Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Jan 21, 2026 
Nana’s Epic Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup Recipe is a simple, yet utterly rich and savory, ham and bean soup recipe is a great way to use your leftover holiday ham bone or make on a chilly winter day!
Why We Love This Navy Bean Soup Recipe
Growing up with five kids in our family, and a string of tag-along neighborhood friends, my mom (now known as Nana) made a lot of meals that could either be stretched to feed extra guests, or could be eaten as leftovers.
My mom (now known as Nana) had a special gift for using her resources wisely. Nothing went to waste, ever. And one of my favorite childhood meals was Nana’s Epic Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup, i.e. navy bean soup simmered with a leftover ham bone.
Navy bean soup is rich, filling, comforting, and can feed a large crowd on a small budget.
This soup is especially good when you have a leftover ham bone from a holiday meal! Whether it was from Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter, this ham bone navy bean soup is perfect as a nourishing meal following the days after a holiday. Today I will show you exactly how to use your leftover ham bone, to make the most of every last bite of flavor your baked ham can offer!
Ingredients You Need
- Dried Navy Beans – or other small white beans like great northern beans or cannellini beans
- Ham Bone + Ham Scraps – or a ham hock
- Olive Oil
- Large Onion – peeled and chopped
- Cloves Garlic –Minced
- Fresh Thyme Leaves – or dried thyme
- Ground Cumin
- Crushed Red Pepper
- Water – or chicken broth, but be sure to use low-sodium
- Salt and Black Pepper
Sometimes Nana (and I) add 2-3 chopped carrots, and 2-3 chopped celery stalks to the soup for additional veggie goodness. They are not necessary ingredients, but add a bit of extra color and nutrients to this navy bean soup recipe! If using, add the carrots and celery when you add the onions.
Pro Tip: If you didn’t have ham for your holiday dinner, you can buy a ham bone from the butcher for next to nothing.
Why Should I Add a Ham Bone to Soup?
Adding a ham bone to soup is a marvelous way to create a rich depth of flavor, finish off the last scraps of ham left on the bone, and eliminate the need to buy added stock.
A ham bone boiled in water develops a lovely soup base on its own, because the bone itself will add flavor and collagen to the liquid, and the smoked meat will fall off and add salt and a lovely meaty flavor with literally no effort from you!
How to Make Nana’s Epic Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup
Start by soaking dried beans in water overnight to prep them for cooking.
This does take thought to prepare ahead, but it also saves money (on canned beans) reduces sodium, and gives the beans a better texture and consistency.
Place a large 6-quart pot or dutch oven over medium to medium-high heat on the stovetop. Next sauté the ham bone, onions, and garlic in a little oil. This browns the leftover ham and softens and sweetens the aromatics.
Then add in the soaked beans, herbs, spices, and water. Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 60-90 minutes, covered, until the beans are very soft. Uncover and stir occasionally, then place the lid back on top.
Use a fork to pull any remaining ham off the bone and stir it into the soup. Discard the bone. Add 1-2 cups additional water if the soup is too thick. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
Serve warm. Garnish with fresh parsley, if desired. You may even want to pair a jalapeno cheddar cornbread with this hearty soup.
Tips & Tricks
- You can add any additional vegetables, herbs, or spices you like to this navy bean soup with ham. Bay leaves would be a good option, or add extra ham scraps you might want to use up.
- If you don’t have time to soak your beans overnight, and you own an electric pressure cooker like an Instant Pot, you can pressure cook the beans instead of soaking them to speed things up.
- Do not add any salt until the soup is fully cooked. Hambones have a lot of salt in them, and it’s easy to overdo it if you salt the soup too early. Taste and adjust accordingly.
Serving Suggestions
A bowl of navy bean ham bone soup is perfectly satisfying on its own, but you can also serve it with some side dishes to make it a more hearty meal! This is a great idea if you are feeding a large crowd. Try pairing it with some of my personal favorites:
See The Recipe Card Below For How To Make Easy Ham and Bean Soup Recipe + Video. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Store Navy Bean Soup?
You can freeze Nana’s Epic Soup in an airtight container or freezer bags for later quickie meals.
Even consider pureeing it into incredible bean dip with a blender to eat with tortilla chips.
Can This Be Made With Canned Beans?
You can use canned beans and it will reduce the cooking time, but honestly, it’s best with dried-soaked beans. It takes about 3 of the 15-ounce cans of beans per 1-pound dried beans. Drain the liquid well to reduce the sodium. You can even rinse the beans to make sure you get as much sodium off as possible.
Is There A Crockpot Version Of This Recipe?
You can make this recipe in the crock pot… And you do not need to soak the beans ahead of time! Saute the veggies on the stovetop until tender, then add everything to the slow cooker. Set on low for 10-12 hours, or on high for 5-7 hours. Then serve your slow cooker ham soup warm out of the crock.
Can I Use The Ham Bone More Than Once?
I usually just use a hambone just once. However, I have heard that if there is still meat on the bone and marrow in the center, you can wrap and freeze it for later use. Yet if you’ve “picked the bone dry” in a recipe, throw it out.
What If I Threw My Ham Bone Out?
You could make this with your leftover ham or you could buy a ham bone (or ham hock) from the grocery store. Or, try making my vegetarian navy bean soup recipe instead!
Looking for More Soup Recipes You Will Love? Be Sure to Also Try:
- Portuguese Caldo Verde Recipe
- Creamy Poblano Turkey Soup Recipe
- Simple Egg Drop Soup Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
- Navy Bean Vegetarian Soup Recipe
- Nana’s Creamy Potato Soup Recipe
- Ham and Potato Soup Recipe by Simply Recipes
Check the printable recipe card below for the nutrition information including calories, protein, fiber, and vitamin percentages.
Navy Bean Soup Recipe (with Ham)
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried navy beans
- 1 ham bone + ham scraps
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2-1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
- 10 cups water
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- The Night Before: Place the dried beans in a large bowl and cover with three inches of water. Soak the dried beans overnight (up to 24 hours) to soften. Drain when ready to use.
- Place a large 6 quart pot over medium heat. Add the oil, ham bone, onions, and garlic. Sauté for 3-5 minutes to soften the onions.
- Then add in the drained beans, thyme, ground cumin, crushed red pepper, 10 cups of water, and any remaining ham scraps. (Do not salt the soup until the end, because ham bones can be very salty.)
- Bring the soup to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 60-90 minutes, covered, until the beans are very soft. Uncover and stir occasionally, then place the lid back on top.
- Use a fork to pull any remaining ham off the bone and stir it into the soup. Discard the bone. Add 1-2 cups additional water if the soup is too thick. Taste, then salt and pepper as needed.
Great recipe! My family loved it. Easy to do and flavourful.
Really awesome! Added the extra veggies. Used dried thyme and ham hocks (no ham bone), plus additional ham leftovers. At end I pureed some of the beans/liquid to make it thicker. Added a splash of liquid smoke. Loved it and very hearty. Thank you!
Made this exactly as laid out in the recipe and it was amazing! My husband loved it, as did I. It’s a great comfort food in this cold weather! It’s definitely a keeper.
Easy
I did add the celery & carrot option. I substitute 10 th cup of water for 1 cup of dark beer plus added 1 bay leaf. Came out excellent!
Every person rated this recipe 4 and 5 stars. I’m guessing it’s not the recipe but rather, your inability to add spices to taste. It’s incredible that you’d give a crappy rating for something that’s your own fault.
I have made Navy Bean soup for years but decided to look up some recipes for inspiration. I loved the idea of adding cumin. I make a vegetarian lentil soup with cumin and love the smokiness it adds. I followed your recipe but used a ham hock and a ham steak, added carrots, celery and a couple of diced potatoes and a can of diced tomatoes and a couple of bay leaves. It simmered all day and we loved it! Oh and I used 2 cartons of vegetable broth and after a couple of hours added 2 additional cups of water and some salt. And I never soak my beans overnight and do a quick parboil and they’re always perfectly tender. Thanks for the great recipe!
So, you’re giving the original recipe five stars, but you changed everything about it.
My thoughts exactly!
I absolutely love this soup! The cumin makes it perfect as is. My son is so picky and he loves it. We all do. Soooooooo glad to have found your recipe. 😄💜💜💜
Just made the soup and used a leftover (frozen)ham bone and fresh thyme from my winter garden in addition to the other spices and carrot/celery. The only substitution was I had pinto beans in pantry and used those. I think you could honestly use this recipe with any white bean. The soup came out great. I did have a bit more broth than I prefered so to thicken the soup I added some Israeli Couscous. I bet you could add any pasta or barley as well. Perfect soup for a winter day and a hearty meal!
My Mom always put a lil white vinegar in to take the sting out of the beans,
Stores were out of navy beans, for some reason, so I used cannellini beans. Substituted two leeks for the onion and added a couple of generous handfuls of chopped kale in the last 1/2 hour. I did soak the beans, but they took a long time to soften. I cooked the leeks, celery, carrot, and garlic slightly in a little olive oil, first, and then dumped everything in a crockpot on low for almost 9 hours with a Honeybaked ham bone which added a great smoked flavor. Did not have any red pepper flakes and was reluctant to use cumin, but it added a perfect amount of seasoning to the soup. This is an outstanding soup and I’m making it again tomorrow!
Excellent recipe! I couldn’t find a ham bone, so I used a ham steak, and unfortunately I did not have cumin. I added the carrots and celery like suggested. Thanks for a great recipe!
This is without a doubt the best bean soup I’ve ever made. I’m tossing every other bean soup recipe in my binders. Followed instructions to the letter except for adding a bit of chicken base to give the broth a bit more oomph. It’s perfection. Don’t be daunted by the spice level; it’s not overpowering, just enough to give the soup depth.