Stay warm this winter with a big bowl of old-fashioned ham and bean soup. It's a hearty, healthy, budget-friendly meal the whole family will love.
Loaded with chunks of savory ham, colorful vegetables, and a mind-blowingly flavorful broth, it's both delicious and nutritious.
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This warm and comforting soup recipe is satisfying on its own, but it's even more filling with a side of tender cornbread.
So whether you have holiday leftovers or a fresh ham hock ready to go, this old-fashioned ham and bean soup recipe won't disappoint.
Ingredients
- Dry Great Northern Beans – I love these beans for their flavor and shape, but there are plenty of alternatives, which we'll get into below.
- Salted Water – you’ll use this to “hot soak” the beans so they're soft enough to cook.
- Ham Hock – this is where the soup’s broth gets most of its flavor. Simmered for at least an hour, the ham hock is the most critical ingredient on the list.
- Carrots and Celery – classic veggies used to add flavor, crunch, and nutrition.
- Onion and Garlic – standard soup aromatics to make the broth more mouthwatering.
- Mustard Powder, Bay Leaves, White Pepper – to flavor the broth even more. When it comes to white pepper vs black pepper, just remember that white pepper has a little more heat and that black pepper has a stronger taste.
- Chopped Ham – for more of that meaty ham flavor and wonderful texture.
What Beans Can I Use For this Ham and Bean Soup?
For this ham and bean soup, you can use Great Nothern Beans, which have a lovely nutty flavor.
Alternatively, cannellini, navy, Boston beans, pinto, and kidney beans all make great options.
Should You Pre-Soak the Beans Overnight?
Some recipes call for pre-soaking the beans, saying that it significantly enhances their texture and helps degas them.
Personally, though, I don’t think it’s necessary. I’ve tried making this soup both ways, and I don’t see a big difference in flavors and textures.
It all gets devoured either way.
But, if you still want to pre-soak the beans, by all means!
Here’s how:
- Rinse the beans and discard discolored and broken ones.
- Place them in a large bowl and cover them with water.
- Let the beans soak overnight and drain.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Ham and Bean Soup
- For a thicker, creamier broth, take half a cup of the beans out of the soup, puree them, and put them back in the pot. Pureeing or mashing some of the soup is a great way to make soup creamy as it releases the starches in the beans.
- You can also use starches, such as flour or cornstarch to thicken the soup. Take out a few tablespoons of the hot broth and stir in a tablespoon of starch. Once the slurry is smooth, pour it back into the pot and stir until desired thickness is achieved. This should take just around five minutes or less.
- This soup already contains vegetables, but why stop there? Give it more substance and nutrition with potatoes, spinach, zucchini, frozen peas, kale, and shredded cabbage. The sky’s the limit!
- If adding starchy vegetables such as potatoes and sweet potatoes, let the soup simmer for 5-10 minutes longer, or just until the vegetables are fork-tender. The last thing you want is to bite into a raw potato.
- There’s no need to remove all the meat from the ham bone. The meatier it is, the more flavorful your broth will be! This also means you’ll get more tasty ham bits in the soup.
How To Store Leftover Soup
Store leftover soup in an airtight container in the fridge. It will taste better the day after it's made and should last up to a week in the fridge. If freezing, use freezer-safe bags or plastic containers and keep them for up to three months.
From the fridge, you just need to microwave the soup until warmed through.
You'll find it easier to freeze the soup in individual portions, that way, you don't need to thaw a huge batch for one bowl. Freezer bags make this much easier.
To reheat frozen soup, bring a pot of water to a boil and put the bag of frozen soup inside. It’ll warm up in a few minutes.
If it's in a plastic container, just pop it in the fridge overnight to thaw.
Looking For More Easy and Comforting Soup Recipes?
Vitamix Butternut Squash Soup
4-Ingredient Potato Soup
Panera Broccoli Cheddar Soup
Chick-fil-A Chicken Tortilla Soup
New England Clam Chowder
Old-Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup
9
servings30
minutes4
hours10
minutes257
kcalStay warm this winter with a big bowl of old-fashioned ham and bean soup. It's a hearty, healthy, budget-friendly meal the whole family will love.
Ingredients
1 pound dry Great Northern beans
8 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ham hock
1 cup chopped carrots
1/2 stalk celery, chopped
1 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon mustard powder
2 bay leaves
2 cups chopped ham
1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and discard broken or discolored ones.
- Bring water to a boil and flavor it with salt. Remove from heat and add the beans. Let the beans soften in the hot water for at least 1 hour.
- After soaking, place the pot on high heat and add the ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, mustard powder, and bay leaves. Stir well and bring to a boil.
- Reduce to low heat and let the soup simmer for 1 more hour.
- Remove the ham bone and stir in the chopped ham.
- Let it simmer for 30 more minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with ground white pepper to taste. Serve hot and enjoy!
18 Comments
Can I use pinto beans
Make soups and stews in winter for volunteers/ staff at Foodbank so everyone has energy to wk the long lines there. Thanks for another great idea
I want to make this recipe right away, yum.
Love this recipe, can’t wate to make it!
I wanted Bill Knapp restaurant soup recipe
This is a hardy soup and very delish
Simple recipe ❤️
To put together. I did opt to cook it in crock pot on High… since my stovetop was being used by someone else at the time.
I only had 1 15oz can of cannelloni beans on hand hopeful 🤞 will turn out fine. I did add a small portion of red kidney canned beans I had left over from another recipe just to make sure I had enough beans in there. And I diced up 3 small potatoes and added. I needed to get rid of them, and didn’t want to waste food
Will comment how it turned out… To be revised at a later date.
Ps…I think it’s ok to Share what others may have used as substitutions on hand, or personal preference, just in case their missing a key ingredient, or need to use up items before they go bad.
I don’t think it should ever be viewed as a hidden agenda to sabotage the original recipe. Fresh Ideas are always helpful.
I use my crock pot for making all my soups. In this bean soup; if using ham hocks Leave out the salt that is required in recipe. With the ham and the ham hocks there is already plenty of salt in the soup.
I added frozen mixed vegs and patato with smoke sausage.and a little bite bacon.
Your recipe is fabulous just as is! I find it very rude of people that post their own recipe on someone else’s like theirs is better. But I just wanted to add one suggestion that I discovered years ago. If the ham hocks are or too small and fatty for the price you might want to try smoke turkey legs or even if someone doesn’t eat ham.
Can I make this bean soup in a crockpot
Can this be made in a crockpot
I am about to make this soup using your recipe. It’s a cool rainy day and i think it will be a great dinner. I will update afterwards with my family’s reviews. Thanks for your tips.
I hope it turned out well for you, Judy!
Why can I no longer save your recipes ?
We’ve been having problems with this feature for about a week and a half now, Robert. Kim has been working on getting it fixed, but it’s proven problematic. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.
I make Ham & Bean Soup all the time. Over the years I improved my recipe to include the following: I use Smoked Ham Hocks or Shanks or even Smoked Neck Bones with great results. I do not cook with any added salt because the smoked meats are salty enough. If you prefer it salter you can always add some more salt to your bowl. If the soup lacks enough Smokey flavor I add some Liquid Smoke to the pot. I also use Butter Beans in addition to the Great Northern Beans for a even hardier soup. I smash about a third of the Northern Beans for a thicker, creamier base. I also add flour or cornstarch, on occasion, for a even thicker broth. Yummy! It’s one of my family’s favorite especially when it’s served with rye bread.
Hi Laurie!
Thanks so much for the tips! I’ll have to try those next time 🙂