all the flavors to mingle together before we can serve it to our hungry family! Sometimes it’s the simple flavors that are the best and the combination of the beans, smoked turkey, and flavorful broth will have you coming back for more.
I don’t think you’ll find a saltier, heartier, or thicker soup recipe, which is why this easy Senate bean soup is a favorite in my household. A little goes a long way and leftovers can be reheated and enjoyed for lunch the next day. I mean, say less!
Recipe Ingredients
- Navy beans
- Minced garlic
- Onion
- Unsalted butter or margarine
- Chicken stock/bullion cubes
- Celery
- Instant mashed potatoes
- Smoked turkey leg
How to Make Senate Bean Soup
Place bullion cubes in a pot with six cups of water (or substitute for chicken broth if you prefer) and add the turkey leg.
Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes.
The turkey leg does not have to be covered with water/broth.
Place butter in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion, celery, and garlic, and saute until lightly brown.
Like this.
Remove turkey leg from broth and dice it up once 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 30 minutes before serving.
Oh my goodness, glorious comfort food on a chilly day!
I hope you get to make this Senate bean soup soon.
Storage
- Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days and reheat in the microwave.
- It also freezes VERY well for up to 3 months. I took my leftovers and put them in a mason jar, leaving plenty of head space, and froze it to eat later. When it was time, I let it thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating in the microwave.
Recipe Notes
- Now, you can substitute the instant mashed potatoes for actual mashed potatoes if you prefer. You’ll need to boil 1 large Russet potato and mash it with about 1/2 cup of milk before adding it to the soup. But this recipe is all about shortcuts, so I’ll stick to the instant option!
- Another option is to substitute the turkey leg for smoked ham hocks or a meaty ham bone. You may need to simmer for another 30 minutes to ensure the meat is tender.
- Have a leftover ham bone from Easter? Turn it into Senate bean soup!
- You can really use any type of white beans in Senate bean soup, like cannellini beans or Great Northern beans.
Recipe FAQs
How do you thicken Senate bean soup?
With a thickening agent. In this case, I’m using instant mashed potatoes because they’re the most brilliant soup thickener. Another option is to make a slurry by stirring one teaspoon of cornstarch or all-purpose flour into cold water and adding that to the soup. You can continue to use this method a teaspoon at a time until it’s to your desired consistency.
How do you serve Senate bean soup?
Here are some soup serving suggestions:
- Garnish with chopped fresh parsley or chives.
- Serve with homemade biscuits, cornbread, or crusty bread.
Can I make navy bean soup in the Instant Pot?
Yes, Instant Pot Senate bean soup is just as simple. Follow Instant Pot directions for cooking the turkey leg and sauteing the vegetables if you like. Then add all the ingredients to the Instant Pot and cook on the manual setting for 45 minutes before releasing naturally.
Check out these other comforting soup recipes:
Creamy Vegetable Soup (Low-Carb Version)
How To Make Chicken Noodle Soup
Taco Soup (The World’s Easiest Supper)
Ingredients
- 4 15-ounce cans navy beans, undrained
- 3 stalks celery, chopped
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 chicken bullion cubes (6 cups of chicken broth)
- 1 smoked turkey leg
- 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 stick margarine or butter (1/2 cup)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Place bullion cubes in a pot with six cups of water (or sub for straight chicken broth instead) and add the turkey leg. Cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. The turkey leg does not have to be covered with broth.4 chicken bullion cubes, 1 smoked turkey leg
- Place butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and garlic, and saute until lightly brown.3 stalks celery, chopped, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 onion, chopped, 1 stick margarine or butter
- Remove the turkey leg from the broth and dice it up when cool. Add instant potatoes to broth and stir. Then add onion mixture, beans, and diced turkey. Stir in salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly, and reduce heat to simmer for 30 minutes before serving.4 15-ounce cans navy beans, undrained, 1 cup instant mashed potato flakes, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper
Nutrition
Gentle reminder: We don’t talk politics on any of my platforms. This post was originally published in 2010 and I updated the photos and the post in 2020.
This recipe was featured in Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck!
Christy, you had me literally doing a LMAO while I read this!!! I don’t even know where to begin so I’ll just say it was a MOST enjoyable post!!! I loved all your little tangents. And (see, I’m learning because I started a sentence with “and”) you even made me sortof feel like I was inside your head somehow with the little tidbits like when you blinked trying to figure out where you were going with the story. hehehe
I’ve never actually had this though I have seen it on several menus. Now that I know how to make it I just may give it a shot! With butter of course because I’m a butter snob. It may cost more but the taste (and lack of nasty man-made heart poisons) more than makes up for its price.
Michael
I love how they make big fancy names for just plain old beans & ham! HAHA! My sister told me margarine is just one molecule off from being plastic…I don’t know where she heard THAT one, but I guess I will probably be a walking talking Barbie Doll one day..LOL I do buy butter on special occasions, but don’t splurge too often because I have 4 kids, and the extra dollar or two can buy a box of cereal when its on sale..(gotta count your pennies ya know?) Don’t splurge on name brand TP either, because it ALL gets the job done, also my kids like to throw it in the bath tub and soak it, just to get on my last nerve! HA!
I totally LOVE your site! You speak my kind of language! Country Girls are the BEST!!
Refried beans with lard also makes a great thickener. My ‘food expert’ husband does not like crock pot beans (dried or canned) because they do not have that ‘gravy’ that soaked and stove top cooked beans usually do. Since I have been adding the refried beans, he no longer fusses.
Lee, I’m with ya! I’m a southern gal (from all OVER the south) stuck in 16 degree weather in Michigan. I truly DO feel your pain.
Christy, Honey, you say, “There’s my grandmother’s chocolate pie! (Wait til I tell you what a Prop Stylist does!)” Have I missed this recipe? One of my fondest memories as a kid was getting to go get chocolate pie at Aunt Hattie’s Restaurant in St. Petersburg, FL. I even had a bet with my dearest Daddy that my sister would be a sister and not a brother. Sadly, my Daddy never got to pay-off that bet. I sure would like to be able to bake myself a really good chocolate pie and sit there and eat it and cry for missing my Dad.
~Gives you a big warm hug and hands you a tissue in the Michigan weather~
Thanks for the hug! Right back atcha! I lived in Georgia for 23 years before I had to move to Michigan, so I absolutely LOVE your home state and bet I miss it almost as much as you do. I also went to FSU, and was glad that when Mark Richt had to leave that he went to coach the DAWGS! Couldn’t have stood it if he went to FLORIDA!!! Booo HISSSS! LOL
I think, right about now, that I juuuuust might BE your long-waited for “sister” ~grins~ Thanks Melissa for your wonderful comment to me. Now I am gonna need a tissue for my missing-GA-tears. If you are ever headed toward northeast PA, let Christy know or get me on SP’s fb…I will meet ya somewhere. buh bye now.
Hey Melissa!
Don’t worry, you haven’t missed it! I saved some really special recipes for the cookbook. The main thing I’ve tried to do is figure out what folks would expect from the cookbook and deliver. I knew y’all would want some special recipes that aren’t on Southern Plate as well as original stories and such. But I’ve also included some of the more popular recipes from the website and went back and put in a few stories I’d already published here that y’all said could bear repeating (thank goodness for the feedback on the Southern Plate Family Facebook Page!).
I just found out that I will likely have a preliminary copy of the cookbook as early as MAY!!! It should go on presale this summer, I’ll keep y’all posted!
Gratefully,
Christy
Oh, I can hardly WAIT! I actually will be in Alabama in May as my dear niece is graduating from High School. I know I’m echoing the sentiments of a whole lotta readers that this book just can’t GET here soon enough.
I have decided there are definitely some things in life that just can not be substituted. Toilet paper is one. The other is real butter for when I am baking. It really does make a difference. So I watch for them to run it on sale (yes, even then it is higher than margarine) and when they do I stock up my freezer. I used to buy the cheapest toilet paper and always margarine (whatever was on sale) but I decided rather than splurge on Starbucks or the daily newspaper (I can read the news online) I would stick to my name brand toilet paper and buy real butter! Makes life much nicer 🙂
~nods up and down in agreement~
amen, i’m with you on that
You ladies bring a lot of joy to a 60 yr. old SC boy stuck in New Jersey. “I’m stuck up here with Dixie on my mind” My wife is Italian and a great cook but trying to learn to cook Southern. She’s doing OK but loves this site. She still doesn’t have the Cornbread down the way I like it but I’ll give her an A for trying.
Howdy Lee! ~waves to you from Northeast Pennsylvania area~
I am a Georgia-born-and-raised-gal sitting here watching it snow outside and thinking….IF ONLY I were in Georgia right now! I would be more’n happy to fix you a big ol’ batch of my Dixie cornbread in my cast iron skillet and run it over if you need a cornbread “fix” and let you tell me about gorgeous South Carolina. Hang in there, SP friend, Spring is a’comin’. ~waves bye~
There’s a restaurant in town that serves Senate Bean Soup as an appetizer or side item for the original price of 29 cents per bowl. They do require that you buy an entree with it or college students would be coming in and ordering 10 bowls and nothing else!
That’s so funny about Mary Poppins and the butter! I only use real butter. Julia Childs ate tons of it and she lived to be 92! I’m afraid of the chemicals in margarine. I don’t use a lot of it because I don’t bake much so I don’t know the price discrepancy between it and margarine. I have heard that margarine is supposedly better for the consistency some baked items because it’s less greasy.
I do the same Sonya… I read one time that margarine is only one molecule different from a form of plastic. I try to be somewhat careful about what I eat, but I am Southern (by the grace of God, of course) after all. I pay a tiny bit more for the real deal (STORE BRAND!) and save somewhere else.. its WORTH IT! lol