This post is sponsored by my friends at Zoup! Good, Really Good® Broth, but the opinions expressed here are all my own- just as always. Thanks for supporting the brands that support my family and me. 
I just love a big comforting bowl of soup. I’m not sure what it is about it, but sometimes nothing warms your soul and fills your belly quite like it.
But when most people think soup, they think of a big pot that’s been simmering all day. Believe it or not, soup doesn’t have to be an hours-long affair.
Nope! Soup, when done right, can have tons of great flavor in less than an hour! Seriously! Which makes it a great option when you’re looking for a quick and easy weeknight meal.
The trick is to start with the best, most flavorful ingredients.
That’s one of the reasons I love using Zoup! Good, Really Good® Broth in my soups.
From the minute you crack open the seal on the recyclable glass jar, the smell tells you this isn’t any ordinary broth. It’s kettle cooked in small batches using the finest ingredients. The flavor is complex, but balanced and seriously tastes like homemade. It’s also low in calories, paleo-friendly, and completely free of artificial ingredients, preservatives, hormones, gluten, GMO’s, fat, trans fat and saturated fat.
It’s the perfect base for my Collard Green Soup with Ham and Beans.
This recipe is a whole lot of Southern in one bowl, folks. Zoup!’s Chicken Bone Broth is combined with onions, garlic, diced ham, collard greens, tomatoes and navy beans for a lip-smackingly delicious, hearty dish that’s seriously ready in about 30 minutes.
Let’s break this down a bit…
We covered the broth. It’s amazing. It was actually created by a 20+ year soup industry veteran and the folks behind the popular Zoup! eatery, so you know it’s good. Visit ZoupBroth.com to learn more and follow @ZoupGoodReallyGood on Facebook and Instagram and @ZoupGoodReallyGoodBroth on Pinterest.
To make this soup quick and easy, I opted to use frozen chopped collards from your grocer’s freezer section. That said, you could use about 2 pounds of fresh washed and chopped collard greens. You’d just want to allow those to cook pretty much completely before you added in the tomatoes and beans – which will take a bit longer than the frozen variety. You could also use other greens like kale or turnip.
Another important flavor component here is smoked ham. I like to grab those packages of chopped ham right in the meat case of the grocery store to make this even easier. That said, 3 cups of any diced leftover ham work, too. You’ll just probably want something a little more hefty than the thinly sliced deli sandwich style ham.
For the beans, I went with the mild flavored navy bean, but you could use pretty much any canned bean – cannellini, great northern, even black eyed peas would work.
And as much as I know y’all hate the vagueness of the phrase “add salt and pepper to taste,” it’s really important here. The level of salt in the other ingredients will vary – especially in the ham – so the amount of salt you’ll need to make the soup taste right will vary from batch to batch. Add a sprinkle and taste it. If it needs more, add another sprinkle. Just remember you can always add more, but it’s pretty hard to take it away.
Serve this soup up with some piping hot cornbread and you’ve got an easy meal that’s perfect for those chilly weeknights – or any night for that matter! Y’all enjoy!
Zoup! broth is available for purchase at retailers across the country and online at ZoupBroth.com and Amazon.com. Right now, you can use code “128Zoup20” to get 20% off your ZOUP! order on Amazon. (Limited to one code use per customer.)
Recipe Card
Collard Green Soup with Ham and Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 to 3 cups chopped, smoked ham
- 1 large onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 (32-ounce) jars Zoup! Good, Really Good® Chicken Bone Broth
- 2 (16-ounce) bags frozen chopped collard greens
- 2 (15.5-ounce) can navy beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 (14.5-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
- salt
- pepper
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a large stock pot or dutch oven of medium-high heat. Add the onion and ham and cook until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for about 1 minute.
- Add the broth and collard greens, bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Stir in the beans and tomatoes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and cook for 20 to 25 minutes or until the collards are cooked to your desired tenderness. Serve with piping hot cornbread.
Please note:
If nutritional values are provided, they are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, I recommend grabbing your favorite brands and plugging those ingredients into an online nutritional calculator.
The collard green ham and bean soup was delicious. I had some the next day and the flavor was even better. I will definitely make again. YUM!!!
So glad you enjoyed it! I agree, this soup (and so many other things) is better the next day.
I do this with a ham bone and all other ingredients except tomatoes. Will add those next time! Ty, Stacey!! Great recipe!
Thanks, Anita!
Used smoked sausage instead of ham and totally forgot to add the tomatoes. The soup still tasted fantastic!
Glad it turned out great for you!
Thanks for sharing! Had some leftover tomatoes and collards from the garden, chopped them up, used dried black eyed peas, added 4 celery stalks, 1 red pepper, ghee for oil and 1 tsp liquid crab boil and creole seasonings and threw it in the instant pot for 30 min. Absolutely delicious and hearty soup for dinner.
Sounds amazing!
Has anyone tried this with Country Ham?
This soup is excellent! I made it using canned black eyed peas in a old South tradition of pairing collards and peas. Everyone with whom I shared my soup was impressed by it’s delicious flavor.
I’m so glad everyone liked it!
This soup was absolutely delicious. I used Garbanzo beans instead of Navy beans. I shared some with colleagues at the office and they loved it! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Awesome! Glad to hear everyone enjoyed it.
You can’t see me, but I am doing my happy dance! LOVE collards (must have been from the south in a past life… I can’t wait to make this, but we got 24 inches of snow yesterday so it will have to wait, still diggin’ out. Thank you!
Oh no! Hope y’all thaw out soon!
Is there any substitute for the tomatoes? I love tomatoes but can’t have them (night shade foods).
I suppose the best option would be to simply leave them out altogether. The soup should be fine without having to substitute something.
What can I use besides bone broth?
Any stock or broth, should work. You might just have to adjust the seasoning a bit.
This soup is so good! Thank you for sharing it, I can always count on your recipes. Have you ever tried canned black eyed peas in it? Would they hold up or be mushy?
Thanks so much, Vikki! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed it! Yes, you can certainly use canned black eyed peas! I might wait and add them when the collards are about halfway done since they are a bit smaller than the navy beans. They’d probably be ok anyway, but this will make sure of it!
This sounds comforting but will have to sub the collards for Turnips. My hubby doesn’t care for collards. I even use the Glory Brand of Turnips which he really loves. So far I’ve not been able to find Zoup brand of broth but I have some homemade in the freezer so that should work too. Only needs a little hot pepper in the soup and some jalapeno corn bread to go with it. Can’t wait to make it.
Sounds delish! Enjoy!!
Oh my! You had me at collard greens! I’ll be making it this weekend! YUMM!
Sure hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I do!