Ham and White Bean Soup might be the quickest soup to make with your leftover holiday ham! Hearty and nourishing, it uses canned beans so it's ready in about 35 minutes, but tastes like it's been simmering on the stove all day!
Ham and White Bean Soup is loaded with healthy vegetables, and so much flavor from leftover holiday ham. But, you can buy a ham steak or small boneless uncured ham to make this soup any time of year!
I love to occasionally buy a small quarter ham in the winter, great for soup, quiche, or fried in a cast iron skillet with honey and mustard! It's great to stretch for 2 or 3 meals!
If you've got leftover holiday ham or any ham, try my Broccoli Cheddar and Ham Soup, Potato Ham and Leek Soup or my Split Pea Soup too!
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Ingredients & Substitutions
This is a simple rustic peasant dish, made fast and easy with the help of canned beans!
- Vegetables - The soup starts with a base of classic vegetables, onion, celery and carrots. You can wash your carrots well and skip peeling them, unless they look funky, then go ahead and peel them. The veggie amounts done need to be exact, so if you don't have quite enough celery, or you love carrots and want to put in extra, that will be just fine.
- Potatoes -You can really use any kind of potato for this recipe, and you don't need much. I prefer Yukon Gold because their thin skins don't need to be peeled. If you use a potato with thicker skin, like russets, peel them. You only need 1 larger potato or a couple smaller ones, red potatoes are also fine.
- Ham - Perfect for leftover holiday ham, but any ham can be used to make it year round. Most stores carry a small boneless fully cooked smoked quarter ham. These are great to chop for soups, quiche, sandwiches or to add to mac & cheese.
- Garlic - Fresh is best, or substitute 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
- Seasonings - This soup gets a lot of flavor from the ham, while the veggies are simply seasoned with salt and pepper. I like to add a bit of fresh thyme as well, but you can substitute dried thyme, Italian seasoning or another savory herb blend.
- White Beans - Canned beans make this soup cook up fast! I use Great Northern beans, but you can also use cannellini or navy beans. Be sure to drain and rinse them well in a strainer to remove preservatives and excess salt. If you love white beans, try this White Bean Cassoulet!
- Chicken Stock - Store-bought or Homemade Chicken Stock or vegetable stock are all fine for this soup.
See recipe card below for quantities.
Instructions
This soup couldn't be easier and comes together super quick! Just saute your veggies and ham, add beans and stock and simmer until the potatoes are cooked through!
Step 1 -Chop your veggies. Carrots and potatoes don't need to be peeled. Try to chop everything roughly the same size.
Step 2 - Heat a large soup pot over medium heat with olive oil and saute your veggies. Season with salt and pepper and stir occasionally, about 7 minutes.
Step 3 - Add the ham and continue cooking another 5 minutes.
Step 4 - Add your garlic, thyme and white beans and give it a good stir.
Step 5 - Add the stock and bring to a gentle boil over medium low heat, about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked through. Taste one!
Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.
Recipe Notes & Tips
- Storage - Store White Bean Soup with Ham in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer - This soup can be frozen for up to 4 months. I like to freeze soup in glass jars for perfect single serving portions. Fill jars only ¾'s full to allow for expansion and cool completely in the fridge first. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat in the microwave or the stovetop. Never run a frozen jar under hot water, it will crack!
- You don't need to peel the carrots or potatoes - Yukon Gold potatoes have thin skins that are fine left unpeeled. You can use any kind of potato. If using a russet or one with thicker skin, you may want to peel it. I usually don't peel carrots, just wash them well, scrubbing them under running water with your hands. Unless they look a little off, then peel them.
- Vegetables should be al dente, a little firm and not totally mushy when the soup is finished. Taste a potato to see if it's done, they will take the longest.
- Adjusting the Thickness - This is a brothy soup, but "thick" because it's so full of stuff! You can always add water or more stock to thin it, especially when reheating. If you want a thicker consistency, pull out a cup or 2 of the soup or just the beans and puree in a blender or food processor before adding back.
- Holiday Leftovers - If you've got leftover mashed potatoes, you can throw a few scoops into this soup at the end instead of the chopped potato! It will give your soup a creamier consistency.
- Serve With - We love serving this soup with crusty Dutch Oven Bread, crackers or even grilled cheese sandwiches. Or make it a soup and salad night with an Italian Mixed Greens Salad with Crispy Prosciutto.
Recipe FAQs
I would not recommend pureeing this soup. However, if you want a creamier consistency, you could puree some or all of the white beans with some chicken stock in a blender or food processor before adding.
Yes, this soup is gluten-free because it does not use flour as a thickener.
Yes, you could easily throw all ingredients in a crockpot and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.
Yes, the potato is totally optional and not always common in ham and white bean soup. It does add an extra element of heartiness, but really all the vegetable amounts in this soup can be adjusted to your liking.
Yes, you can definitely throw in the ham bone if you have it. You may want to let the soup simmer a bit longer. If you want to use a ham hock instead of leftover ham, again you'll want to simmer it longer, up to a couple hours. Then pull the ham hock out, pull off the meat and return it to the soup.
More Favorite Soup Recipes!
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Ham and White Bean Soup
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Print Pin RateIngredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 onion (chopped 1 cup)
- 3 ribs celery (chopped 1 cup)
- 3 carrots (chopped 1½ cups)
- 1 medium potato (chopped 1½ cups)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 10 grinds fresh black pepper
- 3 cups ham
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme
- 3 cans white beans drained and rinsed
- 4 cups chicken stock
- fresh parsley to garnish
Instructions
- In a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and saute the onion, celery, carrot and potato, season with salt and pepper. You can add them to the hot pot as you chop them. Stir occasionally, about 7 minutes.
- Add the ham and cook another 5 minutes.
- Add the garlic, thyme, and white beans and stir to combine until the garlic is fragrant.
- Add the stock and bring to a gentle boil over medium to medium low heat, about 15 minutes or until the potatoes are softened (taste one!)
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with Parmesan cheese and crusty bread.
Notes
- Vegetable amounts don't need to be exact.
- Potato - I used 1 medium sized Yukon gold potato and did not peel it. Use any type of potato, 1 larger or a couple smaller ones. Peel it if using a potato with thicker skin such as a russet. You don't need a lot of potatoes for this soup.
- Use chopped leftover holiday ham, or you can buy ham steak or a quarter boneless uncured ham any time of year.
- I used Great Northern Beans but you can also use cannellini or navy beans.
- Water - You may need to add an extra cup or 2 of water or additional stock if your soup is too thick, especially when reheating.
- Adjust the salt to your liking and depending on how salty your ham is.
Ann says
I love this soup! Easy to make, good as a leftover, real comfort food.
Meryl Downing says
Glad to hear you liked it, I love this one too, leftover ham is the best! Thanks!