COOK: Smoky White Bean Soup with Pork & Collards (Instant Pot Recipe)
- Smoky White Bean Soup Ingredients:
- Equipment & Method for Making Smoky White Bean Soup:
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We’re deep in the chill of the coldest winter weather here in the Midwest, and that means it’s soup season! This smoky white bean soup with pork and collard greens will warm you from the inside out. This substantial southern soup has got soul, y’all… and it’s an Instant Pot recipe, so you won’t be stirring this pot all day.
This recipe makes a big batch, perfect for feeding a crowd or meal-prepping, and it freezes beautifully.
It’s sized for an 8 quart Instant Pot, but you can still make it if you have a smaller IP… just cut the recipe in half (you could try it in a 6 quart with a bit less liquid during the pressure cooking, but it’s pretty close to the maximum recommended volume for a 6 quart IP). You can also make this in a regular stockpot or slow cooker, but of course, that will take more time!
It’s a hearty, filling bean soup that can stand alone for lunch, or serve with some piping hot fresh biscuits or crusty cornbread to make a substantial dinner.
Smoky White Bean Soup Ingredients:
White Beans:
I used Great Northern beans in this soup. These white beans have a creamy texture, and are rich in protein and fiber. They’re filling and nutritious with a mild flavor.
You could also substitute other beans if you prefer (or if that what you have in your pantry). You may need to adjust the cooking time slightly if you swap out a different bean variety. Cannelloni beans, or white kidney beans, are also nice in this soup and should cook for about the same amount of time. Navy beans are smaller, and will cook faster, so you’d want to reduce the pressure cooking time a bit (about 20-22 minutes should do it). Black-eyed peas will change the flavor of this soup, but are also a fantastic and traditional pairing with smoked pork and greens.
Do you need to soak your beans?
If you are using an instant pot or pressure cooker, you don’t HAVE to pre-soak. Your instant pot will cook your beans whether they’re soaked or not, with only a minute or two of difference in cooking time.
If you don’t have pre-soaked beans, add a few minutes to the pressure cooking time (27-29 minutes instead of 25-27 minutes- I give a range because you may prefer softer beans, or have had less time to presoak them, and because if you substitute smaller navy beans for the Great Northern beans, they’ll cook faster). You also should use the longer cooking time if your beans have been stored in your pantry for a long time (dry beans can keep for years, but they do get drier and harder to cook over time).
That said, we prefer to pre-soak our beans overnight or for at least a few hours anyway, discarding the soaking water and rinsing the beans before cooking. This removes some of the compounds that can cause gas and bloating or other indigestion symptoms (such as oligosaccharides or harmful lectins), and our sensitive stomachs prefer that!
Presoaking also can help the beans stay together without splitting when they cook or give them a creamier texture. But it’s not absolutely necessary, especially if legumes don’t bother your stomach. So if you’re pressed for time or forgot to soak your beans, no worries, it will be just fine!
Smoked Pork Hocks:
In a pinch, you could substitute diced smoked ham, which will give your soup a smoky flavor but it won’t have the same rich, velvety texture and mouthfeel that you get from using pork hocks. All that connective tissue in the joint is full of collagen, which is both healthy, and what gives good stock its body.
It’s the difference between, say, a bowl of thin and salty Top Ramen and a bowl of unctuous, creamy pork Tonkotsu from your favorite ramen restaurant. If you can get smoked pork hocks at your grocery store or local butcher, by all means, give them a try! They might look weird if you’re not used to nose-to-tail cooking but they’re absolutely delicious.
If your family doesn’t eat pork (and you’re still reading this)… try using smoked turkey (on the bone, not cold cuts). Smoked necks or wings would both be good choices… they’re economical but flavorful cuts that are perfect for a soup like this one.
Holy Trinity:
In this context, we’re talking about onions, celery, and peppers (and a healthy dose of garlic for good measure). You’ll need about two cups of diced onions, just under two cups of diced celery, and a few cloves of fresh garlic or the equivalent amount of chopped jarred garlic. I used yellow onions, although you could substitute white, red, or sweet onions.
The peppers are up to you- I used minced jalapenos, but you could use bell pepper if you want a milder soup, or any green pepper that you like if you want to switch it up. You could also toss in a dried hot pepper or two if you don’t have any fresh peppers on hand. It’s soup, not a souffle! It’s very forgiving and you can customize this to your tastes.
Stock:
A good chicken, pork, or turkey stock will add another layer of flavor and nutrition to your soup, although in a pinch, you could use water and bouillon base.
Herbs and seasonings:
In addition to the smoky flavor from the pork, we’re seasoning this soup with a mix of dried herbs and either Old Bay or your favorite Cajun seasoning blend. I use two teaspoons of Old Bay and one teaspoon of a Cajun seasoning salt (like Tony C’s). If you use all Cajun seasoning, you may want to reduce the initial amount and add more to taste after pressure cooking (and reduce your salt if your seasoning mix has a lot of it).
You can use dried thyme, marjoram and bay, though if you have fresh on hand feel free to substitute and be more generous with the herbs (unless you’re using fresh bay, which is usually much more potent, so use less). Ground coriander adds a nice earthy spice without heat that helps rounds out the flavor of the beans and pork. As always, adjust the salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (remember less is more, and you can always season at the table).
Collard Greens:
You’re going to add the collards towards the end, after the beans and broth have cooked and the pressure is released. If you’re not familiar with cooking collard greens, you’ll first want to wash them well to remove any grit, shake off the excess water, then strip the leaves from the tough stalks by hand. Stack the leaves up, then roll them into a salami shape, and they’re easy to cut cross-wise into ribbons. I like to cut at an angle, or make a few cuts long-ways first to get bite-size pieces.
If you’re being particularly frugal (or trying to get more fiber in your diet) you can dice the smaller ends of the collard stems and add those at the beginning to saute with the onions and celery- the pressure cooking should tenderize those otherwise tough bits as long as you cut them small, and don’t use the very tough larger ends of the stem. I usually just give the stems to my chickens (or the compost) though!
You could also use bagged, pre-washed and chopped greens. I would still pick over them and give them a rinse in a strainer or salad spinner to make sure they’re clean before tossing them in the soup.
Simmer your soup until the greens are as tender as you like. Some people like them bright green, and some prefer them cooked all the way down. Try them and see what you like! As long as you trimmed the tough stems, they don’t take long to cook at all.
Equipment & Method for Making Smoky White Bean Soup:
Instant Pot or Pressure Cooker (or regular stockpot):
This recipe is written for a large 8 quart instant pot, but can be made in a regular pressure cooker, or if you have more time, a regular stock pot or crock pot. If you are using an instant pot or other pressure cooker, you don’t need to pre-soak the beans, though you may prefer to for the reasons listed above.
You use the saute setting to cook the onions and garlic first in a bit of olive oil or butter until they’re translucent and beginning to color, adding the celery once the onions have softened. Then, add the herbs and seasonings, the pork hock or hocks, the white beans, and the stock.
Cover, then cook on High Pressure for 25-27 minutes, then do a natural release. Carefully remove the pork hocks with a slotted spoon or tongs, and set them aside to cool for a few minutes. Press the slow cooker button to keep your soup hot.
Wash and strip the collard greens from their stems, then stack and roll the leaves and cut them into ribbons of bite-sized pieces. Stir these into the hot soup and let simmer until the greens are tender.
Meanwhile, carefully remove the bones from the pork hocks and discard (if you have a bag of trimmings for stock in your freezer, and the bones still have a fair bit of collagen on them, you can add them to your stock bag, if you don’t mind a lightly smoky stock).
Shred or chop the meat and skin into small soup-sized pieces, and stir this into the soup. Remove any tough cartilage and make sure there are no bones, then chop or shred everything else and add the rest to your soup! Trust me. It’s good. Don’t be afraid of the fatty or gelatinous bits- after they’re chopped, they’ll dissolve into the soup, and will give it a delicious velvety richness.
Recipe Adjustments for Crock Pot or Stove-top Preparation
If you are cooking this soup on the stove-top or especially, in a crock-pot, soaking the dry beans will reduce the cook time from many hours to just a couple, so you definitely don’t want to skip this step if you don’t have an instant pot! At minimum, do a quick soak. To do a quick soak if you didn’t soak the beans overnight, put your rinsed beans in a large pot with enough water to cover them by a few inches, bring to a boil, cover the pot, turn off the heat and let them soak for 45-90 minutes, then drain and proceed as if you had remembered or planned ahead (hey it happens to all of us, no biggie).
Crock Pot Instructions
To make this soup in a crock pot, saute the onions, garlic, and celery in a pan on the stove, then transfer them and the rest of the ingredients to your crock pot, bring to a simmer, then let cook on medium to low heat until the beans are cooked and the pork hocks are tender (the bones should slip easily from them). It’s best to start this early in the day if you’re doing the slow cooker method, and then it will be ready in time for dinner. Add the collards near the end of the cooking time, as written in the IP recipe instructions.
Stove Top Instructions
The stove-top cook time is about two to three times as long as the Instant Pot timing (depending on whether you have soaked the beans overnight or not). And of course, unlike with the Instant Pot method, you’ll need to periodically stir the pot and check for scorching as it simmers on low heat.
Smoky White Bean Soup with Pork & Collards (Instant Pot Recipe)
Equipment
- 8 Quart Instant pot or pressure cooker
Ingredients
- 16 oz dried great northern beans (soaked or dry, see recipe notes)
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil, butter, or bacon fat
- 2 cups onion, medium diced
- 1 ¾ cups celery, medium diced
- 2 quarts chicken, turkey, pork, or vegetable stock
- 2-3 each dried bay leaves (2 large or 3 small)
- 4-6 cloves garlic
- 1 medium jalapeno, seeded & minced
- 1-2 smoked pork hocks (one large or two medium)
- 2-3 tsp Old Bay or cajun seasoning
- 2 tsp coriander seed, ground
- 1 tsp thyme leaves
- 1 tsp marjoram
- salt and black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Use the saute setting on your Instant pot to cook the onions and garlic first in a bit of olive oil or butter until they're translucent and beginning to color. Add the celery once the onions have softened, along with the herbs and seasonings.
- Next, add the pork hock or hocks, the soaked or dry white beans, the stock, and the hot peppers (you can also saute the peppers with the celery and onions first).
- Cover, then cook on High Pressure for 25-27 minutes, then do a natural release (this will take 15-25 minutes. Turn off the keep warm setting to cool and release pressure faster). Remove the lid carefully once the pressure has released.
- While the soup is cooking, wash and strip the collard greens from their stems, then stack and roll the leaves into a long thick cigar shape. Slice across this on a bias to cut them into ribbons of bite-sized pieces. Set aside to add to the soup after it finishes pressure cooking.
- Carefully remove the pork hocks from the soup with a slotted spoon or tongs, and set them aside to cool for a few minutes. Press the slow cooker button to keep your soup hot.
- Stir the washed and chopped collard greens into the hot soup and let simmer for a few minutes or until the greens are as tender as you like them.
- Meanwhile, carefully remove the bones from the pork hocks and discard them (or freeze to make a batch of smoky bone broth later).
- Shred or chop the meat and skin into small soup-sized pieces. Check again for bones or tough cartilage, and stir the pork pieces into the soup.
- If the soup is thicker than you want, you can thin it with more broth or even boiling water. Taste, adjust seasoning if needed, and serve!
- Refrigerate, or portion and freeze, any leftover soup promptly, and reheat individual portions of leftover soup unless you'll be using the whole pot.
So good!