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    🏠Home » Recipes » Soup Recipes

    Puerto Rican Ham Bone Soup with Potatoes and Beans

    Dec 22, 2019 · Modified: Jan 25, 2023 by Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan · 1 Comment

    Recipe Table of Contents    
    4 from 5 votes

    An excellent ham soup bursts with potatoes, rice, carrots, and beans in a spicy broth. Give that ham bone a great ending today with this hardy soup you will love.

    Ladle of ham soup
    Jump To:
    • 👨‍🍳How to Make Puerto Rican Ham Bone Soup
    • 📋 Ingredients
    • ♨️Can I Do This in a Crock Pot?
    • ❓FAQs
    • 📖 Ham Soup Recipes
    • 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
    • 📝Recipe
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    Introduction

    This has been a standard at our house for years. We are the only ones calling it Christmas soup, but I'm sticking with the name since that is when we usually make it. I originally called this recipe "Puerto Rican Chuletón Soup, AKA Xmas Ham Bone Soup," but shortened the name.

    Based on a recipe from a children's book, "Everybody Serves Soup" by Norah Dooley. I should have guessed the origin of the requested recipe with two children librarians in the family (a wife and a daughter).

    This is so NOT cooking for two friendly unless you have freezer space or a crowd coming for dinner.

    👨‍🍳How to Make Puerto Rican Ham Bone Soup

    1. Rinse the ham under running water if there is a sugary coating, and trim any large chunks of fat.
    2. In a large stock pot, cover the ham bone most of the way with water simultaneously, measuring the water to adjust other ingredients later.
    3. Bring to boil over medium-high heat and then decrease to low and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes, then remove to cool some.
    4. Peel and chop potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces. Chop onions.
    5. Remove all meat from the bone. Discard bone and any fat and waste. You want about 2 cups, but a bit less or more is fine.
    6. Add ham, vegetables, and all other ingredients to the stock pot. Bring to boil with medium-high heat, then decrease to simmer for 1-2 hours until potatoes and carrots are tender. Cool in the refrigerator overnight, then skim the fat before serving is recommended but not required.

    When you cover the ham with water, measure it. The vegetables and spices are set for about 6 cups of water. If you need a lot more, increase the vegetables and beans proportionally.

    📋 Ingredients

    Ham Bone—If your ham is covered with a sugary coat, rinse off as much as possible under running water before starting. Also, there is usually a fat coating over a lot of the ham. Cut or scrape it off. You want about 2 cups of ham but can use more or less.

    Do I Need Chicken Broth? I suggest using water with the ham to make the broth. I don't see the need to use chicken broth, which will add salt. There is plenty of salt in the ham already. The ham will make its own's broth.

    Potatoes—This recipe needs 1 ½ to 3 pounds of potatoes, peeled and diced. A medium size potato is about ½ pound. I generally have russet potatoes but use what you have.

    Beans—The original recipe calls for pigeon beans... not in West Michigan. I see this as your option to make the soup what you want. I used black and navy beans.

    ♨️Can I Do This in a Crock Pot?

    This stovetop recipe can be easily done in a crock pot. Add everything at the beginning. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, then remove the ham and strip the meat. Add the ham back and cook for another 1-2 hours until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

    ❓FAQs

    What can be done to control the sodium in ham soup?

    The sodium can get very high in soups made with ham bones. Ham is high in sodium, some more than others.

    Use low-sodium beans and rinse them.

    Never add salt to a ham soup until near the end, and you are sure it is needed.

    How to store ham soup?

    Ham soup will store in a refrigerator for 3-4 days. You can also freeze in an airtight container for 3-4 months.

    T

    📖 Ham Soup Recipes

    Crock Pot Ham Bone and Bean Soup

    Ham Bone Vegetable Soup – Crock Pot Edition

    This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

    Pork | Ham and Bacon Recipes, Soup Recipes
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    🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

    rinsing ham bone under running water

    Rinse the ham under running water if there is a sugary coating. Also, if there are large chunks of fat, then trim them some.

    Ham bone in stock pot

    Cover the ham most of the way with water. Measure water and increase all other ingredients proportionally. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then decrease to low and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. Remove the ham bone to cool.

    chopped potatoes and carrots on black board

    Peel and chop potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces. Chop onions.

    stripping meat off the ham bone

    After the ham is cooled enough to handle, remove all meat from the bone. Discard bone and any fat and waste.

    ham soup in the stock pot

    Add all ingredients back to the broth. Bring to boil with medium-high heat, then decrease to simmer for 1-2 hours until potatoes and carrots are tender.

    ham soup in a white bowl

    Cool in the refrigerator overnight, then skim the fat before serving is recommended but not required.

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    📝Recipe

    Ladle of ham soup

    Puerto Rican Ham Bone Soup with Potatoes and Beans

    From Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan
    An excellent ham soup bursts with potatoes, rice, carrots, and beans in a spicy broth. Give that ham bone a great ending today with this hardy soup you will love.
    Tap to leave a Rating
    4 from 5 votes
    Print Email CollectionCollected
    Prep Time: 2 hours
    Cook Time: 1 hour
    Total Time: 3 hours
    Servings #/Adjust if desired 10

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Convert to Metric
    • 1 ham bone with meat
    • 6 cups water - enough to cover the bone
    • 2 onions - large
    • 3-4 potatoes - about 1 ½ to 2 pounds
    • 3-4 carrots
    • 42 oz precooked beans - I used ⅔ navy and ⅓ black beans
    • ½ cup rice - not instant or rapid cooking
    • 1 teaspoon turmeric
    • ½ teaspoon cumin
    • ¼ teaspoon pepper
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    Instructions

    • Rinse the ham under running water if there is a sugary coating. Also, if there are large chunks of fat, then trim them some.
      rinsing ham bone under running water
    • Cover the ham most of the way with water. Measure water and increase all other ingredients proportionally. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then decrease to low and simmer for 60 to 90 minutes. Remove the ham bone to cool.
      Ham bone in stock pot
    • Peel and chop potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces. Chop onions.
      chopped potatoes and carrots on black board
    • After the ham is cooled enough to handle, remove all meat from the bone. Discard bone and any fat and waste.
      stripping meat off the ham bone
    • Add all ingredients back to the broth. Bring to boil with medium-high heat, then decrease to simmer for 1-2 hours until potatoes and carrots are tender
      ham soup in the stock pot
    • Cool in the refrigerator overnight, then skim the fat before serving is recommended but not required.
      ham soup in a white bowl
    See the step-by-step photos in the post. Some recipes have an option to display the photos here with a switch above these instructions but the photos DO NOT print.

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    Recipe Notes

    Pro Tips

    1. This is set for 6 cups of water. If you need more to mostly cover the ham bone, you will need to adjust the vegetable and spices up some.
    2. This makes a large amount of soup. The amount varies by the amount of water needed.
    3. If your ham has a sugar coat, rinse it off. And then do it a second time—you do not want the sweetness in the soup.
    4. Ham bones freeze well for 3-4 months.
    5. The sodium can get way high on this. The ham is high in sodium. Try to use low-salt beans and rinse them. You can add salt near the end if needed.
    6. You can skim off the fat after the soup is refrigerated overnight. This is preferred but not required.
    7. Good in refrigerator for 3-4 days and frozen for 3-4 months.
    8. There is nothing exact about either the serving number or nutrition on this recipe. I estimate a serving size of about 1 ½ cups.

    Crock Pot Variation

    This is a stovetop recipe but can be done easily in a crock pot. Add everything at the beginning. Cook on low for 7-8 hours, then remove the ham and strip the meat. Add the meat back and cook for another 1-2 hours until the potatoes and carrots are tender.

    To adjust the recipe size:

    You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.

    Nutrition Estimate

    Nutrition Facts
    Puerto Rican Ham Bone Soup with Potatoes and Beans
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 420 Calories from Fat 108
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 12g18%
    Saturated Fat 4g20%
    Cholesterol 42mg14%
    Sodium 841mg35%
    Potassium 1028mg29%
    Carbohydrates 50g17%
    Fiber 15g60%
    Sugar 2g2%
    Protein 27g54%
    Vitamin A 3057IU61%
    Vitamin C 11mg13%
    Calcium 127mg13%
    Iron 6mg33%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Serving size is my estimate of a normal size unless stated otherwise. The number of servings per recipe is stated above. This is home cooking, and there are many variables. All nutritional information are estimates and may vary from your actual results. To taste ingredients such as salt will be my estimate of the average used.
    Course : Soup
    Cuisine : American

    © 101 Cooking for Two, LLC. All content and photographs are copyright protected by us or our vendors. While we appreciate your sharing our recipes, please realize copying, pasting, or duplicating full recipes to any social media, website, or electronic/printed media is strictly prohibited and a violation of our copyrights.

    Editor's Note: Originally Published February 3, 2011. Updated with newly edited pictures, expanded discussion with more details, and a jump table.

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    1. Shannon

      December 27, 2018 at 7:37 pm

      Not sure what makes this Puerto Rican. Where is the sofrito, the Adobo, the Sazon, or even some cilantro. The pigeon peas, gondolas, would have been the only thing typically Puerto Rican. :( I am sad. I thought I had found a new recipe.

      Reply

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