Old-fashioned ham and bean soup is a hearty, delicious meal for cold winter days. Filled with tasty ham, beans, carrots, and celery, this will quickly become one of your favorite dishes during the winter and any time of year. This ham and bean soup with canned beans is also a terrific recipe for leftover ham.
Hambone soup is a dish that only tastes like it took all day to make. The salty ham, beans, and vegetables create a dish that needs very little cooking time but tastes like it was on the stove all day long.
Growing up, one of my favorite dishes that my grandmother made during the cold winter months here in Canada was hambone bean soup.
Of course, the delicious ingredients and steaming hot liquid warmed up my belly, but there was something about having it served to me by that wonderful woman that warmed up my heart, as well.
This soup is overflowing with ingredients that work so well together, and they always satisfy.
Nothing beats a warm and comforting soup. This ramen chicken noodle soup and easy beef vegetable soup are a couple of my other favorites.
If you're looking for something to pair with this hambone bean soup, make it a complete meal with a fresh salad and some flaky cream cheese biscuits.
Why You Will Love This Recipe
- It's the perfect recipe for a leftover hambone!
- Filled with comforting flavors.
- A hearty soup that can be served as the main course.
- Old-fashioned ham and bean soup is perfect for a cold day!
- Quick and easy to make with simple ingredients.
- Makes terrific leftovers that taste even better over time.
Ingredients in Hambone Bean Soup
To make this delicious soup, you'll need the standard ingredients that you find in most soups. Vegetables create the flavor base that will meld with the hambone. You'll also need canned finely diced ham, cannellini beans, and a few seasonings.
- Ham bone + diced ham: A great way to use up all the pieces left from your baked ham dinner. The bone gives flavor to the soup as it cooks and the diced ham makes it meatier.
- Cannellini beans: White beans and ham go together great! This creamy bean stays intact but has a creamy, silky consistency.
- Vegetables: You will need fresh carrots, celery, onion and garlic to create a great flavor base to build on in this ham and white bean soup.
- Seasonings: Dried seasonings make an easy add-in to flavor your pot of hambone soup. You will need Italian seasoning, cumin, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper.
Measurements for each ingredient can be found on the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
How to Make Hambone Bean Soup
You can have a pot of this delicious soup ready in no time at all. Here's a look at what goes into making it. Detailed instructions are in the printable recipe card at the end of the page.
Step One: Saute
- Spray a large stockpot with cooking spray and place the hambone inside.
- Place carrots, celery, and onion around the hambone and saute until tender.
- Add the garlic, Italian seasoning, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cook for one additional minute.
- Add the cannellini beans, diced ham, and six cups water to the stock pot. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- After cooking, remove ham bone and add salt and pepper to taste.
Substitutions
Don’t have the correct ingredients on hand or want to change something up? Here are some helpful tips for you to change this hambone bean soup recipe.
- Hambone: If you don't have a hambone, you can use diced ham, and replace the water with chicken broth.
- Cannellini Beans: Swap the navy beans or great northern beans with cannellini beans.
- Seasonings: You can omit the cumin and red pepper flakes, if you choose, but I think they both add a lot of great flavor to the delicious broth.
Variations
Want to personalize this hambone soup recipe? Here are some of my tried and true tips for changing up this recipe.
- Change up the seasonings. Bay leaves, dried thyme, and paprika are good choices.
- Add some tang. A squeeze of fresh lemon or lime, or a dash of white vinegar to add brightness to this soup.
- Add some veggies. I think spinach, kale, frozen peas, or shredded cabbage.
- Add diced potatoes or sweet potatoes. Adjust the cooking time as needed.
If you like this recipe, I think you will also enjoy this delicious mushroom soup.
Storage
- Refrigerator: This soup will last for about 4 days in the refrigerator when stored in an air-tight container.
- Freezer: You can freeze this soup for up to a month in an air-tight, freezer-safe container or a heavy-duty freezer bag.
- Reheat: Thaw in the refrigerator and warm on low heat on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
What To Serve With Soup
It's always a question on your mind when it comes to serving soup for your friends and family. What to serve with soup is what you have to figure out but our list will help you decide that...I say try them all and you'll have many different meals.
A tasty addition to your soup that will give it a bit of crunch is our wonton crisps. A dining delight that I'm sure you'll love!
If you're sick of bread and want some different ideas have a look at our What to Serve with Soup Besides Bread.
Wow! This soup look absolutely delicious, but a side dish would take it to the next level. Check out What to Serve With French Onion Soup to find some amazing ideas.
Tips
- Don't skip the hambone if you can help it. This is hambone bean soup, so it needs to be there to achieve the same depth of flavor in this recipe.
- Sauteing the vegetables and the hambone is a crucial step. It releases all the great flavor of the meat, veggies, and even the bone and they all begin to meld together. That will carry over into the simmering process, as well.
- Use quality ingredients. For a dish with few ingredients like this one, using quality ingredients makes a difference.
- Taste before you add salt, since ham already contains a fair amount of salt.
- The broth from this soup is amazing. I highly recommend serving with a square of cornbread or flaky air fryer biscuit, to sop it all up.
FAQ
Do you have questions about making this hambone bean soup recipe? Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about this soup.
Yes, you can use dried beans with this recipe. They will need to be pre-cooked, before adding them to the pot with the rest of the ingredients. This will ensure that all of the ingredients in the soup are of the same texture and consistency.
I used cannellini beans which are Italian kidney beans. You could also use navy beans, great northern beans, or garbanzo beans. Any white or light colored bean will work.
Place about one-half cup soup broth into a bowl. Add two tablespoons of flour or cornstarch and whisk until it is blended. Slowly add back to the soup and let it simmer a few additional minutes, or until thickened.
Video
More Hearty Soup Recipes to Try
Old-Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
- Stock Pot or Dutch Oven
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone
- 2 carrots chopped (about 2 cups)
- 2 celery stalks chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 cup onion chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- 3 15 ounce cans cannellini beans rinsed and drained
- 2 cups finely diced cooked ham
- 6 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Spray a large stockpot with cooking spray and place the ham bone inside.
- Place the carrots, celery and onion around the ham bone and saute until tender.
- Add the garlic, italian seasoning, cumin and red pepper flakes. Cook for one additional minute.
- Add the cannellini beans, ham and 6 cups water to the stock pot. Cover and bring to a simmer.
- Reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes.
- Remove ham bone.
- Add salt and pepper to taste.
Video
Notes
-
- Don't skip the hambone if you can help it. This is hambone bean soup, so it needs to be there to achieve the same depth of flavor in this recipe.
-
- Sauteing the vegetables and the hambone is a crucial step. It releases all the great flavor of the meat, veggies, and even the bone and they all begin to meld together. That will carry over into the simmering process, as well.
-
- Use quality ingredients. For a dish with few ingredients like this one, using quality ingredients makes a difference.
-
- Taste before you add salt, since ham already contains a fair amount of salt.
-
- The broth from this soup is amazing. I highly recommend serving with a square of cornbread or flaky air fryer biscuit, to sop it all up.
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