This ham and beans soup recipe is hearty, filling, and easy to make! Warm and comforting, 13 bean soup is perfect to snuggle up to on a cold day. I'm including both stove top, crock pot, and Instant pot instructions. Serve with crackers or Jiffy cornbread with creamed corn.
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I recently received a bag of Bob's Red Mill 13-bean soup from Scott's cousin, Marguerite. After noticing that the beans had to soak overnight, she decided to pass them along to me.
The timing was perfect because I had a large ham taking up way too much room in my refrigerator. I don't know about you, but when life hands me a ham and a bag of 13 bean soup mix, I figure the universe wants me to create a ham and beans soup recipe. How can I refuse?
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🔖 Ingredients & Substitutions
- Beans: You'll need a ½ package or ½ lb of Bob's Red Mill 13 bean soup. If you need to, substitute other dried beans, including navy beans, white beans (Great Northern beans), or dried cannellini beans.
- Ham: Use ham hocks, ham shanks, or a leftover ham bone to make this soup. You'll also need 2 cups of diced ham.
- Vegetables: I added onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and tomatoes. Other great options would be peas and corn.
- Spices: Sea salt, black pepper, cayenne, or paprika.
- Herbs: I added bay leaves, dried oregano, and basil. Fresh herbs would also be great, including thyme, sage, and Italian seasoning.
- Tomato Sauce: If you don't have tomato sauce, substitute 3 ounces of tomato paste.
- Oil: You'll need a tablespoon or two of oil to sauté the onion. I used avocado oil, but you can substitute olive oil.
- Water: Instead of using chicken broth, I used water and allowed the ham bone to do its magic!
- Optional: Serve with a dollop of sour cream, crackers, or bread.
🫘 How to Make Ham & Bean Soup
Step 1: Pick through the beans and remove any debris, then cover with 2 quarts of cold water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the soup.
Pro Tip: The longer the beans soak, the less time it will take to cook the beans before they're tender. For this reason, cooking time may need to be extended.
Step 2: Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot. Add diced onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for one more minute.
Step 3: Add drained beans, ham bone, bay leaves, oregano, and basil. Cover with 8 cups (2 quarts) of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover with a lid and simmer for one hour or until the beans are tender; stir occasionally.
Step 4: When the beans are tender, remove the ham bone and shred or dice the meat off of it. Add the ham to the soup along with diced veggies, tomato sauce, seasoning, and 2 cups cubed ham. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
🍽 Serving Suggestions
Serve bean and ham soup in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, and chili sauce. I like to top the bowl of soup with baked pita chips, croutons, or crackers. If you're a dunker, try this quick and easy beer bread or a slice of sourdough bread.
You may also want to try this delicious Instant Pot split pea soup!
Crock Pot Cooking Instructions
If you prefer to cook the soup in a crockpot, add all your ingredients to the crockpot or slow cooker and cook on low for 8 hours or on high for 4 hours.
Instant Pot Instructions
To make this beans and ham soup in an Instant Pot, sauté the onions and garlic in your pressure cooker, then add the remaining ingredients except for the carrots, celery, and tomato. Place the lid on, and cook on high pressure for 55 minutes. Quick release the pressure. Add the vegetables to the soup and pressure cook for an additional 5 minutes. Quick release and enjoy!
🤷🏻♀️ Recipe FAQs
Beans should be soaked for a minimum of 8 hours, preferably overnight. The longer they soak, the less time they'll need to cook. Make sure to rinse the beans with fresh cold water before adding them to your soup.
Soaking beans before cooking them allows the beans to soften so that they cook faster. Another benefit is that soaked beans are easier to digest.
You can technically skip soaking the beans overnight, but the cooking time will have to be extended. If you forgot to soak the beans overnight, you can use the quick soak method by boiling the beans and soaking them for an hour prior to adding them to the soup.
What beans you use in ham and bean soup will depend on your preferences. Some great options include 13-bean soup mix, 15-beans soup mix, great northern beans, or kidney beans.
Ham and beans soup is quite filling and doesn't really need a side. However, crackers, crusty bread, or a light salad are all great options.
Ham and beans soup will naturally thicken as it reduces while cooking. However, if you've added too much liquid and you need to thicken the soup, a great option is to stir a can of refried beans into the soup.
👩🏼🍳 Pro Tips
- One serving of this ham and bean soup recipe equals 1 ½ cups.
- If you forgot to soak the beans, just use the quick soak method. To do this, cover the beans with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Next, turn the heat off and soak the beans for an hour before adding them to the soup.
- If the soup is too thick, feel free to add additional water or broth, no more than one cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- If you prefer a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to give the soup a creamy texture.
- Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer storage.
🥘 More Soup Recipes
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📖 Recipe
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Ingredients
Method
- Pick through the beans and remove any debris, then cover with 2 quarts of cold water and soak for 8 hours or overnight. Drain and rinse the beans before adding them to the soup.
- Heat a few tablespoons of olive oil in a large stockpot. Add diced onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add minced garlic and sauté for one more minute.
- Add drained beans, ham bone, bay leaves, oregano, and basil. Cover with 8 cups (2 quarts) of cold water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat, then cover with a lid and simmer for one hour or until the beans are tender; stir occasionally.
- When the beans are tender, remove the ham bone and shred or dice the meat off of it. Add the ham to the soup along with diced veggies, tomato sauce, seasoning, and 2 cups of cubed ham. Cover and simmer for another 30 minutes.
- Serve bean and ham soup in a bowl with a dollop of sour cream, shredded cheese, chili sauce, tortilla chips, crackers, or sourdough bread.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
- Crockpot & Instant pot instructions are included in the body of this post.
- The longer the beans soak the less time it will take to cook the beans before they're tender. For this reason, cooking time may need to be extended.
- One serving of this ham and bean soup recipe equals 1 ½ cups.
- If you forgot to soak the beans, just use the quick soak method. To do this, cover the beans with a few inches of water and bring to a boil. Next, turn the heat off and soak the beans for an hour before adding them to the soup.
- If the soup is too thick, feel free to add additional water or broth, no more than one cup at a time, until you reach the desired consistency.
- If you prefer a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to give the soup a creamy texture.
- Store soup in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freeze for longer storage.
Kelly Methey says
I’ll be making this as soon as I go to the store!!! Sounds so delicious and easy! Yum!
Hilda Sterner says
Thanks, Kelly! We really enjoyed it too!