quick and easy ham and bean soup recipe is ready in 15 minutes. loaded with cannellini or navy bean with tender leftover ham in every bite!

Ham and Bean Soup recipe is a fast and filling delicious weeknight dinner that smells heavenly. Perfect if you have any ham leftover from Christmas dinner!

ham and bean soup

If you’re anything like me and have no idea what to do with leftover ham except grilled cheese, then this soup is for you. Most ham and bean soup recipes take anywhere from 6-8 hours to cook, all from scratch. As delicious as they all sound, I found myself staring at my ham just an hour before dinner with nothing else on offer in the house.

Enter 15 minute ham and bean soup.

This soup is to die for… even better when you need something FAST, comforting, hearty AND FILLING!

leftover ham recipe

If you don’t have any leftover ham but you really want to try this, you can buy cooked ham (you’ll need about 10 oz or 300 g) from your deli or grocery store.

how do you make ham and bean soup?

This Ham and Bean Soup recipe is so easy and ready in a pinch without much to it at all.

You’re going to start with a Soffritto (sautéing onion, carrots and celery), like we did here in this creamy ham and potato soup. Cook until soft, then sauté the garlic.

The ham is added and fried in all of those flavours before the stock is poured in. Then bring to a boil.

Stir in the beans, taste test and season with salt in the last minute of cooking. You want to make sure you’re seasoning your Ham and Bean Soup with the perfect amounts of salt to suit your tastes.

what beans do you use for ham and bean soup?

Cannellini beans are white Italian kidney beans, which is what we have used in this Ham and Bean Soup. You can also use great northern beans or navy beans.

optional additions:

You can add in other veggies, like spinach, kale, zucchini, shredded cabbage or frozen peas.

If you’d like to add in potatoes, sweet potatoes or pumpkin, you will need to simmer the Ham Bean Soup for about 5-10 minutes longer, until fork tender.

HAM BEAN SOUP

Ham Bean Soup ready in 15 minutes is my kind of soup! A delicious and filling weeknight dinner that smells heavenly. Loaded with cannellini or navy bean and tender leftover ham in every bite! 

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion diced
• 1 large carrot peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 2 cups shredded cooked ham
• 1 1/2 quarts (1 1/2 litres) chicken stock or broth (you can use beef)
• 2 bay leaves (or 1 tablespoon fresh chopped thyme)
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 4 (15 ounce) cans white beans (cannellini beans) — no salt added, rinsed and drained
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• pinch of salt, if needed

INSTRUCTIONS

• In a large pot or saucepan, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery. Cook until onions are softened (5 minutes). Sauté the garlic until fragrant (30 seconds – 1 minute). 
• Add the ham and cook for a further 2 minutes, then pour in the stock. Add the bay leaves (or thyme) and parsley. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes to combine all of the flavours together.
• Stir in beans and season with pepper. Let simmer for 2 minutes, taste test and season with salt if needed.
• Serve warm.

NOTES

HAM BROTH FOR HAM SOUP USING LEFTOVER HAM BONE:

• Simmer the ham bone in a stock pot filled with enough water to cover the bone halfway (about 2 quarts/litres, depending on size of bone).
• Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover with a lid and let simmer until very fragrant (about 1 hour).
• Discard hambone
• Replace the chicken stock with your ham broth.

NUTRITION

Calories: 173kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 599mg | Potassium: 309mg | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 1700IU | Vitamin C: 5.4mg | Calcium: 21mg | Iron: 0.8mg