Portuguese Bean Soup is a popular local Hawaii soup. The key ingredients are Portuguese sausage, smoked ham hocks, and macaroni. It's a hearty soup that can easily be a meal!
Portuguese Bean Soup, ready to serve and eat.
What Is Portuguese Bean Soup?
Ahh, Portuguese Bean Soup! This is the stuff of dreams.
Portuguese Bean Soup is an iconic local Hawaii (not Hawaiian - here's the difference) dish made from a stock of smoked ham hocks. You boil the ham hocks in water for a few hours. Then chop off all the meat and skin, and add it back to the pot with other ingredients like Portuguese sausage, red kidney beans, potatoes, onions, carrots, cabbage, and macaroni noodles.
Ingredients for Portuguese Bean Soup (forgot to include the tomato sauce in this photo ^_^)
The red color of the the soup comes from tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, and you're ready to eat. The soup has real nice deep smoky notes thanks to the ham hocks. Make sure to use smoked ham hocks.
It's a simple, hearty soup that warms you up all the way. A bowl of this soup makes for an ideal easy weekday lunch. Make a big batch on the weekend, and you'll have soup for the week.
Four-pack Redondo's Portuguese sausage from Costco
Portuguese Sausage
Portuguese sausage is a type of pork sausage that is popular in Hawaii. It was brought to Hawaii by the Portuguese in the 1800s (where it's still called linguiça), and is an important part of everyday local food in Hawaii. The sausage made from pork and seasoned with paprika and garlic. Redondo's Portuguese Sausage is the most popular brand locally.
You can find Portuguese sausage on breakfast plates at McDonald's Hawaii and Zippy's and even Liliha Bakery. You'll see Portuguese sausage for sale everywhere in Hawaii. There are four-stick packs at Costco (best deal!) and individual sticks Longs Drugs and all the supermarkets. Many families keep a few sticks of Portuguese sausage in the fridge...it often comes in handy.
Outside of Hawaii, you can sometimes find Portuguese sausage for sale at Japanese or Chinese supermarkets. I've seen it at Nijiya in San Francisco.
Line for Portuguese Bean Soup at the Punahou Carnival
Portuguese Bean Soup in Hawaii
Portuguese bean soup is one of those local dishes that everyone makes at home. For example, I just made a giant pot on Sunday, and we'll just warm up a bowl of this soup for breakfast/snack/lunch over the next few days. So while Portuguese bean soup is a popular dish, you won't find this soup offered at many restaurants.
Portuguese Bean Soup from the Punahou Carnival
However there are a few spots that do serve this soup:
- Punahou Carnival (Oahu) - Punahou Carnival takes places just once a year, but the Portuguese bean soup here so good that people buy many giant containers of the soup to keep in the freezer.
- Zippy's (Oahu, Maui, Big Island) - Zippy's is a great place to sample all the local Hawaii dishes (it's also a super casual spot good for takeout). They serve the Portuguese bean soup with crackers on the side.
- Honey Glazed Hams Of Hawaii (Oahu) - This local ham shop has been around forever and for good reason...the glazed hams are amazing! They are extra busy during the holiday season, but you can visit year round for ham, really good sandwiches, and Portuguese bean soup made from their own smoked ham hocks. One of the best in the island, a real semi-hidden gem.
Portuguese Bean Soup Ingredients
Ready to make Portuguese Bean Soup? Ok, here are the ingredients you'll need:
- Smoked ham hocks
- Onions
- Carrots
- Potatoes
- Canned kidney beans
- Diced tomatoes
- Tomato sauce
- Portuguese sausage stick
- Head of cabbage (napa or green)
- Macaroni noodles
Now let's get cooking!
Portuguese Bean Soup Instructions
First, make the ham hock stock: put the ham hocks in a large pot with 2.5 quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to low.
Put on a lid on top, and let cook on low for 1.5 hours.
Smoked ham hocks, after boiling in water for 1.5 hours.
After 1.5 hours, remove the ham hocks from the pot and place in a bowl (keep the stock on the stove at low heat).
Let the ham hocks cool for about 5-10 minutes. You don't want to burn you fingers, the meat is hot inside.
Meat and skin chopped from the boiled, smoked ham hocks. This all goes back into the soup.
Once the ham hocks have cooled, cut off the meat and skin from the bone. The meat should pull off pretty easily.
Dice all the meat and skin into small pieces and set aside.
All the canned items you'll need for Portuguese Bean Soup.
Skim the fat off the top of the ham hock stock. Bring the stock back to a boil and add the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
Bring the soup back to a boil, and add the diced ham hocks back in. Then add the diced onions, carrots, and potatoes.
Bring the soup back to a boil, and add in the kidney beans, Portuguese sausage, cabbage, and macaroni noodles.
Let the soup cook on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and lots of pepper. Enjoy!
Portuguese Bean Soup Recipe

Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds smoked ham hocks about 4 pieces
- 1 large onion diced
- 2 large carrots diced
- 2 large potatoes diced
- 2 15- ounce cans kidney beans
- 1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes
- 1 15- ounce can tomato sauce
- 1 10- ounce Portuguese sausage stick
- 1 small head of cabbage napa or green, chopped
- 1 cup macaroni pasta uncooked
Instructions
- First, make the ham hock stock: put the ham hocks in a large pot with 2.5 quarts of water. Bring the water to a boil, then turn the heat down to low. Put on a lid on top, and let cook on low for 1.5 hours.
- Remove the ham hocks to a cutting board and let cool. Once cooled, cut off the meat and skin from the bone. Dice the meat and skin into small pieces and set aside.
- Skim the fat off the top of the ham hock stock. Bring the stock back to a boil and add in the cans of diced tomatoes and tomato sauce.
- Bring the soup back to a boil, and add the diced ham hocks back in. Then add the diced onions, carrots, and potatoes.
- Bring the soup back up to a boil, and add in the kidney beans, Portuguese sausage, cabbage, and macaroni noodles.
- Let the soup cook on medium-low heat for another 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and lots of pepper. Enjoy!
Do you rinse the beans?
It's my 4th time making it. So simple, but sooooo good. The cabbage gives the soup such a good crunchy texture. I use the portuguese sausages from Costco. I had to use my biggest pot, since it makes such a big batch. Love the chewy pork skin. Bottom line, it's delicious and so many textures. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Aloha Caroline! So happy you enjoyed the recipe! We also get our Portuguese sausage from Costco 🙂
- Kathy
Happen to stumble upon your recipe, decided to try it with both ham shanks and ham hocks, didn’t take them out to cut tho, kept them in and light simmered for an additional half hour. I removed the loose bones continued following the recipe. I also used both cabbage and watercress. I received so much thank you’s that I was amazed! Mahalo plenty! This is a keeper!
Aloha Jocelyn - Hooray! So happy you enjoyed the recipe 🙂
- Kathy
Hi there! I feel like this may be a dumb question but I'm going to ask anyway 😅. I'm closer to Portugal than I am to Hawaii (I'm in the UK). Is it safe to assume I could go into a Portuguese supermarket around here and ask for linguiça and I'll get the same sausage you are talking about? Or even Lisbon, as I'll be there in a couple of months?
Do you thicken it? If so, what do you use?
Thanks!
Hi Kathy! First time making the soup but a big fan of Porto. Bean soup! Do I drain the beans or diced tomatoes before adding or does those juices go into the broth as well?
For those who don’t like their macaroni to absorb the broth add them to your serving bowl and add the hot soup over them.
@Carol,
Auwe! I put the whole box, 2 cups in the soup. I guess I have to double the recipe.
The Portuguese bean soup serves how many ?
Im from Hilo.I don't put macaroni in my soup. I also use watercress. That's the way my dad taught me.
Try to get smoked ham shanks instead of hocks. They have so much more meat on them.
I do not like kidney beans. What other kind of bean would you recommend? Thank you for the recipe.
Aloha Michelle - Kidney beans are traditional for Portuguese Bean Soup, but you can try make it with cannellini beans ^_^ Enjoy!
- Kathy
@Michelle, I think black beans would be wonderful.
@Jeanie, Pinto beans are a common substitute in Portuguese style recipes.
@Kathy, hi my mom taught us with the dry small red beans. I like that better, but takes a while to cook.
What kind of sausage can be substituted for the Portuguese sausage for those of us on the mainland? I had this in Hawaii when staying at a friends home and have never forgotten how good it was!
I hope I can recreate it in Chicago!
Aloha Brigid! You can use chorizo or even Spam! It won't be quite the same, but better than nothing ^_^ Enjoy! Hope you can bring back Portuguese sausage (they freeze super well) on your next Hawaii trip 🙂
- Kathy
@Brigid T Wolff, I think Andouille sausage would be good. Little bit spicer but still very good.
@Brigid T Wolff, on the mainland it is called linguica
@Kathy, your Portuguese Soup will taste just as delicious or perhaps even better if you could find Spanish Sausage called “ Chorizo de Bilbao” ! They are sold mostly in almost all well stocked Filipino Stores or maybe even Costco bcoz they are very popular, so tasty N so well known!! I’m particularly more used to cooking w/chorizo de Bilbao bcoz you can cook w/ it for a lot of recipies including for eating it for breakfast! Hope you’re lucky to find it N try it for a lot of dishes!! Ok take care N Stay Safe N thanks for offering you a small suggestion!! God Bless.....Maryanne
@Kathy, My wonderful wife made this in Hawaii and on the mainland. On the mainland, she used kielbasa, polish sausage and it was more than acceptable. I lost her five years ago and when she made this, it was so ono.
I live in Sioux Falls, SD and have been feeling a little homesick lately for Maui Hawaii. I haven't made this in years. I cook a lot of local style foods. It's what I grew up on. I'm going to make it for New Years Day with some homemade crusty French bread.
What if there is no smoked ham hock available at grocery store? What’s the next best substitute?
Hi Carol! You can use regular (unsmoked) ham hock, or ham shanks 🙂
- Kathy
My mom's recipe is where she makes the ham stock the day before and refrigerate overnight. The fat rises to the top and she skims it off the next day, then she adds the ingredients. I don't put macaroni in the soup because my family likes the broth and the macaroni sucks up a lot of the liquid. I use watercress instead of cabbage. I make a large pot and will freeze the leftovers.
First time for me how much water do I use and if you put the raw macaroni won't it suck up all the water
Hi Victoria - Use 2.5 quarts of water (see step 1 the recipe). We cook the water with the ham hocks so that it's extra flavorful. Enjoy, enjoy 🙂
- Kathy
First time making this soup. Is it better to boil in Chicken Broth versus water?
If you happen to have chicken broth on hand, yes! Will add even more flavor.
But no worries if not (I wouldn't go out of my way to get chicken broth for this recipe because the smoked ham hocks give a ton of flavor 🙂
- Kathy
Wonderful recipe for first timers. Personally, I prefer using the smoked ham shank as it has more meat than the hock but it’s a personal preference. Also after stripping the meat off of the bone I also only use the meat as my family doesn’t like the skin. They’ll eat the skin on Chinese roast pork or lechon but when the skin is boiled.
Hi Milton! Ooo good idea, ham shank also sounds delicious! Soup will be wonderful either way 🙂
- Kathy
I've been finding the sliced ham shank at Times and started using that in all recipes that call for ham hock. As you said, it's so meaty and good!
Aloha Shirl - So happy to hear that! ^_^
- Kathy
@Milton In Manoa, I agree I use shanks as well.
Excuse me but it didn't say when do we put the ham hock that we took off the bone back into da soup,it jus sed to set aside,nothing about putting it back in da soup????
Hi Taiana! Oh my goodness, thank you for catching that 🙂 Add the diced ham hocks back in right after adding the diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. It's in Step 4 of the recipe, I just updated it. Thank you!
- Kathy
@Taiana, it said boil the ham hocks in water wait for them to come off the bone chop it up and put it back in the pot
do you have to fry up the Portuguese sausage before adding it to the pot?
Hi Susan! No need to fry the Portuguese sausage before adding to the pot. (Though you can do it if you want to remove extra fat/oil 🙂
- Kathy
This reminds me of Ma Duarte, she use to make this for the family for dinner. Thanks Ma Duarte