Caldo Gallego (Galician White Bean Soup)

This soup always reminds me of my uncle. Every time he’d visit us here in South Florida, we would take him to a local Cuban restaurant and he would always order Caldo Gallego. Sometimes, he would order sopa de pollo too and sometimes sopa de chicharos. YUM.

Caldo Gallego [pronounced kahl-doh gah-yeh-goh] translates to Galician Broth. It’s a popular Spanish Galician white bean soup made with white beans, ham, bacon, chorizo, and vegetables.

Every country/culture has its own variations since there’s no specific recipe. The Cuban-inspired Caldo Gallego below is the one my Cuban family always made at home. It’s hearty, comforting, and SO delicious!

Let me show you how to make it!

Ingredients You’ll Need

• Dried cannellini beans. You can also use navy beans or white kidney beans.

• Smoked ham hock, Spanish chorizo, and bacon. Gives this soup a smoky, salty boost of flavor.

• Extra virgin olive oil. To cook the sofrito.

• Onions, green bell peppers, garlic. The trifecta! This Cuban sofrito is the perfect trinity of aromatics that starts every meal.

• Smoked paprika, dried oregano, bay leaves, salt. Spices! Be careful not to oversalt since the ham hock, bacon, chorizo, and chicken broth already have sodium. Taste and adjust as you go.

• Chicken broth. Light and full of flavor. You can also use water with a crushed bouillion cube in a pinch.

• Russet potatoes. Absorbs all the delicious flavors of this soup.

• Chopped collard greens. You can also use sweet turnip greens, green cabbage, Swiss chard, or kale.

Soaking The Beans

First things first, we need to soak the white kidney beans. There are two methods that you can do – an overnight method when you have time to spare and the quick soaking method when you’re pressed for time (aren’t we always?).

Lay the beans on a clean work surface and remove any stones, etc. Rinse the beans under cold water.

Overnight Method

• In a large saucepan, place the beans with enough water to cover the beans. Soak in the water for 6 hours or up to overnight. Do not drain.

Quick Soaking Method

• In a large saucepan, place the beans with enough water to cover the beans. Bring to a boil for 2-3 minutes, uncovered, then remove from the heat, cover, and let it sit for 1 hour. You can then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Step-By-Step Instructions

• Start the cooking process. Place the ham hock in the saucepan. If needed, add more water up to 2 inches above the beans and ham hock. Bring to a boil then reduce to a low heat. Cover; Simmer for 1 hour. Remove the ham hock and cut the meat off the bone. Set aside.

• Make a sofrito. While the beans are simmering, heat the olive oil at medium-high heat in a Dutch oven. Add the bacon and pan fry for 5 minutes. Add onions and green bell peppers. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the garlic, smoked paprika, oregano, and bay leaves.

• Continue cooking the beans. Drain the beans. Stir in the beans and chicken broth in the Dutch oven. Reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, for 1 hour or until the beans have softened. If needed, add more broth or water to prevent the soup from drying out.

• Finish cooking. Once the beans have softened, stir in the chorizo, potatoes, and collard greens in the Dutch oven. Cover and cook for another 20-25 minutes until the potatoes are fork-tender. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Remove bay leaves. Serve the soup with crusty/toasty bread and enjoy!

Using Canned White Beans

If you want to use canned cannellini beans, you can. No judgment from me!

• The first step is to cut the ham hock into pieces. Set aside.

• In a Dutch oven, heat the olive oil at medium-high heat. Add the bacon and pan fry for 5 minutes. Add onions and green bell peppers. Saute for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Stir in the smoked paprika, oregano, and bay leaves.

• Add 2 cans of cannellini beans (15.5 ounces each) with the liquid (do not drain), 4 cups of water, ham pieces, chorizo, and potatoes to the Dutch oven.

• Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer for 30-40 minutes, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the veggies have softened. In the last 10 minutes, add the collard greens. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Remove bay leaves and serve.

Recipe Tips & Variations

• Make it vegetarian! If you want to omit the meat altogether, you can! Just add more greens, potatoes, paprika (and other smoky spices), and sub the chicken broth for vegetable broth.

• Be careful with the salt. Since we’re using the ham hock, bacon, chorizo, and chicken broth which already has sodium, you want to taste and adjust as you go so you don’t oversalt the soup.

• Make sure your dried white beans are fresh. Did you know dried beans expire? They do. The sooner you cook them, the better the texture & flavor, AND the quicker they’ll cook too. If you’ve had that bag of dried beans sitting in your kitchen cabinet for too long (aka longer than 2 years), now may be a good time to replace them.

• Serving Tips. Serve Caldo Gallego on its own as a main dish with white rice or crusty bread or as an appetizer.