Are you looking for a fresh new recipe to use up leftover ham? Our old fashioned ham and bean soup recipe could be the answer, as it's economical, healthy, and really easy.
Love recipes that use leftover ham? Try our split pea soup recipe and our dill pickle soup.
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Why This Recipe Works
- This old fashioned ham and bean soup uses a Dutch oven to promote even cooking and prevent burning the bottom of the pot.
- Soaking the dried beans using the quick soak method saves time compared to the overnight method.
- The spices are bloomed right after sauteing the aromatics.
- Deglazing the pot with chicken broth gives this recipe more flavor as it releases the brown bits from cooking the aromatics.
- This soup thickens up easily by blending 6 cups into a stand blender instead of an immersion blender.
Ingredients
The ingredients for our old fashioned ham and bean soup are pantry staples that are easy to find at any large grocery store. Let's talk about some of the key ingredients.
- Meat: We used cubed ham leftover from a spiral ham, but meat from ham hocks would also work.
- Beans: For this recipe, we used dried pink and pinto beans, black eyed peas, and green lentils, but dried navy beans would be a good substitute.
- Mirepoix: We used yellow onions, carrots, celery that were chopped the same size.
- Seasonings: We used bay leaves, fresh and dried thyme, salt and black pepper.
- Milk: We used heavy whipping cream in the recipe card, but unsweetened coconut milk used to make it dairy free.
How to Make
Gather and prep the ingredients for our old fashioned ham and bean soup.
- First start by getting the dried beans you want to use. I have pink, pinto and black eyed peas. Be sure to pick out any damaged or shriveled up beans. Rinse well in a colander.
- We are using the quick soak method for this recipe. Place the beans in a Dutch oven and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring it to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off and let the covered pot sit on the element for one hour. Repeat the above step one more time or until your largest bean is soft to chew.
3. Heat up the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the mirepoix (onions, carrots, celery). Sauté for roughly 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Add the dried spices to the mirepoix and cook them for 30 seconds to make them bloom. To deglaze the pan, pour in ⅓ cup of chicken stock and use a wooden turner to scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the brown bits. The pan is deglazed when all the brown residue on the bottom is scraped away.
5. Pour in the liquids of chicken stock and filtered water. Add the cubed ham and the bay leaves. Stir until well combined.
6. Add the soaked, dried beans. Get a large handful of fresh thyme leaves, tie them up with kitchen twine, and submerge in the pot. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer the covered pot for two hours.
7. Taste it and adjust seasonings to your liking. Remove the bay leaves and bouquet of thyme leaves. To thicken, puree 6 cups in a stand blender then pour it back into the pot and stir well to combine.
8. Remove the soup from the heat and stir in 1 cup of heavy cream, or if you need this dairy free, use 1 cup of unsweetened coconut milk.
9. Let the soup heat through, if necessary, on medium low heat.
10. Serve our old fashioned ham and bean soup while it's still hot. Garnish with fresh thyme leaves, and cracked black pepper.
Recipe FAQs
The most common spices for our old fashioned ham and bean soup are salt, black pepper, thyme, and bay leaves. You can also use freshly squeezed lemon juice to brighten it right at the end.
This recipe has three kinds of beans (pink, pinto, black eyed peas) plus green lentils, but feel free to use what you have in your pantry. This is a forgiving recipe. Other popular white beans to try are navy, great northern and cannellini.
The best way to thicken old fashioned ham and bean soup is by pureeing 6 cups with a stand blender then stirring it back in. If it needs further thickening, simmer with the lid off so more of the broth can evaporate.
Adding more seasonings. Taste it and adjust seasonings during the last 30 minutes to get the right balance of salt, pepper and thyme.
Cook it longer. Low and slow always adds more flavor.
Make it a day ahead. Soups with beans taste better the next day.
Start with a ham bone (or ham hocks). If you have one in the freezer, add it in.
Serve
Serve our ham and bean soup with any crusty bread or rolls, a crisp green salad, or a cheesy sandwich. Try our kale salad or our grilled pimento cheese.
Store
Make Ahead: This old fashioned ham and bean soup can easily be made a day before you plan on serving it.
Leftovers: Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Reheat: Transfer any leftovers to a heavy bottomed pot and reheat over medium low heat until heated through.
Freeze: It depends. If you know in advance that you want to freeze some, set that aside before adding the heavy cream. When creamy soups are frozen, they don't look as good when defrosted as the cream separates and it becomes watery.
Expert Tips
- Want to thicken the broth? Puree 6 cups and stir it back in.
- Want the best texture? Chop up the mirepoix similar in size.
- Want to freeze it? Hold off on adding the cream.
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Recipe
Old Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried pink beans
- 1 cup dried pinto beans
- 1 cup dried black eyed peas
- 1 cup dried green lentils
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
- 1 ¼ cups carrots, peeled and chopped
- 1 ¼ cups celery, chopped
- 3 ¾ teaspoons salt
- 2 ½ teaspoons black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- 6 cups reduced-sodium chicken stock
- 4 cups filtered water
- 3 cups ham, finely diced
- 4 bay leaves
- 44 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
Equipment
Instructions
Preparing the Dried Beans
- Rinse the three kinds of dried beans, discarding any discolored ones. Put them in a large pot, and cover them with water. Let the pot boil for 2 minutes. Turn the heat off but keep the covered pot on the element. Let sit for one hour. Repeat this step one more time. Check the beans to see if they are soft enough to chew.
- When the beans are done, drain them and rinse in a colander.
Crock Pot Method
- Pour the chicken stock, filtered water, onions, carrots, celery, diced ham, and the bay leaves into a large crock pot. Add the soaked beans, lentils, salt, pepper, and the dried thyme. Tie together 38 sprigs, or a handful, of fresh thyme with kitchen twine and add it to the soup.
- Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
- Half an hour before serving, taste and adjust seasonings to your liking. Remove the bouquet of fresh thyme and the bay leaves. Turn the crock pot to the low heat setting and pour in the cream or the unsweetened coconut milk. Cover and cook for another 30 minutes.
- Serve warm. Garnish each bowl with fresh thyme leaves and a few cracks of black pepper.
Stovetop Method
- Heat up the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat heat, then saute the onion, celery and carrot for roughly 8 minutes.
- Add the dried spices and cook for 30 seconds to bloom the spices.
- Pour in ⅓ cup of chicken stock to deglaze the bottom. Use a wooden turner to scrape off the browned bits from sauteing the vegetables.
- Pour in the chicken stock, filtered water, diced ham, soaked beans, green lentils and bay leaves, then stir until well combined.
- Use kitchen twine to secure a handful of fresh thyme, about 40 sprigs. Place the bouquet in the soup.
- Cover the Dutch oven, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium low and let the soup simmer for 2 hours.
- Taste the soup, adjust seasonings, if necessary. Remove the bay leaves and thyme bouquet.
- Remove the soup from the heat, and stir in the heavy cream.
- Serve warm and garnish each bowl with fresh thyme leaves and freshly cracked black pepper.
Notes
- Want to thicken the broth? Puree 6 cups and stir it back in.
- Want the best texture? Chop up the mirepoix similar in size.
- Want to freeze it? Hold off on adding the cream.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally published on January 30, 2018, and was updated with new photos on January 10, 2020. It was republished with resized photos and updated content on April 14, 2022.
Alex
This soup smells delicious! The beans are soft, and the ham is chewy. I like this soup warm! The spices in it are nice, and the carrots and celery taste good. 😀 It's a great way to use up leftover ham.
Emma
Thank you, Alex! I'm so glad that you enjoyed this ham and bean soup.
Beth
This hearty soup smells so good! It reminds me of wild rice soup. It is very creamy and chunky, and everything is soft and colorful. The flavors added by the herbs are delicious!
Emma
Thank you, Beth! This soup is delectable!