This ultra hearty Ham and Bean Soup is perfect for using up that leftover holiday ham! After all the holiday cooking, you could use something soul-warming and comforting. With stovetop, slow cooker and Instant Pot directions, you’re sure to find an easy way to make this delicious soup.
This is one of my Soup recipes I know you’ll want to keep on hand!
The holidays are coming, which means leftovers are coming too! I don’t know about you, but we always have quite a bit of food leftover after a big holiday meal.
Even though I’m not a huge leftover person, I am with holiday foods. They’re just so delicious, and so special, because we normally don’t make them all throughout the year.
So of course we want to stretch every last delicious bite out of them! Naturally there’s the standard, just have another holiday meal out of the leftovers, and maybe a traditional turkey/ham sandwich, but after a while, you just want something different.
This ham and bean soup is the perfect way to repurpose not only the leftover ham pieces, but the ham bone itself too! If you’ve never used up that ham bone, you’re in for a treat.
So much flavor comes from simmering that bone, but don’t worry if you don’t have one, or are making this soup without leftover ham. I’ve detailed down below how to make soup without one without sacrificing too much flavor.
How to make ham and bean soup?
This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.
- Brown ham bone. This is an extra step, but one I think adds a ton of flavor.
- Soften veggies. Cook the carrot, celery and onion until softened. Cook the garlic for just a bit at the end.
- Add it all in. Add in the beans, diced ham, spices, broth and water. Stir, then nestle in the ham bone.
- Bring to a boil. With the lid on, heat until soup comes to a gentle boil.
- Simmer. Reduce heat and simmer, about 30 minutes.
- Remove bone. Take out the bone and bay leaves and serve.
Helpful Tip!
This recipe is written as a soup that cooks on the stovetop, but if you’d prefer to cook it in the slow cooker or Instant Pot, don’t worry. I’ve included those directions down in the “Chef Tips” section right below the full written recipe.
Variations of this recipe
- No ham bone – this soup is amazing year-round, so you may want to make it when you don’t have a leftover ham bone sitting around. Look below for all the details, in a green box titled “making ham and bean soup without a ham bone”.
- Beans – I used cannellini beans, but Great Northern or navy beans are a great substitute.
- Dried beans – if you have dried beans on hand, you can use those in this recipe. You’ll need a 1 pound bag (16 oz) of dried cannellini, great northern, or navy beans. Increase the amount of water by 2 cups (so you’ll have 4 cups of chicken broth, and 4 cups of water). Bring to a boil, then simmer, with the lid cracked, for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. This will result in a thicker soup.
- Thicker – there are a few ways to thicken this soup. First, you can cook it down further, until it’s as thick as you’d like. Second, you can mash some of the beans. Use a potato masher for this. Thirdly, you can add a slurry. To a small mixing bowl, combine 2 Tbsp cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of cold water. Stir together until smooth, then stir that mixture into the soup and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened.
- Creamy – to make this a creamy-style soup, stir in some heavy cream, or softened cream cheese towards the end of cooking. If using cream cheese, add cream cheese to a small mixing bowl, then add a ladle or two of the broth from the pot and whisk the cream cheese and broth together. Then stir that mixture into the soup. This keeps you from ending up with little clumps of cream cheese in the soup.
FAQ’s
Ham bones contain quite a bit of sodium, as does the cooked ham and the chicken broth (even when using reduced sodium). So I prefer to make the soup and give it a taste when it’s finished cooking. If you feel it could use a little more salt, go ahead and add some to your tastes.
There are several ways to thicken this soup, and I’ve detailed each one up above in the “variations of this recipe” section.
Some delicious crusty bread (like my no knead bread, or jalapeno cheddar bread) is perfect for dipping into the brothy soup. A simple green salad is also great, or some buttery cornbread!
Making ham and bean soup ahead of time
There are some recipes that just taste better and better the longer they sit. Soup can definitely be one of those recipes!
This soup can be made entirely ahead of time if you’d like! Just reheat it however you’d like, adding a splash of chicken broth or water if it thickened up too much.
You can also prep ahead for this recipe (which is my favorite thing to do for all our meals).
- Vegetables. The carrots, celery, onion, and garlic can be chopped ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
- Ham. The ham can be diced ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to cook.
- Spices. Even the spices (Italian seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes and pepper) can be combined and stored at room temperature until ready to cook.
Making Ham and Bean Soup Without a Ham Bone
If you want to make this soup, but don’t have a ham bone, don’t worry… you can still make a delicious meal.
However did you know you can usually get a ham bone from a butcher for a pretty inexpensive price? So if you can, I would try to pick one up. If not, read on:
- Ham shank. These are pretty meaty, and are the best substitute for a ham bone.
- Ham hock. These have the bone, but don’t usually have very much meat on them, so you won’t get as much meaty flavor.
- Additional diced ham. If you can’t find any of those two options, I would just add a little extra diced ham, up to an extra cup. I’d also use all chicken broth, instead of the broth/water combo.
Storage
Leftover soup should be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Freezing
This soup can also be frozen for longer storage. Make sure the soup is completely cooled, then transfer to freezer containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Thaw in the refrigerator and reheat however you’d like.
Other Recipes That Use Leftover Ham:
My Favorite Dutch Oven!
this is my secret weapon in the kitchen! I use mine for making bread, soups/chilis, frying and more. Since LeCreuset is expensive, this is a more economical option.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @the_chunky_chef on Facebook and Instagram!
Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 ham bone check below for substitutions
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 3 cans (15 oz each) cannellini beans rinsed and drained well
- 2 cups diced cooked ham from leftover spiral ham, or store-bought ham steaks
- 1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
- 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- 4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 dried bay leaves (optional)
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat butter and olive oil in a large dutch oven or stockpot over MED HIGH. Once hot, add the ham bone and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Set ham bone aside on a plate.
- Reduce heat to MED, and add carrots, celery, and onion. Cook about 5 minutes, stirring often, until softened.
- Add garlic and cook another minute.
- Add beans, diced ham, Italian seasoning, cumin, thyme, black pepper, rosemary, and red pepper flakes (if using). Pour in chicken broth, water, and add bay leaves (if using), then give everything a gentle stir.
- Return ham bone to the pot, nestling it in, along with any juices that have accumulated on the plate (those are full of flavor).
- Increase heat to MED HIGH and cover. Once soup has come to a high simmer or gentle boil, reduce heat to MED LOW and simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir occasionally, as the beans and ham can settle to the bottom and you don't want them to scorch.
- Remove ham bone and bay leaves (if used), and give the soup a taste. If needed, add a pinch of salt. Ham bones contain a lot of sodium, so I prefer to add the salt afterwards, if needed. Serve hot.
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Chef Tips
Ham Bone Substitutions
If you want to make this soup, but don’t have a ham bone, don’t worry… you can still make a delicious meal. However did you know you can usually get a ham bone from a butcher for a pretty inexpensive price? So if you can, I would try to pick one up. If not, read on:- Ham shank. These are pretty meaty, and are the best substitute for a ham bone.
- Ham hock. These have the bone, but don’t usually have very much meat on them, so you won’t get as much meaty flavor.
- Additional diced ham. If you can’t find any of those two options, I would just add a little extra diced ham, up to an extra cup. I’d also use all chicken broth, instead of the broth/water combo.
Slow Cooker Directions
- Keep all ingredient amounts the same.
- Sear ham bone in butter and oil in a skillet.
- Add all other ingredients to a 6 quart or larger slow cooker and nestle in the ham bone.
- Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours, or HIGH for 3-4 hours.
- Remove ham bone and bay leaves (if used), and serve.
Instant Pot Directions
- Keep all ingredients the same.
- Add butter and oil to Instant Pot insert and select “saute”. Once hot, add ham bone and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side. Remove to a plate.
- Add carrots, celery and onion and cook about 4-5 minutes, until softened.
- Add garlic and cook about 30 seconds.
- Add beans, diced ham, Italian seasoning, cumin, thyme, black pepper, rosemary, and red pepper flakes (if using). Pour in chicken broth and water and give everything a gentle stir. Nestle in ham bone.
- Cancel “saute”. Secure lid, moving the valve to “sealing”. Select “pressure cook” or “manual” and cook on high pressure for 7 minutes.
- Once the cooking time has elapsed, move the valve to “venting” to perform a quick release. When the pin has dropped, remove the lid.
- Remove ham bone and bay leaves (if used), and serve.
Nutrition Disclaimer
The Chunky Chef is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Cathy says
So nummy!
Mary says
Didn’t have a ham bone but added an extra cup of ham instead and used all low sodium chicken broth. Came out excellent! Definitely always making sure I have ham leftovers so I can make this again and again! Also made the Red Lobster biscuit beer bread to serve with it. **chef’s kiss**
Nancy says
Holy Moly this is a wonderful soup. So satisfying and comforting. Thank you Chunky Chef, you never disappoint!
Cathy says
This soup has incredible flavor!
Krystle says
The ham bone adds so much flavor. This was just perfect for these chilly nights we’ve been having.
Beti | easyweeknightrecipes says
My family would really enjoy this delicious soup! So many amazing flavors!
katerina @ diethood.com says
I am loving this!! So warm, hearty and delicious! Perfect for fall!
Erin | Dinners,Dishes and Dessert says
This soup sounds healthy and delicious!
Erin says
Interesting about the difference between shank and hock! And this soup looks perfect.
Beth says
This might be the best ham and bean soup I’ve ever seen. I mean, it is just FULLY loaded. There’s so much in it! It’s great for me, because I always have ham leftover during the holidays.
Deborah says
This is the perfect recipe for use of the leftover ham and looks so delicious. Will have to make this soon.