Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup
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 Ham Bone 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
- Slow Cooker Guacamole Soup Recipe
- Simple Egg Drop Soup Recipe
- Spring Pea Wasabi Soup Recipe
- Creamy Chicken Tortellini Soup Recipe
- Navy Bean Vegetarian Soup Recipe
- Rustic Ribollita Recipe (Tuscan White Bean Soup)
- 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 Ham Bone Soup Recipe
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.
I omitted the crushed red pepper and did like what my mom used to do and added 2 sticks of butter, added a bit of cornstarch, mashed the beans up a bit and let it sit overnight. This made it creamier and let the flavors sink it. It is wonderful!
So glad to find this recipe! We loved the addition of the cumin and red pepper flakes, which really put the flavor over the top. I did add 2 Bay leaves and a cup of diced celery along with the onion. Also added 2 cups of diced carrot during the last 20 minutes of cook time so they wouldn’t be too soft. Served with bake-at-home sourdough bread and salad. Perfection!
I make Nana’s epic Navy Bean soup every year after Christmas and it is a crowd pleaser every time. So simple, yet so yummy. I do like to add the carrots and celery for color and flavor.
Made this and it was delicious. Very similar to the way my grandma used to make it. Simple but delicious. We definitely added carrots for some color and extra veggies.
I have never made ham and bean soup with cumin and thyme before. I will from now on. This was excellent. I use great northern beans rather than navy beans, though I think they are very similar. Because I like it with a lot of veggies, I used an entire celery bundle and 9 carrots. I used the bone and some leftover scraps from a shank portion of a ham. Whenever cooking a ham, I intentionally don’t carve that close to the bone expecting to make soup. I also used a crock pot set on high for 7 hours rather than stove top.
This is the absolute BEST recipe. I did wind up using a variety of canned beans for ease, but was so pleased with how everything turned out! I did add carrots and celery as well. It tasted exactly as I remember my grandma’s ham and bean soup!
So good! We also add andouille sausage and I use more garlic than called for. Definitely don’t salt it!
I usually use some chicken broth and a bottle of beer. Adding water as needed if that’s not enough.
i love this soup and i am not really a bean eater! i do mash up a small protion of the bean to make the soup thicker if needed.
This is my go to for a couple years now. Came back to the site since it’s that time of year again. Thanks for the great recipe! I do add the carrots and celery like Nana and won’t have it any other way now. 🙂
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My (Easter) hambone and dried great northern beans, with all your spices… celery garlic onion carrots cumin thyme red pepper flakes…. It was absolutely delish! Served with jalapeño corn bread. Thanks for your help with your recipe. I’ve made ham and beans many times using my own concoction but you topped mine!!❤️
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This came out just like my mom used to make. So delicious. Haven’t had this soup in about 30 years.
I have made this recipe dozens of times now, so I should probably write a review.
It’s delicious. I just use dry Italian seasoning instead of fresh thyme.
It wasn’t my moms bean soup! But it was delicious! This will be my go to from now on. I did add a slurry of cornstarch and water because I like my bean soup a bit thicker. Thanks so much for the recipe
Thought I have it a 5!
I just made this soup with leftover ham/ham bones from Christmas. It was excellent!
Making this now. Added carrots, bay leaves, ground mustard in addition to what the recipe called for. It’s smelling delicious. Can’t wait to eat!
Delicious,,,, and very easy