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5 from 10 votes
Ham and Beans: An old-fashioned and flavorful ham and bean soup recipe that’s made of canned great northern beans, ham, spices, and chicken broth! With only a 7-minute prep time and 45-minute cooking time, this easy recipe is a soup recipe you’ll want to add to your meal plan for dinner or a weekend comfort meal.
Sometimes a warm, and easy bowl of soup is what sounds good on a cold day. This 15 bean soup is one that we love to have on the rotation along with this ham and beans recipe. They’re both so easy to make but the 15-bean soup has more of a cajun flair while this ham and beans recipe has a gentle warm flavor that the whole family will love.
But if you’re looking for multiple soup recipes, perhaps for a food bar or to serve at a pot-luck, you may also love our hearty soups, like this Cowboy Stew recipe, our taco soup recipe, easy chili recipe, and this lasagna soup!
Jump to:
- ⭐️ Why This Recipe Works
- 🧾 Ingredients Needed
- 📖 Substitutions
- 🍳 Equipment
- 👩🏻🍳 How to Make Ham and Beans
- 💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- 📋 Recipe FAQs
- ❄️ Storage
- 🍵 More Comfort Food
- 📖 Recipe
- 💬 Comments
⭐️ Why This Recipe Works
- Large Batch Cooking: Although this recipe serves 6, it’s a great recipe that’s enjoyed the next day so it’s a great way to cook once and have a meal for days if you’re only cooking for a small amount or you can easily double or triple for a huge batch!
- Great way to use leftover ham: This recipe calls for a hearty ham that you can buy at the grocery store but it’s also a great use of leftover ham bone, ham shanks, ham hocks, leftover holiday ham (like leftover Easter ham) or whatever you think is the best ham!
- Old Fashioned Recipe: It’s a recipe that has been around for many years and is a delicious soup that you would normally find in a large soup pot served with cornbread muffins at Grandma’s table, next to this chicken pot pie recipe!
🧾 Ingredients Needed
I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients with some relevant notes but all are simple ingredients.
- Broth – We use chicken stock for this recipe although you can also use low-sodium broth.
- Beans–Using canned beans instead of dried beans is a faster way to make ham and beans since the beans have already been cooked
- Ham – Using pre-diced ham saves time but leftover ham (like we did for this ham casserole) works great as well. Dicing a ham steak or thickly sliced deli meat is also a great choice.
📖 Substitutions
Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:
- Beans – you can use navy beans, dried beans with a quick soak method, cannellini beans, or pinto beans. If using dried beans, soak the beans overnight and drain. Simmer with broth, meat, and seasonings for 2-3 hours.
- Ham – ham shanks, smoked ham hock, any extra ham you may have on hand or just an easy ham that you love to cook with.
- Broth – You can use vegetable broth or even homemade chicken broth.
🍳 Equipment
We cooked this ham and beans recipe on the stove top in a dutch oven but you may also want to try making it in the crock pot or an electric pressure cooker.
👩🏻🍳 How to Make Ham and Beans
There aren’t many steps to this recipe since it’s a quick, dump-and-go soup!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Beans and Ham.Place beans, ham, and ham hock to a large pot or dutch oven. (Image 1).
STEP 2. Broth and Spices. Next, add broth and spices and stir to combine (Image 2).
STEP 3. Boil. Bring to a boil for 5-10 min* stirring frequently.
Tip: *For creamier beans, boil for 10 minutes and stir often. If less creamy beans are desired boil for a shorter amount of time and stir less often.
STEP 4. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-35 min stirring occasionally (Image 3).
STEP 5. Remove. Once done remove bay leaves and ham hock (Image 4).
STEP 6. Remove meat. Remove as much meat as possible from the ham hock and return the meat to the pot (Image 5).
STEP 7. Stir & Serve. Stir once more and serve with cornbread and a dash of black pepper if desired (Image 6).
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Side dishes for ham and beans. It’s common to serve ham and beans with cornbread but you could also serve it with rice, garlic bread, or french bread. This jalapeno cornbread is one of our favorites to serve with it!
- More veggies.Adding thinly sliced carrots in the last 10 minutes of cooking is something you can do if you’re looking to add mover color or vegetables to your recipe.
📋 Recipe FAQs
Should I use ham hocks for ham shanks for ham and beans?
You can use either. Ham hocks tend to have less meat on them than ham shanks, however, they both work well.
What kind of beans do you put in ham and beans?
There are many different kinds of beans you can put in your ham and beans. The most popular types are great northern beans, navy beans, pinto, or cannellini beans.
How do you thicken ham and beans?
Cooking your beans longer, and stirring the beans often, can make a creamier, thicker, ham and beans. Or, you can also combine a mixture of flour and water or broth (about 3 Tablespoons of flour and 1 cup of liquid) and pour in to the pot, and allow to simmer until thickened.
❄️ Storage
Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave. You can also freeze ham and beans in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before warming.
🍵 More Comfort Food
If you love easy old-fashioned comfort food recipes like this, then you’ll also love these:
- Crock Pot Goulash
- Chicken and Gravy
- French Onion Beef Casserole
- Dutch Oven Pot Roast
Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!
📖 Recipe
Ham and Beans Recipe
Jessica Burgess
Ham and Beans: A flavorful ham and bean soup recipe that's made of canned great northern beans, ham, spices, and chicken broth! With only a 7-minute prep time and 45-minute cooking time, this easy recipe is a soup recipe you'll want to add to your meal plan for dinner or a weekend comfort meal.
5 from 10 votes
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 7 minutes mins
Cook Time 45 minutes mins
Total Time 52 minutes mins
Course Main Course
Cuisine American
Servings 6 servings
Calories 554 kcal
Ingredients
- 5 – 15 ounce cans great northern beans 3 drained and 2 undrained
- 4 cups chicken broth
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 Tablespoons dried minced onions
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 smoked ham hock
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
Place all ingredients into a large pot or dutch oven.
Bring to a boil for 5-10 min* stirring frequently.
Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-35 min stirring occasionally.
Once done remove bay leaves and ham hock.
Remove as much meat as possible from the ham hock and return the meat to the pot.
Stir once more and serve with cornbread and a dash of black pepper if desired.
Notes
* For creamier beans, boil for 10 minutes and stir often. If less creamy beans are desired boil for a shorter amount of time and stir less often.
To Store: Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: You can also freeze ham and beans in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before warming.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serving | Calories: 554kcal | Carbohydrates: 77g | Protein: 42g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 1259mg | Potassium: 1410mg | Fiber: 18g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 209mg | Iron: 7mg
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary with brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes and more.
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