Recipes

Lima Bean or Navy Bean Soup

Recipe No. 531 from the U.S. Army's WWII cookbook — Soups. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Army TM10-412 · Soup

Serves 6¼ gallons 100 servings, approximately one cup each.
View source — TM 10-412 Army Recipes (War Department, 1944) ↗

Recipe No. 531 from the U.S. Army’s WWII cookbook — Soups. Quantities are exactly as printed, for 100 servings; a scaled-down 8-serving version is in the notes.

Ingredients

  • Beans, Lima or navy, dry — 9 pounds (3 No. 56 dippers)
  • Water — 3 gallons (12 No. 56 dippers)
  • Ham stock — 3¼ gallons (13 No. 56 dippers)
  • Celery, diced — 6 ounces (½ mess kit cup)

Onions, diced — 15 ounces (1 No. 56 dipper)

  • Peppers, green, chopped — 6 ounces (½ mess kit cup)
  • Sugar, granulated — 4 ounces (8 mess kit spoons)
  • Pepper — as needed
  • Flour, sifted — 12 ounces (¾ No. 56 dipper)
  • Milk, evaporated — 8—14½ ounce cans
  • or — as needed
  • Tomatoes — 1 No. 10 can
  • Salt — 2 ounces (4 mess kit spoons)

Directions

Key ingredients

Evaporated Milk

  1. Wash beans. Add enough water to cover beans; soak lima beans 3 to 4 hours or navy beans 6 to 8 hours.
  2. Add remaining water. Partially cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer 2 hours or until skins of beans begin to burst.
  3. Prepare ham stock (recipe No. 520).
  4. Combine beans, all but 1 pint (½ No. 56 dipper) ham stock, celery, onions, green peppers, sugar and pepper; mix well.
  5. Cover and heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer about 1 hour.
  6. Mix the 1 pint ham stock and flour; stir until smooth. Add slowly to hot soup; mix thoroughly. Heat to boiling point; reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until soup is slightly thick, stirring constantly.
  7. Add milk or tomatoes about 10 minutes before serving. Reheat and add salt.

Notes

SCALED TO 8 SERVINGS (the original is ÷12.5): Beans, Lima or navy, dry — 11½ oz Water — 3¾ cups Ham stock — 1 qt Celery, diced — ½ oz Onions, diced — 1¼ oz Peppers, green, chopped — ½ oz Sugar, granulated — about 2 tsp Pepper — to taste Flour, sifted — 1 oz Milk, evaporated — ⅔ can(s) (14½ oz) or — to taste Tomatoes — 1 cup Salt — about 1 tsp

— TM 10-412, Army Recipes (War Department, 15 August 1944), recipe No. 531, Soups. Army measures: 1 No. 56 dipper = 1 qt; 1 No. 55 dipper = 1¾ qt; 1 mess kit cup = 1½ pints.