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

Does this freeze well? Thank you; looks good!
Yes it freezes well. Beans may not be as firm, but still very tasty.
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.
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.
HAM N BEAN SOUP ALMOST READY. CANT WAIT FOR DINNER MAKN CRESCENTS W GARLIC N HERB CHEESE SPREAD. AS A DIPPER FOR SOUP.
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.
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!
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!
Thank you Rose for taking the time to comment.
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.
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.