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Ham and white bean soup in a white bowl on the table.
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Old-Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup

Hambone 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 old fashioned ham and bean soup is also a terrific recipe for leftover ham.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time40 minutes
Servings: 6 servings
Calories: 333kcal
Author: Karin and Ken

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.
There are so many sides to go with this soup that you can switch up your meal and make it top notch every time.  Wonton crisps add that delicious crunch and makes your soup well balanced and even more amazing!
Check out What to Serve With French Onion Soup to find some amazing side dish ideas. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1g | Calories: 333kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 23g | Fat: 4g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 27mg | Sodium: 493mg | Potassium: 1276mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 7202IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 205mg | Iron: 7mg