Ham and Bean Soup
A best ever recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! This is my all-time favorite recipe for using up leftover ham. Your family will love this hearty and delicious soup.
Whenever I cook a ham I always buy a large one just to have extra ham to make this savory bean soup recipe. Although boneless ham meat will work for this recipe, you will not get the same rich flavorful broth that a ham bone, ham hock or ham shank will add.
Can you make this recipe in a slow cooker or instant pot?
Absolutely, the cooking time if using your instant pot will be about 50 minutes. Cooking time for the slow cooker will be 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
Ingredients for ham and bean soup
Beans – I prefer to use dried Great Northern beans or Navy beans, but you can also use dried white beans or Cannellini beans.
Ham and ham bone – leftover ham has the best flavor, but any kind of ham will work.
Chicken stock or chicken broth – Try my Homemade Chicken Stock recipe or use your favorite brand and adjust the salt to taste.
Vegetables – celery, carrots, onion, and garlic.
Can you add potatoes? Potatoes do not work well in this recipe as they become too mushy. Try my Ham and Potato soup recipe instead.
Seasonings – fresh or dried thyme, parsley and ground black pepper. Add salt as needed.
Method for preparing the soup
How to thicken ham and bean soup
When the bean soup has almost finished cooking, remove about 1 cup of the soup. Puree using an immersion blender and stir back into the soup.
I prefer the texture and have always soaked my beans for at least 8 hours or overnight. Alberta Pulse Growers has some great information about preparing dry beans. Whatever method you use be sure to discard any broken or shriveled beans. Store your beans in an airtight container in a cool, dry place and use within one year. Old beans can stay hard and chewy even after cooking.
How to store leftover soup.
Leftover ham and bean soup stores in the refrigerator for 3-4 days and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
The Best Homemade Soup Recipes
As the weather turns cold and you start to crave comfort food, warm up with some of these delicious homemade soup recipes.
This post was originally published April 26,2024. Occasionally I update with fresh tips, content, and photos.
Ham and Bean Soup
Video
Ingredients
- 4 cups leftover ham cubed
- 1 ham bone
- 2 cups dry Great Northern beans or 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 tablespoon dry
- 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
- 8-9 cups chicken stock or chicken broth
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for sautéing vegetables
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Prepare the dried beans by soaking them in cold water for 8-10 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse, discarding any broken or discoloured beans.
- In large Dutch oven, heat oil and sauté celery, carrots, onions and garlic until tender.
- Stir in the chicken stock, ham bone and ham.
- Add the beans, parsley, thyme and pepper.
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 2-3 hours until beans are tender.
- Chop up large pieces of ham before serving
- Once the soup has almost finished cooking, remove about 1 cup of the soup. Puree using an immersion blender and stir back into the soup.
Notes
Nutrition
This looks delish….I’m wondering if I could make this in a crockpot? If so, do I still need to soak the beans overnight?
Thanks
yes you can make in the crockpot, and yes still soak the beans.
how long would you cook in crackpot?
thank you 😊
Cooking time for the slow cooker will be 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
This has become my go to recipe, it never disappoints. I use a ham hock along with leftover ham when I have it. Always use great northern beans. which I prefer over the navy bean.
I make this soup almost every week. Sometimes I just use whatever canned beans I have. Thanks for a great recipe!!!
Adriana, thank you, when people take the time to drop me a note it inspires me to keep working hard at sharing great recipes. Have a great weekend.
I usually add some ground ginger, it takes the “phoofs” out ! (Hint from my Gramma T)
Thanks Pat for the “Gramma Hint”
Made this soup tonight and everyone loved it!!! For those who wrote about the hard beans…yes, you probably have old beans. That is exactly what happened to me one time and the beans were probably a year old. 🙂 Thanks for posting the recipe!!!
Thank you Elyse for dropping me a note.
Hi Lauren, I cook the way you do, no recipe and a little of this and a little of that and oh that sounds good….. Making the idea of repeating something I made out of my head very difficult sometimes… lol I make a similar navy bean soup. but I add some dried chili pepper (that we grew and dried) to give it another depth of flavor and I add a little Black Strap Molasses. I like Black Strap it is thicker and not as sweet as regular molasses, plus it adds a richness to the broth and cuts the heat of the spice a bit with out overly sweeting the broth, and it adds extra nutrition to the soup. You still taste the peppers but don’t have to set your mouth on fire. It is kind of my secret ingredient in many things.
Love the idea of adding a little heat with chili peppers, thanks Catherine.
Can’t wait to try this. But don’t have a ham bone.( christmas ham is long gone. ) I did buy smoked ham hocks today and plan to use those and will cut up a ham steak for the meat. Think this will be ok ?
Hey Mary Bee, I think that should work just fine.
If you have a Honey Baked Ham store near you, you can buy just the ham bone and they usually have lots of meat left on them. I do that a lot, and they are cheap
Thanks for this idea! There are only two of us, so a full ham is a lot for two meals (ham and ham soup). I’d freeze the leftovers, and we’d be eating it every couple days for weeks!
Hi Amber, ham is so awesome for leftovers. I always buy one large enough to make sure I can whip up a batch of this soup!
I never knew this. thank you for sharing that helpful info regarding the ham bone!
I’m old school but salting soaking beans hardens them, salt after beans have reached desired tenderness. Older beans can also become very tough. Baking soda in the water softens almost anything, including marinating chicken, rinse before cooking. Classic recipe, beans are soaking for the night but I forgot the celery at the store. Love your chunky looking soup. Cheers!
Thanks for the info, I have also read that old beans can be a problem, as they may not soften.
Made this yesterday. Delicious and super easy. The only change I made was adding 2 bay leaf. Thank you for a keeper!
Hey Heather, thanks for letting me know, so glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Nice updated version of an old recipe. I made minor adjustments according to our preferences, ie: added a bay leaf, used mostly water vs. broth, but I did add 2 tsp Better Than Bouillon roasted chicken flavor at the end. It took 1 hour on high & 8 hrs on low to fully cook in my large crockpot.
thanks for the helpful hint Writer200