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.
This recipe is very easy and soooo delicious! My family loved it!
So yummy – I made my own changes but do not skip the red pepper flakes. It gives a touch of heat that is divine. It makes the soup for me. Yummmm!
My mom put hard boiled eggs in hers that’s how I make mine. Really the only thing that’s different
Pennsylvania Dutch thing I guess
Browsing, noticed the problems some had with hard beans. I’m another Nana. I’ve experienced hard beans many times. It’s a problem cured by longer cooking, adding more liquid as needed. Bean freshness is usually the culprit. If that fella bought his beans at the same place twice, then he would get the same results twice! Don’t dump! keep cooking! Modern recipes overlook that no two bags of beans cook the same. Be careful where you buy, for freshness, and soak/cook until done. They are done soaking when doubled in size and not before. After 12 hours, soak them in the fridge for food safety. When cooking, bring to boil then DROP BACK TO SIMMER! Hard boiling early on is another big cause of tougher beans. Old beans can take a very long time to cook: They’re done when they are done and not before. That’s the old fashioned way!
As for soaking 12 hours is kind of generous but I would think the amount of time to cook everything shouldn’t cause any food safety concerns although the beans might turn out overly mushy just saying.
This was excellent. I made two slight changes, I used smoked ham hocks and two smoked ham boneless chops. Also, used 12 cups of water. Followed the cooking directions but then at the end, raised heat to boil it down for another 2 or so hours, very flavorful and great consistency.
Soo good. I accidentally purchase small navy beans and should have reduced the instapot time but it still turned out great. I used the leftover Honey Baked ham from Thanksgiving. Its brothy rich, spicey, and savory. Definitely going to keep this recipe. Thanks for sharing! Don
I made this soup on Tuesday with leftover ham bone from Thanksgiving. This is by far the best navy bean soup I’ve ever made. I really think the cumin and crushed red pepper where the key ingredients. My husband raved about it. Thank you so much for sharing.
I made this yesterday in the crockpot added whole slices of bacon that I took out at end also added diced tomatoes celery carrots and bay leaves. So awome thank you. Love the flavor of the cumin and the spice
I am wanting to make this for dinner, however I have only canned beans on hand. Fingers crossed it will still turn out ok 🤭
How did it go? I want to try with canned beans.
Used the spiral ham bone left over from Thanksgiving. Came out nice and thick, I used 4 cups low sodium chicken broth and 3 cups of water. I let it simmer for about 2 hours and served with corn bread. Absolutely delicious. They are right about the salt, I never even added any because the ham bone has so much salt. I also threw in some bacon slices I had to use up with the onions and garlic at the start. The house smelled amazing too; which is always a plus!
Thank you for this recipe, it was delicious with the leftover ham bone! I used ground thyme…1/2-1 tsp…I imagine fresh thyme is even better.
I want to make this recipe – when I soak the beans overnight should the water be cold, warm or hot? The soup looks delicious and I have all the ingredients.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated reply.
Sincerely,
Hi Carole Anne,
I usually start them in warm tap water. Yet honestly, if they are soaking overnight, the temperature of the water doesn’t matter. ;)