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    Home » Recipes » Recipes

    Ham and Bean Soup

    April 26, 2014 by Laureen King

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    This is a best ever recipe for Hearty Ham and Bean Soup, perfect for using up leftover ham. via @artandthekitchA Best Ever recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! An all-time favourite recipe for leftover ham, so hearty and delicious. via @artandthekitchA Best Ever recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! An all-time favourite recipe for leftover ham, so hearty and delicious. via @artandthekitchA Best Ever recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! An all-time favourite recipe for leftover ham, so hearty and delicious. via @artandthekitch
    A best ever recipe for Ham and Bean Soup! An all-time favourite recipe for leftover ham, so hearty and delicious.
    Black bowl filled with chunky soup of ham and beans with piece of garlic toast.
    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.
    Pot of ham and bean soup with ham bone.
    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!
    Black bowl filled with chunky soup of ham and beans with piece of garlic toast.
    bowl of ham and bean soup with chunks of ham, navy beans, carrots and celery. Garlic bread on side of bowl, garnishes with thyme sprig.

    Ham and Bean Soup

    Laureen King
    An exceptional recipe for Ham and Bean soup. Family favourite!
    3.89 from 1309 votes
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    Cook Time 3 hrs
    Total Time 3 hrs
    Course Main Course, Soup
    Cuisine American
    Servings 10
    Calories 378 kcal

    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
    • ¼ cup fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dry
    • ½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
    • 8-9 cups chicken stock
    • 1 tablespoon 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: 378kcalCarbohydrates: 36gProtein: 26gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 40mgSodium: 976mgPotassium: 1017mgFiber: 11gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 4520IUVitamin C: 6.3mgCalcium: 95mgIron: 3.5mg
    Keyword ham and bean soup, bean soup
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    Black bowl filled with ham and bean soup with garlic toast on side. Decorative spoon and wine bottle in background.

    I love soup and here are more of my favorite soup recipes to try!

    Italian Turkey Burger Soup

    Hearty Tortellini Soup

    Roasted Garlic Tomato Basil Soup

    Easy Hamburger Soup

    Homemade Mushroom Soup

    Italian Turkey Burger Soup

    Hearty Tortellini Soup

     

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    Ham and Bean Soup

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Sam Muldoon

      February 25, 2019 at 10:25 am

      5 stars
      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.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        February 25, 2019 at 11:55 am

        Thanks Sam, the more ham the better I say!

        Reply
    2. Becky

      April 11, 2019 at 10:53 pm

      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.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        April 19, 2019 at 9:04 pm

        That sounds great Becky, thanks.

        Reply
    3. Laureen King

      April 22, 2019 at 11:12 pm

      Hi Trish, did you use fresh thyme or dried?

      Reply
    4. Betsy

      August 04, 2019 at 5:05 pm

      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:(

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        August 05, 2019 at 1:15 pm

        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.

        Reply
    5. Mary

      October 01, 2019 at 7:57 pm

      How do you prepare your ham?

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        October 02, 2019 at 4:43 am

        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/

        Reply
    6. Ernest Contreras

      November 06, 2019 at 7:34 pm

      5 stars
      you have some great dishes here I am a chef of over forty years now retired and my time is taken by blogging and scanning the internet for a site like yours, your photos very are good, soups are my favorite pass time I enjoy being creative, I just wanted to say how I enjoyed your recipes and your bean soup stopped me on my tracks, it is without a doubt my favorite, Thanks, I subscribed hope to get more nice recipes.
      Chef Ernie

      Reply
    7. Tess

      December 04, 2019 at 5:43 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is delicious! I served it last night and there wasn’t much left. Everyone loved it! It’s definitely a recipe to use again in the future!

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        December 04, 2019 at 8:31 am

        thank you so much Tess, this is one of my family's favourite soups.

        Reply
    8. Penny

      December 25, 2019 at 2:37 pm

      5 stars
      Have you tried freezing any of the Ham and Bean soup? It looks and sounds so good, but there are only two of us.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        December 26, 2019 at 6:53 am

        Hi Penny, yes this soup freezes very well.

        Reply
        • Penny

          December 27, 2019 at 1:53 pm

          5 stars
          Thanks for the response Laureen. It is simmering on the stove right now. I can't wait to try it!

          Reply
          • Penny

            January 21, 2020 at 11:17 am

            5 stars
            Hi Laureen,
            I had to come back to tell you....I froze the leftover soup and we had some for lunch today. I think it was almost better after freezing it!! This is definitely going to be in my regular soup rotation! Thank you!

            Reply
    9. Wanda

      December 29, 2019 at 7:01 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious. We used chicken broth and vegetable broth. Thanks for the recipe. Whole family loved it.

      Reply
    10. Wanda

      December 29, 2019 at 7:01 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious. We used chicken broth and vegetable broth. Thanks for the recipe. Whole family loved it.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        January 03, 2020 at 4:52 pm

        thank you so much Wanda.

        Reply
    11. Sheri Thompson

      January 29, 2020 at 8:24 am

      A beautiful as well as amazing ham soup. I had ham leftovers and am serving it along with cornbread for a bunch of ppl this sunday!!!!! tks for the receipe and i love the pictures so i can see how it should look.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        January 29, 2020 at 3:21 pm

        Thank you Sheri, cornbread sounds great to serve with this soup!

        Reply
    12. Robinn Poole

      February 03, 2020 at 5:10 am

      How much is one serving? 1 cup?

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        February 05, 2020 at 6:17 am

        yes Robinn, about 1 cup. Although I can never have just one serving lol.

        Reply
    13. Debbie McFadden

      February 20, 2020 at 12:40 pm

      Can you use cans of great northern beans instead of dried beans? I wanted to try this recipe tonight and don't have time for the dried version. Thank you.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        February 20, 2020 at 1:24 pm

        yes but cook time would about 1- 1:30 minutes.

        Reply
        • Debbie McFadden

          February 20, 2020 at 1:39 pm

          Thank you for the quick response. Can't wait to try it.

          Reply
    14. LAUREN CLEAR

      March 29, 2020 at 3:52 pm

      5 stars
      This soup smelled so good all day as it cooked in the show cooker. I added 2 bay leaves and a cubed potato while cooking, too, since it just made the soup more yummy. It was delish. My husband and sister and myself loved it.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        March 29, 2020 at 5:22 pm

        So awesome you and your family enjoyed the recipe. I just made a pot of this soup yesterday!

        Reply
    15. Stephanie

      April 14, 2020 at 6:05 pm

      5 stars
      Really good. Served with a toasted chibatta bun, very filling. I soaked and cooked my beans first, as I often do not have success with soft beans when the soup should be done. but that is usually just me being impatient.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        April 15, 2020 at 3:36 pm

        Wonderful Stephanie, so happy you enjoyed the recipe!

        Reply
    16. Jeri

      May 24, 2020 at 3:32 pm

      5 stars
      Best green bean soup I've ever had

      Reply
    17. Lynn O’Brien

      September 09, 2020 at 8:39 pm

      5 stars
      Was very yummy! Will make again! 🍲

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        September 24, 2020 at 8:12 am

        Thank you so much Lynn.

        Reply
    18. Erin

      October 18, 2020 at 2:44 pm

      5 stars
      Our whole family has loved this soup for years! We make double and triple batches to freeze. We've also varied it a few ways. Often we'll puree a small amount of the soup in a blender, then add it back into the pot for a thicker version. Recently we have used an Heirloom Bean Blend and added a splash or two of Oyster Sauce at the end of cooking, which makes it a rich, calico bean type of soup. This is such a great recipe as it is - or to play around with!

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        October 23, 2020 at 8:32 am

        Erin, thank you for trying my recipe. I love when we can take a recipe and add our own twist to it.

        Reply
    19. Sandy

      November 27, 2020 at 4:53 pm

      Why do we need to add broth if we’ve slow boiled the ham hock in water?

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        November 29, 2020 at 3:42 pm

        Sand, I find it add that extra bit of flavor.

        Reply
    20. Pam

      January 02, 2021 at 6:24 pm

      5 stars
      This soup was fabulous! I added 2 bay leaves. Didn’t have time to soak beans so I used canned great northern beans. So delicious! Cooked for 2hours.

      Reply
      • Laureen King

        January 03, 2021 at 6:12 pm

        Thank you Pam. Canned beans work great don't they, when you don't have time to soak beans.

        Reply
    21. Cynthia

      January 10, 2021 at 6:57 pm

      Didnt change a thing except to thicken it a bit a sprinkled in instant mashed potato flakes; maybe 1/3 cup.

      Reply
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    Trackbacks

    1. Homemade Chicken Stock | Art and the Kitchen says:
      January 2, 2020 at 12:51 pm

      […] recipes perfectly. A homemade stock will add aromatic flavour and depth to any recipe like my Ham and Bean Soup or Italian Turkey […]

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    2. Slow Cooker Maple and Beer Braised Ham | Art and the Kitchen says:
      April 12, 2020 at 4:01 pm

      […] Slow Cooker Maple and Beer Braised ham is perfect for holiday meals. The beer and maple syrup with a hint of cloves add amazing flavor to this ham. I prefer to use a bone-in ham as the bone gives the ham superior flavor and is perfect for leftovers in my Ham and Bean soup. […]

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    3. Tomato Soup with Roasted Garlic and Basil | Art and the Kitchen says:
      October 28, 2020 at 11:19 am

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    4. Easy Hamburger Soup | Art and the Kitchen says:
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