Hawaiian Portuguese Bean Soup: A Hearty Local Classic

Hawaiian Portuguese bean soup is a hearty Hawaiʻi local-style soup made with Portuguese sausage, kidney beans, vegetables, tomatoes, and macaroni. A smoked ham hock gives the broth a deep, savory flavor, and the soup is served hot as a filling meal. Recipes vary between households and communities; this version uses canned beans for a practical, no-soak method.

What You’ll Need

1 smoked ham hock, about 1½ lb (680 g), preferably meaty
12 cups (2.8 L) water, plus a little more if needed
1 medium yellow onion, diced, about 1½ cups (225 g)
3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced, about 1½ cups (190 g)
3 celery stalks, sliced, about 1 cup (100 g)
3 garlic cloves, minced, about 1 tablespoon (9 g)
1 medium potato, peeled and diced, about 1½ cups (225 g)
1 can tomato sauce, 15 oz (425 g)
1 can diced tomatoes, 14½ oz (411 g), including juice
2 cans red kidney beans, 15 oz (425 g) each, drained and rinsed
12 oz (340 g) fully cooked smoked Portuguese sausage, such as linguiça, sliced into coins
1 small green cabbage, cored and chopped, about 4 packed cups (300 g)
1 cup (100 g) dry elbow macaroni
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon (2 g) smoked paprika, optional
½ teaspoon (1 g) black pepper, plus more to taste
Salt, as needed; the hock and sausage can already be salty
Chopped parsley or green onion for serving, optional

Step-by-Step

Prepare the ingredients. Dice the onion and potato, slice the carrots and celery, mince the garlic, and chop the cabbage into bite-size pieces. Drain and rinse the beans. Slice the Portuguese sausage. This mise en place makes the later additions easy and helps keep the macaroni from overcooking while you search for ingredients.
Start the ham-hock broth. Put the ham hock and 12 cups (2.8 L) water in a large, heavy soup pot. Bring the water just to a boil over medium-high heat, skimming off any gray foam that rises. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pot partially, and simmer gently for 1 hour 45 minutes. Keep the liquid at a quiet simmer rather than a hard boil; add a little hot water if the hock becomes exposed.
Check the pork and rest it. Lift the hock onto a plate. Check the thickest meaty section with a food thermometer, without touching the bone; USDA FSIS guidance sets 145°F (63°C) with a 3-minute rest as the safe minimum for whole cuts of pork. If it has not reached that temperature, return it to the pot and simmer, checking again after 10 minutes. Let it rest for 3 minutes, then remove the meat from the bone, discard skin, bone, and any tough pieces, and tear the meat into bite-size shreds. The meat should be tender enough to pull apart; if it is not, simmer it longer before shredding.
Cook the vegetables in the broth. Add the onion, carrots, celery, garlic, potato, bay leaf, paprika if using, and black pepper to the pot. Bring the broth back to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. The carrots and potato should begin to soften but need not be completely tender yet.
Add the tomatoes, beans, sausage, and pork. Stir in the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes with their juice, rinsed kidney beans, sliced Portuguese sausage, and shredded ham-hock meat. Simmer gently for 10 minutes so the sausage flavors the broth and the beans warm through. Taste a spoonful before adding salt; smoked pork products can contribute quite a lot already.
Cook the cabbage and macaroni. Stir in the cabbage and dry macaroni. Simmer for about 9 minutes, or follow the pasta package’s cooking time if it differs, stirring occasionally so pasta does not settle and stick to the bottom. The cabbage should be tender and the macaroni cooked through but still holding its shape. If you expect leftovers, cook the macaroni separately and add it to individual bowls instead.
Finish and serve. Remove the bay leaf. Add hot water if the soup is thicker than you like, then taste and adjust the salt and pepper. Serve hot, with parsley or green onion if desired. Let leftovers cool promptly and refrigerate them within 2 hours.

Common Mistakes

Boiling the broth hard: A rolling boil can make the broth cloudy and can break the ham-hock meat into dry, stringy shreds. Once the pot comes to a boil, lower the heat until you see only occasional bubbles. A gentle simmer is enough to extract flavor and soften the pork.

Adding salt before tasting: Smoked ham hocks and Portuguese sausage are seasoned and sometimes quite salty. If you salt the water heavily at the start, the finished soup can become too salty as liquid evaporates. Wait until the beans and sausage have simmered in the soup, taste, and season in small increments.

Cooking the macaroni too early: Pasta keeps absorbing broth as it sits, so macaroni added at the beginning can become swollen and soft by serving time. Put it in near the end and cook it only until tender. For soup you plan to eat over several days, separate the pasta from the main pot to keep the leftovers more brothy.

Using a very lean hock and expecting a rich broth: A meaty hock contributes both flavor and meat, but the amount of fat and meat varies. If yours is small or lean, the broth may taste lighter. You can simmer it longer for more extraction, or add a little extra sausage; avoid trying to compensate by adding lots of salt.

Skipping the bean rinse: The liquid in canned beans is edible, but it can make this tomato-based soup thicker and saltier than intended. Drain and rinse the beans under cool water before adding them. Stir gently after they go into the pot so they stay intact.

Tips

Portuguese sausage, often called linguiça, gives the soup a distinctive smoky, garlicky character. It is available in some supermarkets, Portuguese or Hawaiian specialty shops, and online. If you cannot find it, use fully cooked smoked kielbasa or another smoked pork sausage. That substitution still makes a satisfying soup, but the flavor will be less distinctly Portuguese and may be milder or sweeter. Slice the sausage into similar-size pieces so every bowl gets a fair share.

The hock is the main source of broth flavor, so choose one that smells pleasantly smoky and has some meat attached. If you have a particularly salty hock, simmer it in water for 10 minutes, discard that water, and begin the recipe with fresh water. This can reduce saltiness, although it may also soften the smoke flavor. Taste before seasoning at the end either way.

For a thicker, more stew-like bowl, mash a few beans against the side of the pot and stir them back in. For a lighter soup, add hot water or unsalted broth a little at a time. If the soup seems thin at first, remember that pasta and beans will absorb some liquid as it stands; wait a few minutes before deciding to reduce it further.

Some cooks add cabbage earlier, while others prefer it barely tender; some include additional vegetables or use a different pasta shape. This recipe’s timing keeps the cabbage soft but not completely collapsed. You can use small shells or ditalini instead of elbows, but check them a minute or two before the package’s suggested time because small pasta can cook quickly in hot soup.

For a make-ahead approach, prepare the soup through the beans and sausage, then cool and refrigerate the base. Cook the macaroni separately shortly before serving and stir it into the reheated soup. Refrigerate cooked soup within 2 hours, and use it within 3–4 days. Reheat leftovers to 165°F (74°C), checking with a food thermometer. You can freeze the soup base for up to about 3 months for best quality; pasta may soften after thawing, so it is best cooked fresh.

Troubleshooting

The soup is too salty: Add unsalted water a half cup (120 ml) at a time, tasting after each addition. A peeled, diced potato can add bulk, but it does not reliably remove salt; dilution is the dependable fix. If the soup becomes too thin, mash a few beans into it or simmer briefly before adding the pasta.

The hock is still tough after the stated time: Hocks vary in size and age, and some need longer to become tender. Return the meat and bone to a gentle simmer and cook in 15-minute increments until the meat pulls away easily. Confirm the safe temperature with a thermometer; the pork will often be well above its safe minimum by the time it is fork-tender.

The soup is too thick or the pasta has soaked up the broth: Stir in hot water or unsalted broth until it reaches the consistency you want. Heat it gently and stir from the bottom so the pasta does not catch. Next time, keep the pasta separate until serving, particularly if you are making the soup ahead.

The broth tastes flat: First check whether it needs a small pinch of salt. If salt is already adequate, add black pepper or a little smoked paprika, then simmer for a few minutes and taste again. A bland result can also come from a very lean hock; adding a little sliced sausage and allowing it to simmer in the broth can deepen the flavor.

The beans are breaking apart: Canned beans are already cooked, so they need only a short simmer to warm through. Add them with the tomatoes and sausage rather than earlier, and stir gently. If some do break, the soup will be thicker, not ruined.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I make Hawaiian Portuguese bean soup without a ham hock?
Yes. Use about 4 cups (950 ml) unsalted chicken broth in place of an equal amount of water, and add extra smoked Portuguese sausage for flavor. The soup will have less of the hock’s rich, gelatinous body, but it will still be hearty.

Can I use dried kidney beans instead of canned?
Yes, but cook them fully before adding them to the soup; do not add dried kidney beans directly to this recipe’s short vegetable simmer. Soak and cook them according to a reliable package method, then use about 3 cups (510 g) cooked beans in place of the two cans. Their cooking liquid can be used in the soup if it tastes pleasant and is not overly starchy.

Can I make this soup in a slow cooker?
Yes. Simmer the ham hock with the water, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, potato, and seasonings on low until tender, usually about 8 hours, or on high for about 4–5 hours; appliances vary. Check the pork with a thermometer and give it the required 3-minute rest. Add tomatoes, beans, sausage, cabbage, and pasta near the end, cooking until the vegetables and pasta are tender. For the best pasta texture, cook it separately.

Is Portuguese sausage the same as linguica?
Linguiça is a Portuguese-style sausage, and it is commonly used in Hawaiian Portuguese bean soup. Products differ in smoke, seasoning, and whether they are sold fully cooked. Check the package: this recipe assumes fully cooked sausage. If using raw ground-pork sausage, cook it to 160°F (71°C), the USDA FSIS safe minimum for ground meat.

How do I store and reheat leftovers?
Refrigerate the soup within 2 hours in shallow, covered containers and use it within 3–4 days. Reheat on the stovetop or in a microwave until it reaches 165°F (74°C). If the pasta has absorbed too much broth, add a splash of water or unsalted broth while reheating. Freeze the soup base if you need longer storage, preferably without the macaroni.

More recipes to cook

Safety notes: safe minimum internal temperatures from USDA FSIS; raw and undercooked fish guidance from the U.S. FDA. Food safety notes

Spotted an error? Tell us and we will correct it (corrections policy).