We absolutely love a hearty bowl of our quick ham bean soup. It’s a simple classic! After a big dinner or holiday meal, cook your leftover ham bone in a soup with white beans, clean broth and veggies. I

Quick Easy Ham and White Bean Soup Recipe Stove Top in cooking pot with ladle
Quick Easy Ham and White Bean Soup Recipe Stove Top in bowl

Stove Top Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

It’s a fantastic way to use that ham bone from your spiral honey baked ham and not let it go to waste! This is our go-to soup for post-holiday ham meals. It’s cooked on the stove top, quick, easy and finished in 30 minutes. Our recipe uses canned white beans, so it’s perfect for using up those pantry items that you have. There’s a lot of flexibility in this recipe too. Add what ever veggies you want and you’ll be enjoying a comforting bowl of amazing soup.

Video: Recipe for Quick & Easy Ham and Bean Soup

How to Make Recipe for Ham & Bean Soup (Quick and Easy)

This stove top version of this delicious soup is super simple to make. Like we mentioned above, you can add what ever extra veggies you want: some potatoes, shredded cabbage, broccoli or cauliflower. Kale and swiss chard is great too and would add wonderful nutrients to the healthy soup. This soup is finished within 30 minutes because it uses canned beans. If you’re wanting to cook with dried beans, try our Instant pot version. The pressure cooker cooks the soup in minutes too with the dried beans. Check out our step-by-step photos and all the recipe details are in the recipe box below.

Quick Easy Ham and White Bean Soup Recipe Stove Top | BestRecipeBox.com

Stovetop Ham & Bean Soup

If you’re using a ham hock with ham meat, you don’t have to add the additional cooked diced ham. We used a ham bone that didn't have much meat, so we added the extra diced ham. The saltiness of the broth will vary greatly depending on how well seasoned your chicken broth is and if the ham is salted. Make sure to taste the broth after cooking and adjust seasoning accordingly.
Feel free to add more beans if desired. If you love beans, you can easily double the amount of beans in the recipe.
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Ingredients

  • 1 large (1 large) ham bone or ham hock
  • 1 1/2 cups (170 g) cooked diced ham *see head note
  • 1 Tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
  • 1 onion , diced
  • 3 cloves garlic , minced
  • 7 cups (1.66 L) chicken broth
  • 15 oz. (425 g) canned white beans , drained, or more if desired
  • 2-3 large celery stalks , diced
  • 2-3 large carrots , peeled and diced
  • 2 teaspoons (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) dried thyme or dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) ground cumin (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) kosher salt , or to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon (2.5 ml) fresh cracked black pepper , or to taste
  • 1 cup (240 ml) chopped kale or cabbage , optional
  • minced parsley for garnish, optional

Instructions 

  • Heat a large stock pot over medium heat. Add the oil, and when heated, add the onions & garlic. Cook for about 1 minute or until softened and lightly browned.
    Cooking onions in pot
  • Add the ham bone, diced ham, broth, beans, celery, carrots, Worcestershire sauce, bay leaf, thyme, optional ground cumin, salt and pepper. Heat to a gentle simmer.
    Soup ingredients in pot
  • Simmer for 30-40 minutes, depending on how tender you like your veggies and how rich you prefer your broth.
    Ham soup simmering
  • Remove ham bones and any excess fatty chunks and pull off any ham meat and cut into small pieces. Add the chopped ham back into the soup. If you want a thicker soup, mash a few of the beans in the soup. Give the soup a good stir and add additional salt and paper, to taste.
    Chopping up ham from ham bone
  • If desired when serving, add the optional chopped kale or cabbage to the soup. Garnish with minced parsley (optional). Serve warm.
    A ladle full of soup over the pot

Video

YouTube video

Nutrition Information per Serving

Calories: 102kcal, Carbohydrates: 13g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 8mg, Sodium: 982mg, Potassium: 481mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 2463IU, Vitamin C: 14mg, Calcium: 58mg, Iron: 2mg

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Here’s more cool recipes to use with your leftover ham. Hope you enjoy our soup! If you make it, please share it with us on social media or leave your comments below.