It seems that we’re all turning to cozy soup and stew recipes these days, searching for a warm and hearty meal to provide comfort on cold evenings. Some soups simmer for hours, developing layers of flavor that take us back to slow dinners at Grandma’s house. Other recipes transform vegetables in less than an hour for a company-ready cup—a bit of dinner magic, if you ask us. There’s one famous soup recipe, however, that’s seeing a resurgence in popularity thanks to a recent “Today I Learned” (TIL) post on Reddit. 

“TIL that Navy Bean Soup has been on the menu of the Senate Dining Room every day since 1903,” one user posted.

The thread was immediately flooded with hundreds of comments, all chiming in about the perfection of this simple white bean-and-ham soup. Also called Senate Soup and Capitol Hill Bean Soup, this classic comfort food—as confirmed on the Senate’s website—has been served every single day but one on Capitol Hill.

As the story goes, on September 14, 1943, wartime rationing left the cafeteria short on beans. It was such a notable disappearance from the menu that the Washington Times-Herald reported on its absence the next day.

In 1988, Minority Leader Senator Bob Dole (R-Kansas) reflected on that fateful day in a speech on the Senate floor: “Somehow, by the next day, more beans were found and bowls of bean soup have been ladled up without interruption ever since.”

It’s easy to see why Capitol Hill Bean Soup has become a staple in homes through generations. Though it needs a few hours of simmering, it requires little attention and inexpensive ingredients. First, you soak dried white navy beans overnight. Then you build a broth with a ham bone or uncured ham hock, celery, yellow onion, and garlic. The tender meat is added in, along with a mashed Russet potato, which thickens the soup. Season simply—salt and pepper—and add a bit of fresh parsley for a pop of color.

There are a handful of stories that craft the history of this beloved bean soup, particularly the mandate that it be served every day on Capitol Hill. One suggests that Senator Fred Dubois of Idaho, chair of the committee overseeing the restaurant, passed a resolution requiring that bean soup—with potatoes—be on the menu daily. (Presumably, a nod to his home state.)

Another says that Senator Knute Nelson of Minnesota, expressing his fondness for the soup in 1903, simply loved the stuff and insisted it be his lunch every day. The senators’ variations on the recipe can still be found online. “Having worked in the Senate, this soup is just about the only thing I miss,” one Reddit user wrote.

Infamously, in the 1940s, Marion Carpenter—one of the first women in the White House News Photographers’ Association, and the only female photographer who traveled with President Truman—sloshed a bowl of Senate Bean Soup on journalist Tris Coffin, who complained in his column that Carpenter unfairly persuaded politicians to pose for her photos.

With its colorful history, this classic Southern soup recipe still finds itself on menus today—even outside of the Senate Restaurant. As Redditors pointed out, Senate Bean Soup is served up every day at McGuire’s Irish Pub in Pensacola, Florida. It’s been sold at McGuire’s for the same price since 1977: a mere 18 cents when you add it on to a meal. But inflation has hit, of course, so it’ll cost you $18 if it’s your only purchase, the menu says. 

As you’re thinking about recipes that use up leftover ham come Easter or you find yourself with an extra ham bone, you may want to consider serving up this long-standing, well-loved soup recipe. “Navy Bean Soup is usually the reason I’m excited to get a ham,” one Reddit user confirms. “Sure the ham dinner is nice, but simmering that bone all day makes the house smell great and the soup hits just right.”

We recommend a side of No-Knead Buttermilk Bread for a recipe as special as this.