A BEST EVER recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! An all-time favourite recipe for leftover ham, so hearty and delicious.
Leftovers have to be the best thing about baking a delicious ham, because now you can make a savoury soup! Ham and Bean soup is awesome for lunch, yet so hearty if makes a great dish for dinner.
The challenge I have with blogging a soup recipe is that I never seem to make it the same way twice and I usually do not measure anything. It’s always just a little of this and that and what ever I have on hand. I didn’t have any split peas to make split pea soup, but I did have navy beans. I actually prefer beans as they are firmer and don’t get mushy. While making this recipe I did measure everything so I could pass on this awesome recipe, but some great adaptations could be a variety of vegetables and beans, or different herbs and spices. Experiment!
Ham and Bean Soup
An exceptional recipe for Ham and Bean soup. Family favourite!
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Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours
Servings: 10
Calories: 378kcal
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone I leave meat on the bone while it cooks
- 4 cups leftover ham
- 2 cups dry navy beans
- 2 cups celery chopped
- 2 cups carrots chopped
- 1 large onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic finely minced
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 2 teaspoons dry
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dry
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 8-9 cups chicken stock
- 1 tbsp olive oil for sautéing vegetables
Instructions
- Prepare dried beans by soaking them in cold water for 8-10 hours, then drain and rinse. (I do this the night before).
- In large pan heat oil and sauté celery, carrots, onions and garlic until tender.
- Add chicken stock, ham bone and ham. Transfer to larger pot if necessary.
- Add beans, parsley, thyme and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 2-3 hours.
- Chop up large pieces of ham before serving
Notes
This recipe also work well in a slow cooker 6-8 hours on low.
Nutrition
Calories: 378kcal | Carbohydrates: 36g | Protein: 26g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 40mg | Sodium: 976mg | Potassium: 1017mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 4520IU | Vitamin C: 6.3mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 3.5mg
Be sure to try these other tasty soup recipes Italian Turkey Burger Soup and Hearty Tortellini Soup or Tomato Soup
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Prepared this recipe this evening for a week’s worth of lunches. Couldn’t wait to taste it. I followed your recipe exactly. The soup is rich and incredibly flavorful. I froze seven portions. Not sure if I will share it with anyone!!! Thank you for posting.
Thank you Jeff, so happy you enjoyed the recipe!
My husband couldn’t find a bag of navy beans so he bought the Northern navy beans already cooked! I am preparing bean soup as I’m sending this to you..I was shocked to find 2 huge jars of beans ready to eat. Can I still make this taste good? I don’t want mushy soup for dinner!!🙊Help ! Thank you..
Hi Lynnette, sorry just saw your message, hope your soup turned out good. Probably just required less cooking time.
This is my go to ham and bean soup, love it and would not change a thing!
Thank you Kim, its one of my family’s all time favourites!
Hi, I was wondering….if I do those recipe in the crockpot do I still need to sautee the veggies first?
Hi Mary, I always saute the vegetables, it brings out some great flavour.
I just inherited an Instant Pot. What do I need to do to make this…..I have canned beans and two small ham hocks. Thanks for the help!
Wendi
Wendi, I do not own an Insta Pot so I have no idea
Hi. I can’t wait to try this recipe, it looks delicious. I have one question. How do your veggies turn out? I like mine, especially carrots, to be on the firmer side. I can’t do mushy veggies. Should I cook for the time recommended or go more/less?
The veggies are soft, but they do add flavour to the soup as it is cooking. Reducing the cooking time would not cook the beans sufficiently. You can always add extra fresh carrots the last hour of cooking for ones that are less soft.
I was wondering if It’s possible to
Use canned beans? I. Have a lot of
Canned beans that i need to use up!
Also i would love if you shared the
Recipe to the biscuit shown with the
Soup! Looks so tasty!
Thanks! Happy new year!
Happy New Year to you Christina. Yes you can used canned beans, the cooking time would be reduced to about 1 hour or less. You don’t want to beans to become mush. The biscuit is actually just toasted garlic bread.
This really is the best recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! So glad I tried it and it now is the only recipe I’ll be using for bean soup in the future. My husband loved it! Thank you for sharing this recipe.
Thank you Pat, so glad you enjoyed the recipe. Appreciate you taking the time to comment.
Excellent soup. Folllowed the recipe as written, except added 2 bay leaves. My husband loved it and I wll dfinitely make it again.
Thank you Rose for taking the time to comment.
Hi Maureen, a really good soup. I followed the recipe with 2 differences. First, I sauted the veggies in bacon grease and used a small amount of liquid smoke. A nice mild Smokey flavor with a subtle bacon flavor.
Sorry Laureen, the irritating spell check decided your new name was Maureen. My phone apologizes.
lol, I know spell checks is so irritating some times.
Some great adaptations Cliff!
It’s on the stove right now…… my wife thinks I’m Superman aka cooking talents….that too ! Wish me luck…
Awesome Brian, hope you enjoy the soup!
I don’t understand. Cooking with ham bone, don’t you have to strain the soup at the end? Is there not fat or oil build up after simmering? Thanks!
Hi Mary, the ham bone adds great flavour to the soup. It is removed when soup has finished cooking. Using the ham bone and leftover ham, which I always cut most of the fat off, doesn’t cause excess fat. If you find fat build up, you can always skim it off.
HAM N BEAN SOUP ALMOST READY. CANT WAIT FOR DINNER MAKN CRESCENTS W GARLIC N HERB CHEESE SPREAD. AS A DIPPER FOR SOUP.
Made this soup today and am very happy how it turned out. I didn’t have a hambone but did add some really good ham. Perfect, hearty soup on a chilly February day in Michigan. YUM!!
Thank you Mary Kay, nothing beats a great soup on those cold winter days.
Very good. I didn’t have dry beans so I used canned. Just added towards the end to heat through. I also added a cubed sweet potato for some more thickening. Broth had a wonderful taste and nice that it wasn’t a heavy soup.
Does this freeze well? Thank you; looks good!
Yes it freezes well. Beans may not be as firm, but still very tasty.
Terrific real world recipe. Only difference when I made it was that I used 2 meaty ham hocks. I removed the meat from the bones and added that to the finished soup. This is a solid recipe that can/should be passed on to your friends.
Thanks Sam, the more ham the better I say!
This soup can be made using turkey ham too. You don’t get the exact depth of flavor as with the ham bone, but not everyone can have ham, and it still tastes delicious.
That sounds great Becky, thanks.
The thyme has over powered the taste of everything thing else in my soup! I took it out, but don’t know what to do it fix it!!! I added a sweet potato & more broth, but still taste is too strong for me! Help!
Hi Trish, did you use fresh thyme or dried?
When I was a child, my mom made this every Monday. She did the laundry on Monday and this was something she could make and still run downstairs and do the laundry in the Maytag wringer washer, rinsing in the laundry tub, put the wet clothes in a basket, run upstairs and out to the side yard to the clothes line to hang the clothes out to dry. I guess it would be called a solar dryer these days:) I’m a vegetarian now, but will make this for my sweetie, who is not:) I don’t know what you did with the picture, but when I saw it, I could smell and taste my mom’s ham and bean soup. That was over 60 years ago. Such a good memory. Thanks for the recipe and smiles from the past. I can hardly wait to make this! I miss my mom:(
What a lovely story Betsy. I feel very touched that my recipe would bring back such happy memories. I have so very many memories as well cooking and baking with my Mom and Grandma. My Grandma passed over 25 years ago and my Mom has very advanced dementia now.
How do you prepare your ham?
Hi Mary, my favourite is using a crockpot. I have made this soup with leftovers from this recipe and it added some great extra flavour. https://www.artandthekitchen.com/slow-cooker-maple-and-beer-braised-ham/