Navy Bean Ham Bone Soup
by Sommer Collier — last updated on Sep 25, 2024 
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
- 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 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.
I couldn’t find a Ham Bone but got smoked Pork Hocks, will it work the same?
Yes but they dont have very much usable ham type meat. I recommend adding 1 pound of chunked up ham. Be sure not to add any salt until you taste the end product.
Ham Hocks are very salty and I also suggest adding 2 or 3 carrots peeled and split half way so all the carrot goodness gets in there while absorbing some of the beans gassyness. Dont eat the carrots!
Hi Lisa,
Yes, that is a great substitution. :)
Lisa, I just posted my comment, then scrolled back and saw this one, and thought I’d answer so you could see it. I don’t know if this will help you, but we have the same problem re: ham bones. We’re a small family, so a big ham is more than we can manage (even with freezing) but we love soups and such. I’ve asked at our grocery stores for hambones, with no success — heck, the big box stores don’t even have butchers (or Target doesn’t, anyway.)
However, we do have a Honeybaked Ham store in the area, and they sell hambones. Their regular ham is expensive (IMO), but good; the hambones, though, are VERY reasonable — not just the bare bone, but enough ham on there for a couple of extra dishes that need ham pieces. They usually run $10-12, which is a bargain if I’m getting three dishes and leftovers for each dish!
(And no, I’m not employed by Honeybaked — it’s just a great cheat that’s let me make a lot of extra soups and such without having to go to the trouble or expense of a whole ham, so thought I’d share. :) )
This recipe was the first time I ever made homemade bean soup. Wow….it was easy to make and excellent! I’m proud of myself but I couldn’t have done it without this recipe. I’m getting rave reviews too.
I’m looking forward to making it again. Probably this winter and that’s coming soon.
its going to be great Thanks
OMG this soup is out of this world. I am now on my second pot but I will cut the thyme down to about half. Even in all this heat the soup is real satisfying. I also froze some and tried it a couple weeks later. It was just as hood as fresh. Thank you
I do pretty much the same but add bacon grease or a couple slices of bacon to slow cook with the beans, my seasoning varies depending on mood at the time and always gotta have sweet corn bread
Very good, surprised by the red peppers in it! Never put them in beans before, Thank you
Going to make the soup tomorrow! Can you tell me the equivalent to 1tbls of fresh thyem to dry??
Can’t wait to try…….
Darryl
Hi Darryl,
I tablespoon of fresh herbs is about 1 teaspoon of dried herbs. :)
Just finished making this and it is excellent. Used up the remainder of the ham with the bone. You are right that ham can be stretched and repurposed. Made up a 21 pound smoked ham for Easter and have had more than a dozen meals for the family, including three pots of different beans and soups – Hoppin’ John, split pea soup and now this to finish off the ham. Very economical. Have to have some good Mississippi cornbread with it.
I added to your recipe by adding in a half dozen diced fresh jalapenos, the other half dozen are diced up in the cornbread.
Thanks for sharing this.
This was truly epic! I reduced the amount of beans to only about one cup and used chicken stock and water. Sauteed celery with th onions. Added carrots during the last hour so they would not be mushy. Served it the next day and added kale during warm up. It was just the right thickness. I imagine it would be really thick with the whole pound of beans. But less beans is my family’s preference. Really really good. Thanks for this great recipe!
This was the best tasting soup I have ever made! My family raved about it. I used about 1/2 tsp. of the red pepper flakes, and while not hot, it added such an enhancement to the broth.
I just made this tonight. The soup was really tasty. I only put 8 cups of water in as my pot wasn’t large enough. It was plenty of water and I did soak the beans 12 hours. I liked the different spices in this recipe, it gave it bit of a kick. If you don’t like it too spicy then try cutting the red pepper flakes in half or by a third.
I love how comforting it is! Can’t wait to make it again!
Can I make the soup in the Instant Pot as opposed to the stove. That way I would t have to “guard” my stove ;) Any recommendations on how long I should pressure cook it?