Smoked Turkey & Bean Soup Recipe Rivals Traditional Ham (2024)

Our Smoked Turkey & Bean Soup Recipe rivals traditional ham soup for ease and flavor, but leftover ham bone or ham hocks can be substituted.

Updated withhomemade bouillon and pressure cookerinstructions!

Better Than the Traditional Favorite

Ham and navy bean soup used to be our traditional post-holiday soup to use the leftover ham bone. When we discovered smoked turkey thighs and drumsticks at the market, we realized we don’t have to wait to finish up a ham to make it.

Now we make a big pot of whitebean soup with smoked turkey with whole wheat cornbread all winter long.

Another ingredient that sets our recipe apart is the addition of homemade beef bouillon (pork works too). This concentrated flavor boost does wonders for any soup and it’s easy to collect and store.

Navy, Great Northern, pinto, black-eyed peas, or the 15 bean concoction are all good choices for this recipe. Our favorite is cannellini, which is a white kidney bean with a soft, creamy texture.

Beans are a great source of fiber, protein, vitamins,and minerals—one meal that can help you keep thoseNew Year’s resolutionsto take better care of yourself.

You’ll notice we also add red lentils, which completely break down giving the soup a thick, hearty consistency. We find red lentils create a pleasing color whereas green or brown lentils make the soup look muddy.

TIP: If you experience bloating or gas after eating beans, digestive enzymes with alpha-galactosidase can help tremendously. It breaks down the carbohydrates in beans into simpler sugars to make them easier to digest.

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Yes, you can smoke your own turkey, but you don’t have to.

To smoke your own turkey, take a look atCharbroil’s instructions for electric smokersorTraeger’s instructions on their wood smoker.

If you don’t have a smoker to make your own smoked turkey,Diestel Smoked Turkey Drums & Thighs make it easy to get the sweet, smoky flavor bean soup demands. Here in Colorado, this premium turkey brand is found in natural food markets.

We prefer Diestel brand because of their sustainable farming methods and natural, hardwood smoking process. The flavor is pleasantly smoky and lightly seasoned, giving me more control over the amount of salt.

Each thigh or drumstick is individually wrapped so it’s easy to customize the amount or combinationyou want.In this case, two smoked turkey thighs provide plenty of meat for 5 quarts ofhearty bean soup.

How to Prep Smoked Turkey for Bean Soup

When prepping the smoked turkey to create bite-size pieces for the soup, you want to separate bones, connective tissue, skin, and any tough, leathery smoked meat.

As you pull the meat apart with your fingers, you can feel these tougher pieces as they don’t break apart easily.

This isn’t the skin, which is easy to remove. This is the exposed meat (not covered by skin) that gets tough and forms a rubbery type of skin when it is smoked over a long period.

I usually discard these pieces because there are so few, but if you want to include them in the soup, just be sure they are minced fine. These tougher edges won’t break down or soften even if cooked longer. The best way to know is to take a bite yourself to decide.

Homemade Bouillon

Every time you roast beef, chicken, or pork save the pan drippings. These rendered juices are the best all-natural bouillon you will ever find.

Tips for Saving & Using Pan Drippings for Bouillon

• Watch the bottom of the pan when you’re roasting meat so you can add a little water to keep the pan drippings from burning.
• If the pan drippings are thick or too dry to pour out of the pan, add a little water to the pan and dislodge the browned juices with a spatula. The water will turn brown as the browned bits mix with it. Do this until all the roasted juices have lifted from the pan and can be poured into a storage container, freezer bag, or ice cube tray.
• The amount of liquid will dictate the container used to freeze it. Ice cube trays work well for this as each compartment is about 1 tablespoon, which is handy. When using freezer bags, keep the amount to about 1 cup per bag and freeze flat. That way, it remains easy to break off pieces as needed.
• You can either skim the fat from the concentrated juices with a spoon or allow to cool in the refrigerator and simply lift off the fat that settles on the top before freezing. If there is enough liquid, a fat separator like the one shown in the photo works well too.

Homemade bouillon is absolutely the best. I’ve searched everywhere for bouillon with clean ingredients, free of maltodextrin, soy, yeast extract, and the like without success.

When You Don’t Have Homemade Bouillon

When I am out of homemade bouillon, the one I do use in a pinch is Better Than Bouillon Organic Roasted Beef or Chicken Base.

Another option for replacing bouillon in recipes is demi-glace, which has more straightforward ingredients. Most are made with wheat flour, so you have to specifically look for gluten-free.

Turkey & Bean Soup Step by Step

1. Soak beans in salted water for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse well.
2. Prep and saute onion, carrot, celery, and garlic.
3. Add everything else, then add enough stock/broth/water to cover by 2 to 3-inches above the solid ingredients.
4. Simmer for 2 hours on the stove.
5. Separate meat from the bones.
6. Return meat to the pot; season with salt and freshly ground pepper.
7. Ladle into warmed bowls and sprinkle with fresh parsley.

Smoky bean soup andsweet cornbreadgo together like movies and popcorn.

I cannot imagine bean soup withoutwhole-graincornbread.

Start with one piece in your bowl to soak up the broth and crown another one with butter and honey (this also qualifies as dessert).

More Bean Recipes You’ll Love

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Broccoli Rabe

Black Bean Confetti Salsa