Portuguese Bean Soup (2024)

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Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock & Linguica

This post was sponsored by S&W Beans and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Satisfy a hungry family with this Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock & Linguica.

Boy, does this Portuguese Bean Soup bring back memories of family dinners in Hawaii! This soup was one of my dad’s favorites things to eat, so growing up, it was something I ate quite often. It’s a hearty soup that hits the spot after a long day at school or work. Yet, I’ve only recently started to make this for my family. Crazy, right?!

Now, I have to give credit to mom. The base of this Portuguese bean soup is her recipe and there are only a few changes I made to the recipe to suit my family’s taste.

The first change, I made was to use a smoked ham hock instead of uncooked ham hock and add more tomato flavor to the stock.

Another change was to increase the amount of potatoes from 1/2 cup to 4 cups! My kids LOVE potatoes and anything less would result in a riot…no joke.

Finally, the last change was to add more beans! After all, it is called Portuguese BEAN soup. I kept the traditional kidney beans. But instead of dried beans that must be soaked for several hours, I chose the convenience of canned S&W Beans. S&W Beans won’t fall apart and always taste great. It’s probably because S&W Beans has the highest standards in the industry and have been doing beans right for over 120 years! Now, grab this S&W Beans couponfor some savings and let’s get to the soup making!

Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hock and Linguica

Originally, this soup was brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese immigrants that came to work on the plantations. I can’t say how authentic it is to the original recipe because most island recipes end up being a blend of multiple cultures. But who cares? It’s delicious! My teens finished off the entire pot in a little over 24 hours! I made this soup on Sunday morning and it was gone by Monday afternoon!

One note before starting this recipe. I don’t like soggy macaroni, so I do not add macaroni into the soup. Instead, I cook the macaroni in a separate pot of salted water and add it to the bowl when served.

Portuguese Bean Soup Stock

Add the smoked ham hocks into a large pot (10 quart is ideal) and cover with water.
Add in the herbs and vegetables. Turn the heat on to medium high.
Bring to a boil. Lower the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 2 1/2 – 3hours.
While the stock is cooking, prep all the vegetables and linguica sausage for later.

Remove ham hocks and vegetables. Discard the vegetables and remove the meat from the ham hocks. Rough chop and set aside for later.
Skim out the remaining the items in the soup. There should be about 8 – 9 cups of stock in the pot. If not, add a bit more water.
Add in onions, diced tomatoes, tomato sauce,tomato paste, and granulated beef bouillon. Cover and simmer for 30-minutes.

Portuguese Bean Soup Add-ins

Add carrots, potato, and linguica sausage. Bring heat up to medium, cover and boil for 10 minutes. Add salt/pepper to taste.

Now, add the S&W Kidney Beans(I used the low sodium) and S&W White Beans. I like the contrast between the firm kidney beans and creamy white beans. However, feel free to substitute with one of the other many varieties of S&W Beans.

The last step, add in the cabbage and the smoked ham hocks. Cover and cook for an additional 10 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the cabbage is soft withjust a slight crunch. Taste and adjust the salt/pepper to taste.

To serve, add macaroni to the bottom of the bowl (add rice too if you’re from Hawaii) and top with big scoops of the Portuguese Bean Soup with Smoked Ham Hocks and Linguica.

Ingredients

Soup Stock

2 1/2 - 3 lbs. smoked ham hocks
10 cups water or enough to cover the ham hocks
2 bay leaves
1 bunch cilantro
3 -4 celery stalks
1/4 tsp. pepper corns
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
2 - 8 oz. cans tomato sauce

Soup Add-ins

1 medium onion, sliced
1 - 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups chopped carrots, 1/2" cut
4 cups red potatoes, chopped 1 - 1 1/2" cubes
1 lb. Mild Linguica sausage/Portuguese sausage (use hot for a spicy soup)
1 - 15 oz. can kidney beans
1 - 15 oz. can white beans
1/2 head of a small cabbage, thick chopped
salt and pepper to taste
2 1/2 - 3 cups macaroni
Optional - 6 oz. can tomato paste
Optional - 1 - 2 tsp. beef bouillon

Instructions

Soup stock

Add the smoked ham hocks into a large pot (10 quart is ideal) and cover with water. Add in remaining soup stock ingredients and bring to boil over medium high heat. Cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Add more water as water evaporates to keep hocks covered. While the stock is cooking, prep the vegetables and linguica sausage.
Remove ham hocks and celery/cilantro. Discard the celery/cilantro and remove the meat from the ham hocks. Rough chop and set aside for later.Skim out the peppercorns, bay leaves, and oil at the top of the soup. There should be at least 9 -10 cups of stock. If not, add water.

Soup add-ins

Add in onions, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce,tomato paste (leave out if you prefer less tomato flavor), and granulated beef bouillon. Cover and simmer for 30-minutes
Add carrots, potato, and linguica sausage. Bring heat up to medium, cover and boil for about 15 minutes. Taste and add salt/pepper to taste. This is also a great time to start cooking the macaroni (step 5).
Add in the beans, smoked ham hocks, and cabbage. Cover and cook for an additional 10 -15 minutes or until the cabbage and potatoes are cooked.
In a separate pot, cook macaroni according to package directions. Set aside to add into soup bowls later. This allows each individual to add as much or little macaroni to their bowls and prevents the macaroni from getting soggy.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 10Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 1122Total Fat: 26gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 14gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 4247mgCarbohydrates: 133gFiber: 14gSugar: 12gProtein: 91g