Ham and Bean Soup – rich and comforting soup with white beans, carrots, celery, diced ham, smoked turkey and ham bone for an extremely delicious bowl of soup. Perfect way to use up those leftover ham and turkey from Christmas and New Year’s Eve!

Happy holidays. everyone! How was your Christmas? I hope you all had a good one! 

We celebrated Christmas Eve at home and went out yesterday with couple of friends and relatives. Despite all the parties going on, of course, I wouldn’t forget to share this recipe to you all so you can make use of those leftover ham from yesterday’s menu.

Ham and bean soup is the perfect comforting food to indulge in after binge-eating on not-so-healthy Christmas food. It’s rich, flavorful and packs with good nutrients. Not to mention it feeds a crowd well.

What beans do you use for ham and beans?

For this recipe, you can either use Great Northern Beans, Navy or Cannellini beans. These white beans are great in soups as they have this creamy, delicate and soft texture. Now you’d ask, “Can I use canned beans?”. Yes, you sure can. Just make sure to drain and rinse them well before adding it into the pot.

How do you make ham and bean soup thicker?

This soup comes out not-so-thick and not-so-thin; just exactly how I wanted it to be. But for those who wish their soup to be thicker, you can remove a cup or so of the beans, blend them and add it back to the soup as a natural thickener. In this way, you won’t change the flavor, but just the consistency.

Check out other soup thickening techniques RIGHT HERE.

Can you freeze ham and bean soup?

Not only it is super easy, but this ham and bean soup makes a big batch and freezes well. That means, you can cook it once, and enjoy a good hearty bean soup for thrice a week or whenever you get the hankering for a big warm bowl of soup. 

I do this method most of the time whenever I make soups like this Black Bean Soup and Vegetable Beef Soup. To store soups in the freezer, make sure it is cooled completely before transferring it in plastic freezer bags or containers. It could last up to a month in the freezer. To reheat, simply thaw it overnight in your fridge, then pour it in a saucepan and  reheat over low heat. Or you could also reheat them in a microwave. 

For a richer and flavorful soup, I use the leftover ham bone. You can simply skip it if you don’t have one. Serve this hearty and warm ham and bean soup with a warm bread like this homemade garlic bread here or this skillet cornbread for a total filling meal experience. And oh, double the ham and/or turkey if you want more proteins in it. 

Enjoy!

 

Tips and Notes:

1. You can either use Great Northern Beans, Navy or Cannellini beans.
2. For a thicker soup,  remove a cup or so of the beans, blend them and add it back to the soup as a natural thickener.
3. To store soups in the freezer, make sure it is cooled completely before transferring it in a plastic freezer bags or containers. It could last up to a month in the freezer.
4. For best results, choose a large, meaty ham bone.

 

 

 

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup

Soak dry beans in water for about 6-8 hours or overnight in cold water, then drain and rinse. Drain the soaked beans, rinse, and place the beans into the pot. Add about 5 cups water, enough to cover the beans to bring to a boil. Cook until beans is tender.

Heat up a medium or large dutch oven. Then add chopped ham and smoked turkey, cook for about 6-7 minutes or until brown.

Add onions, garlic, thyme , bay leaves, celery and Creole seasoning. Sauté for about 3-5 minutes.

Add about  3 cups  chicken stock and any bones from the ham or turkey, scrape down any bits from the pot,  bring to a boil . Add  beans and carrots , continue cooking until it boils,  let it simmer until sauce thickens. It might take about 30-45 minutes or more depending on how you like your beans.

Adjust for salt and pepper and soup consistency with more Liquid. Serve warm with bread.