The Origins of Navy Bean Soup: Unveiling its Navy Connection

Navy Bean Soup is a longtime recipe from the United States Navy. Ship cooks have served the soup to sailors since the mid-1800s. The first known recipe for Navy Bean Soup was published in the 1902 General Mess Manual and Cookbook. Recipes below.

Soldiers enjoying bowls of soup (AI)Photo byDa Vinci AI App / Colorado Martini

Senate Bean Soup

Within the US Capitol in Washington DC is a restaurant called, “Senate Dining Room.” The “Senate Bean Soup” has been on their menu for over a century. There are multiple stories about the origin of the name Senate Bean Soup, which is closely related to Navy Bean Soup. Some say the tradition began in the early 1900s at the request of Idahoan Senator Fred Dubois. He served in the Senate from 1901 to 1907, when chairman of the committee that supervised the Senate Restaurants, gaveled through a resolution requiring that Bean Soup be on the menu every day. While others say it originated with Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota who expressed his fondness for the soup in 1903. The Senate Bean Soup has been on the menu of Senate Restaurants every day since. The soup is also available to the general public at the Capitol Visitor Center restaurant on a rotating basis and in the Longworth Cafeteria. Note there are two Senate soup recipes, one of which uses mashed potatoes. The two recipe versions are below.

Soups section of the Senate Dining Room menuPhoto bySenate Dining Room / Public Domain

Senate Bean Soup Recipe
Take two pounds of Michigan Navy Beans, wash them, and run them through hot water until the beans are white again. Put on fire with four quarts of hot water. Then take one and one-half pounds of smoked ham hocks, and boil slowly, approximately three hours in a covered pot. Braise one chopped onion in a little butter, and when light brown, put in Bean Soup. Season with salt and pepper, then serve. Do not add salt until it is ready to serve. Serves eight.

Idahoan Mash Potato Senate Bean Soup

• 1 - 4 oz package of Roasted Garlic Flavored Mashed Potatoes, dry
• 2 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 stalks of celery, chopped
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 - 32 oz vegetable stock
• 1 smoked ham bone
• 2 cans white beans, rinsed and drained
• Half a bunch of parsley, chopped
• Salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a stock pot over medium-high heat.
2. Add chopped onion, celery, and carrots and cook until starting to slightly soften.
3. Add vegetable stock and ham bone. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer for an hour.
4. Remove ham bone from pot and pick off ham; return meat to pot. Add the beans.
5. Add a package of Roasted Garlic Flavored Mashed Potatoes and stir thoroughly.
6. Mix in chopped parsley and adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook for an additional 5 minutes and serve.

Navy beans are small, white beans that are native to the Americas. They are high in vitamins and minerals, including folate, manganese, thiamin, magnesium, and iron. Navy beans are high in antioxidants and contain apigenin, a flavonoid that may help fight diabetes, Alzheimer's, amnesia, and depression.

A bowl of Senate Bean SoupPhoto byPublic Domain

What is your experience with Navy Bean Soup? Were you in the military? Kindly let us know in the comments.

1902 General Mess Manual and Cookbook

The name "Navy bean" comes from the US Navy, which began serving them to sailors in the mid-1800s because of their nutritional value, low cost, and long storage life. Navy beans are a staple in many dishes, including baked beans, soups, stews, and chili. They are also a good source of fiber and vitamin B.

In Australia, Navy bean production began during World War II. It was an economical way of supplying nutritious food to the many troops. Especially American troops based in Queensland, Australia. The United States military maintained a large base in Kingaroy and had many bases and camps throughout south-east Queensland. Since then, Kingaroy has been known as the Baked Bean Capital of Australia. Another popular name for the bean during this time was "the Yankee bean"

1902 General Mess Manual and CookbookPhoto byPublic Domain

The 1902 cookbook recipe reads:

“NOTE. - The following recipes have been deduced from a series of experiments made with articles of the Navy ration. Only such as can be easily followed with the usual facilities found on board ship are given. Where time and space will permit more elaborate dishes may be prepared, but it is here the aim to aid inexperienced cooks in the proper preparation of the stores supplied by the Government. The quantities of the ingredients given in all recipes are those required for one hundred men.

Bean Soup with Salt Pork

Soak 5 gallons of beans in fresh water and 80 pounds of salt pork in fresh or salt water overnight. Put the beans in a copper and let them come to a boil, then add 15 pounds of the pork. Continue boiling until the pork is tender, then remove. In a separate copper boil, the rest of the pork until tender. When bean soup is done, season with pepper. Cut up 6 pounds of stale bread, brown it on a pan in the oven, and add to the soup, stirring it in.

(NOTE-One gallon of the stock from the copper in which pork is boiled may be added to the soup.)”

Not cooking for 100?

• 1 pound Navy beans, soak overnight
• ½ -pound ham or ham bone with meat
• 3 quarts water
• 1 cup potatoes, prepared, Mashed
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bunch celery, chopped
• 1 ¼ cup parsley, chopped

Soak beans overnight and rinse. Place in a large stock pot with ham/ham bone or bacon ends. Add 3 quarts of water. Bring to a boil then simmer for 2 hours (the longer the better my husband says). Stir in mashed potatoes, onions, celery, garlic and parsley. Simmer another 1 to 2 hours. Remove meat and bone. Dice meat and return meat to soup. Stir and serve. Serves around 12.

The US Army Quartermaster's recipe for Navy Bean Soup.Photo byUS Army / Public Domain

Traditional Navy Bean Soup

This recipe follows the traditional way of cooking ham with beans. Since ham is a traditional Easter dinner, Navy Bean Soup became a staple in the following days, using leftover bone and ham.

• 1-pound dried Navy beans
• 4 cups hot water
• 1 medium yellow onion
• 1 large carrot
• 1 stalk celery
• 2 cloves garlic
• 8 ounces thick-cut cooked ham
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1 smoked ham hock (optional)
• 6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Rinse 1-pound dried Navy beans and remove and discard split, broken, or discolored beans.
2. Place the beans and 4 cups of hot water in a large, heavy pot or Dutch oven. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes, then remove the pot from heat. Cover and let soak for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, finely chop 1 medium yellow onion (1 1/2 to 2 cups), 1 large carrot (1/2 cup), and 1 medium celery stalk (1/2 cup). Finely chop 2 garlic cloves. Dice 8 ounces of thick-cut cooked ham (1 cup).
4. When the beans are done soaking, pour through a colander to drain. Wipe the pot clean.
5. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the same pot over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, carrot, and celery, and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant and begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the ham, garlic, 2 bay leaves, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, and 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary. Sauté until fragrant, about 1 minute.
6. Add the beans and stir to combine. If desired, nestle 1 smoked ham hock into the bean mixture. Add 6 cups of low-sodium chicken broth and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, 1 hour 30 minutes to 1 hour 45 minutes.
7. Remove the ham hock. Add 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and stir until melted. Taste and season with more kosher salt as needed.

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Do you have any suggestions for ingredients? How do you make this recipe? Kindly let us know in the comments.

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References

• 1902 General Mess Manual and Cookbook
• Bean Soup from 1902 General Mess Manual and Cookbook
• Hurst Beans
• Senate Dining Room Menu
• Senate Bean Soup