This hearty, spicy soup is full of spices, beans, veggies, and tender pork pieces! I make this pot several times during winter, and it’s so yummy I never get tired of it.
Begin with Braised Pork Shoulder
Tender pieces of braised pork shoulder and braising liquid make wonderful broth for this soup. You don’t need the entire pork shoulder for this soup recipe, just one of the braised chunks will be enough, unless you want to add more.
How to Make Braised Pork Shoulder
It only takes simple steps to make braised pork shoulder:
- Get good quality pork shoulder that is 2 – 2½ lb and cut it into 4-5 large chunks.
- Season pork shoulder chunks with 3 tbsp turbinado sugar and 3 tsp salt.
- Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add olive oil and sear both sides of pork chunks so pork chunks have nice brown crust on both sides. Using high quality Dutch oven like one made by Staub will brown your pork evenly. I’ve had my Staub Dutch oven for about a decade now and it’s one of the best investments I made in a cookware.
- Add onions, garlic and fill the pot with enough water to cover the ingredients.
- Simmer for 1½ hours over low heat or until pork is tender!
You can store the rest of braised pork by packaging them individually in a plastic freezer bag. Make sure to also add at least a cup of braising liquid to the bag so the pork doesn’t dry out. Pork will keep in the freezer for 1-2 months; you can make another pot of delicious beans and veggie soup or make other tasty dishes like tacos, wraps, toasted sandwiches, pasta, stew, or casseroles!
Types of Beans to Choose From
Now that we got the pork shoulder taken care of, we can talk about beans. For this soup, I chose meaty, red kidney beans and navy beans for its creamy texture, but you can also use other beans like cannellini, cranberry or black beans. I like to stick to dry beans and usually purchase beans from Doudlah Farms and Food to Live which are both available on Amazon. You can certainty use canned beans for this soup if you don’t want to go through the process of hydrating and cooking the beans.
How to Make Veggie and Bean Soup with Pork
- First sauté onions, garlic and Fresno chili pepper. Sauté for few minutes until onions and chili pepper are tender.
- Add cumin seeds, dried oregano, chili powder and ground paprika and stir to combine with onion mixture.
- Toss diced beets to the pot, mix well until beets are coated evenly with spices and cook for 5 minutes in the pot.
- Stir in green beans, cooked kidney beans, navy beans, pork shoulder and combine with beets and onion mixture.
- Finally, add Marinara sauce, water and bay leaves to the pot. Reduce heat to low, place cover on the pot and simmer for 1- 1½ hours. This soup may seem complicated because of the ingredient list, but it’s really not hard. You end up with flavorful, delicious and healthy pot of soup!
Serving Ideas for Beans and Veggie Soup
Serve this hearty soup with crusty bread, rice, toasted tortilla or toasted flatbread. You may also need a large bowl to serve this soup, which is why I love soup bowls (also known as pudding bowls) from Burleigh Pottery. This soup bowl is 8″ in diameter and it’s large enough that it can be used to serve hearty portion of stews, rice and pasta dishes as well!
More Soup Recipes
Beans and Veggie Soup with Braised Pork
Ingredients
Braised Pork Shoulder
- 2 – 2½ lb pork shoulder cut into 4-5 large chunks
- 3 tbsp turbinado sugar
- 3 tsp salt
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 large sweet onion sliced into wedges
- 2 garlic cloves
- water for braising
Beans and Veggie Soup with Braised Pork
- 3 cups cooked black turtle beans or red beans. If using dry beans, cook beans according to package instructions . If using canned beans, drain the beans and set it aside.
- 1 cup cooked navy beans. If using dry beans, cook beans according to package instructions. If using canned beans, drain the beans and set it aside.
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- ½ sweet onion diced
- 1 fresno chili pepper stem removed and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp dried oregano
- 2 tbsp chili powder
- 1 tbsp ground paprika
- 2 medium yellow beets, cubed
- 1½ cup green beans, cut to 1½" pieces
- 1 large chunk braised pork shoulder, chopped
- 1½ cup braising liquid from pork shoulder
- 1 cup marinara sauce
- water for simmering
- 3 bay leaves
- 2-3 sprigs fresh Italian parsley leaves for garnish (optional)
Instructions
Braised Pork Shoulder
- Sprinkle pork shoulder chunks with salt, then coat pork with turbinado sugar.
- Heat cast iron pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Once oil starts to sizzle, place pork shoulder pieces flat and sear each side until deep golden brown.
- Turn heat to low and add onions and garlic to the pork. Add just enough water in the pot to cover pork and onions. Place cover on the pot and simmer for 1½ hours or until pork is tender.
- Once pork pieces are tender, take one piece out of the pot and dice into ½" pieces and set it aside.
Spicy Bean Soup
- Heat large soup pot over medium heat and add olive oil. Once olive oil is sizzling, add onions, Fresno chili and sauté until onions and chili are tender. Stir in garlic and combine with onions and Fresno chili.
- Next add cumin seeds, dried oregano, chili powder, and ground paprika to the pot and combine all the spices together. Be careful not to burn the spices. Once spices are combined, mix well with onions and Fresno Chili.
- Stir in beets to the pot and sauté for 5 minutes. Add pork shoulder, braising liquid, black beans, navy beans, marinara sauce and mix well until well combined.
- Pour just enough water in the pot to cover the ingredients, then stir in green beans. Reduce heat to low, add bay leaves then place cover on the pot.
- Simmer for 1- 1½ hours or until veggies are tender, stirring the pot occasionally. Serve the soup hot and garnish with fresh Italian parsley leaves.
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