Spanish Bean Soup is a brothy Florida favorite: tender garbanzo beans and potatoes simmered with a ham bone, a beef bone and salt pork, seasoned with saffron and paprika, and finished with thin rounds of Spanish chorizo. It’s a weekend soup that turns a leftover ham bone into a hearty dinner for 4.
How to make it: Soak the beans overnight, simmer them with the bones for 45 minutes, then add fried salt pork and onion, the potatoes, paprika and saffron, and cook until the potatoes and beans are tender. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the sliced chorizo (browned first if it’s raw) and serve.
Why You’ll Love It
- Uses up a leftover ham bone: it simmers with the beans, and whatever meat clings to it goes back into the soup.
- Mostly hands-off: the beans cook gently on their own while you fry the salt pork and onion in a skillet.
- About an hour at the stove: put the beans in to soak the night before, and the rest moves quickly.
- Hearty and brothy: creamy beans, soft potatoes, salty pork and rounds of chorizo in every bowl.
Ingredient Notes
Garbanzo beans: Buy dried garbanzo beans, also called chickpeas. Half a pound of dried beans makes 4 servings.
Ham bone: A leftover ham bone with some meat still on it is what you want. Not every grocery store carries ham bones, so call before you go. A smoked ham hock works in its place, or use 1 cup of diced smoked ham.
Beef bone: Beef stew bones work well here.
Salt pork: Cut it into thin strips before it goes into the skillet. Bacon can stand in for it.
Spanish chorizo: You need one sausage, sliced into thin rounds. Check the package: if it’s raw, you’ll brown it before it goes in, as step 4 explains.
Potatoes: Two potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters. Red potatoes and Yukon golds work here too.
Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dried garbanzo beans (also called chickpeas)
- 1 tablespoon salt, for soaking the beans, plus more to taste
- 2 quarts water
- 1 ham bone (or a smoked ham hock)
- 1 beef bone
- 1/4 pound salt pork, cut in thin strips
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 Spanish chorizo sausage, sliced in thin rounds
How to Make Spanish Bean Soup
1. Soak the beans. Wash the garbanzo beans and throw out any with visible imperfections. Put them in a bowl, cover with water, stir in the 1 tablespoon of salt and soak overnight. Drain off the salted water.
2. Simmer with the bones. Put the beans in a 4-quart soup pot and add the 2 quarts of water, the ham bone and the beef bone. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes, skimming the foam from the top.
3. Fry the salt pork. While the beans cook, fry the salt pork slowly in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté it lightly.
4. Add the potatoes and spices. Add the salt pork and onion to the beans along with the potatoes, paprika and saffron. Add salt to taste and cook until the potatoes are tender and the beans are tender but not overcooked. If your chorizo is raw, brown the slices in the skillet until they reach 160°F while the pot simmers, then set them aside.
5. Finish with the chorizo. Lift out the bones, pull off any meat and stir it back into the pot. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the sliced chorizo and serve hot in deep soup bowls.
What Spices Go in Spanish Bean Soup
The spice list is short. A pinch of saffron and 1/2 teaspoon of paprika go in with the potatoes, and salt goes in to taste. Saffron is the traditional spice in Spanish bean soup.
| Spice | How much | When it goes in |
|---|---|---|
| Saffron threads | 1 pinch | With the potatoes |
| Paprika | 1/2 teaspoon | With the potatoes |
| Salt | To taste | With the potatoes, then again before serving |
| Bay leaf (optional) | 1 leaf | With the bones; take it out before serving |
| Garlic (optional) | 2 to 3 cloves, minced | With the onion |
| Black pepper | To taste | Before serving |
No saffron? Sazón, a seasoning blend, can take its place. Small (.035-ounce) yellow flavoring and coloring packets are the other shortcut. Use about 1 1/2 packets for this half pound of beans (3 for a pound), stirred in with the beans at the start.
To bloom the spices first: stir the paprika and saffron, plus the garlic if you’re using it, into the softened onion in the skillet. Cook for 1 minute, until fragrant, then add everything to the pot with the potatoes.
When to salt: Hold the salt until the potatoes go in, then taste and adjust. Taste once more right before serving.
Tips for Success
Forgot to soak the beans?
Put the beans in a pot, cover them with water and bring them to a boil on the stovetop. Lower the heat to a high simmer for 1/2 hour, drain, and carry on with step 2.
What if the soup gets too thick?
The liquid cooks down and gets absorbed as the soup simmers. Add a little more water, or chicken broth, whenever it looks low, until the soup is as brothy as you like it.
How do you know the beans are done?
Bite into one once the potatoes are close. If it’s still firm in the middle, keep the pot simmering, adding a little water as needed, until the beans are tender. Then take it off the heat and add the chorizo.
Variations
- With tomato and green pepper: cook a chopped ripe tomato and half a green bell pepper with the bones, and use chicken stock, or a mix of stock and water, in place of plain water.
- Smoked sausage instead of chorizo: use beef smoked sausage, red potatoes cut in about 1/2 inch cubes and chicken broth, and let everything simmer together for 2 to 3 hours.
- Browned chorizo: brown the sliced chorizo in a separate skillet over medium heat, then add it with the potatoes so it simmers in the soup.
Storage & Reheating
USDA FSIS says to refrigerate leftovers within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers. A big pot of soup takes a long time to cool, so divide it into smaller containers. Eat it within 3 to 4 days, or freeze it for 3 to 4 months and thaw it in the refrigerator. Reheat soup covered, on the stove or in the microwave, until it comes to a rolling boil (leftovers should reach 165°F). Don’t reheat it in a slow cooker.
What to Serve With It
Set out crusty bread, like a loaf of rustic German bread, or a pan of buttermilk cornbread, and a side salad such as spinach salad with warm bacon dressing. If you like a pot of beans on a cold night, try slow cooker 15 bean soup, crock pot ham and beans or slow cooker Amish lima beans. For another pork and potato soup, make Irish bacon, cabbage and potato soup.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the ingredients in Spanish bean soup?
Dried garbanzo beans, a ham bone and a beef bone, salt pork, onion, potatoes and Spanish chorizo, seasoned with saffron, paprika and salt. Water is the cooking liquid.
Why is Spanish bean soup linked to Florida?
It’s closely tied to Tampa Bay, and it’s a staple in central Florida kitchens. It also goes by potaje de garbanzos or simply garbanzo bean soup.
Can I make Spanish bean soup in a slow cooker?
Yes, with the smoked sausage variation. Put the soaked beans, potatoes, sausage, seasonings and chicken broth in the slow cooker, cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours. Add more broth as it’s absorbed, and thaw any frozen meat first.
How do I make a bigger pot?
For 8 bowls, double every ingredient, starting with 1 pound of dried garbanzo beans. Use a large Dutch oven in place of the 4-quart pot.
Final Notes
Slice the chorizo (and brown it, if it’s raw) while the potatoes cook, so it’s ready the moment the pot comes off the heat. If you make this soup, tell me how it turned out in the comments.
Spanish Bean Soup
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Ingredients
- 1/2 pound dried garbanzo beans also called chickpeas
- 1 tablespoon salt for soaking the beans, plus more to taste
- 2 quarts water
- 1 ham bone or a smoked ham hock
- 1 beef bone
- 1/4 pound salt pork cut in thin strips
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 potatoes peeled and cut in quarters
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 Spanish chorizo sausage sliced in thin rounds
Instructions
- Wash the garbanzo beans and throw out any with visible imperfections. Put them in a bowl, cover with water, stir in the 1 tablespoon of salt and soak overnight. Drain off the salted water.
- Put the beans in a 4-quart soup pot and add the 2 quarts of water, the ham bone and the beef bone. Cook over low heat for 45 minutes, skimming the foam from the top.
- While the beans cook, fry the salt pork slowly in a skillet. Add the onion and sauté it lightly.
- Add the salt pork and onion to the beans along with the potatoes, paprika and saffron. Add salt to taste and cook until the potatoes are tender and the beans are tender but not overcooked. If your chorizo is raw, brown the slices in the skillet until they reach 160°F while the pot simmers, then set them aside.
- Lift out the bones, pull off any meat and stir it back into the pot. Remove the pot from the heat, stir in the sliced chorizo and serve hot in deep soup bowls.
