Here’s a classic Ham and Bean Soup 🍖🫘
Hearty, comforting, and perfect for using leftover ham.
Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients (serves 6–8)
- 1 lb dried navy beans or great northern beans
- 1 ham bone or 2 cups diced ham
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, sliced
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 8 cups water or chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- ½ tsp black pepper
- Salt, to taste (add at the end)
Instructions
- Soak beans (recommended)
- Rinse beans.
- Soak overnight in water or quick-soak: boil beans 2 minutes, remove from heat, cover, and soak 1 hour. Drain.
- Start the soup
- In a large pot, add beans, ham bone (or diced ham), onion, carrots, celery, garlic, broth, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper.
- Simmer
- Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low.
- Cover and simmer 1½–2 hours, stirring occasionally, until beans are tender.
- Finish
- Remove ham bone, shred meat, and return meat to pot.
- Remove bay leaf.
- Taste and add salt if needed.
- Serve
- Serve hot with cornbread or crusty bread.
Tips
- Soup thickens as it sits—add broth if needed
- For extra flavor, add smoked ham hocks
- Add a pinch of crushed red pepper for heat
Variations
- Slow cooker: 8 hours on low
- Southern style: add a splash of hot sauce
- Creamy: mash some beans against the side of the pot
If you want, I can also share a 15-bean ham soup, pressure cooker version, or smoky ham hock version.
