Ham and Bean Soup

4.75 from 4 votes

Nov 17, 2025

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Easy, rich, delicious bean soup loaded with chunks of ham, slow simmered to perfection with vegetables for a hearty flavor that will stick to your ribs without breaking the bank!

picture of diced ham and bean soup on a spoon

A hearty bowl of ham and bean soup with a spoon.

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At Sweet C’s, I add lots of tips in all of my recipes – because I am a home cook without any formal training, and I find I am more confident making dishes when I understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. My goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup
- Steps to make Ham and Bean Soup
- Ham and Bean Soup FAQs:

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup

This recipe is a cozy, delicious classic – perfect for snuggling up on crisp, cool fall days, dunking a fresh baked roll into, and warming up with; it is incredibly friendly on the wallet and is very filling even though it comes in just around 300 calories per serving – making this Ham and Bean soup one of my favorite meals.

You can throw this soup in the slow cooker or an Instant Pot, add more vegetables or meat, change up the flavors – it is designed to be versatile. Plus, if you recently had a ham, you can throw the ham bone in to add more flavor, and save even more by using up your leftovers.

Ham and Bean Soup Ingredients

To make this recipe, you’ll need:

Ham – Ham is the hind legs of a pig, that are curred with salt and often smoked. I used smoked ham for this recipe because it brings a meaty, smoky flavor to the beans.
Dried Bean Soup Mix – Dried bean mixes are a great way to easily incorporate a number of interesting flavors and textures into a soup. I used a mix that had navy beans, split peas, black beans, kidney beans, and pinto beans among others. The soup mix I used also include a flavor pouch.
Onions – Onion is the staple ingredient of the classic mirepoix, a flavor alliance of onions, carrots, and celery that is the foundation of many western dishes. The onion provides a hearty and sweet flavor when cooked.
Carrots – the sweet star of the mirepoix soup base, carrots bring sweetness and texture to the soup, and a contrasting bite to the beans.
Celery – Celery completes the mirepoix, with a slightly salty and fresh flavor. The traditional mirepoix ratio is 2 parts onion, to 1 part celery.
Olive Oil – Building the soup base requires a tasty fat to cook your mirepoix in. Olive oil is great for this dish because its mild and rich flavor compliments the vegetable sweetness and starchy richness of the beans.
Garlic – Garlic brings an umami flavor and brilliance to the finish of this hearty soup.
Bay Leaf – Bay leaves are traditional flavorings for a wide variety of international cuisines. In American and European dishes, they’re more often used whole and then removed before serving. They contribute a herbal and floral nose to your dish and bring a mild earthiness
Beef Stock – No soup is complete without a liquid base. Using beef stock to cook the beans, ensure they’ll absorb much of the beefy flavor from the stock making this dish that much heartier.

Steps to make Ham and Bean Soup

Once you’ve gathered your ingredients, we will use the following method:

picture of browned carrots, celery, garlic, and onions in a dutch oven

Soften Vegetables

In a dutch oven or other large, heavy pot brown your onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 5-6 minutes over medium-high heat, and then add your garlic. Cook for 1-2 minutes until the vegetables are brown and the garlic is fragrant and soft.

picture of beans in dutch oven with browned vegetables

Stir in Other Ingredients

Add in the remaining ingredients, including the beans, ham, beef stock, bay leaf. Don’t add packet of seasoning with bean soup mix until the end of cooking to ensure it doesn’t get overly salty.

picture of stock in dutch oven with beans and vegetables

Simmer

Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a lower simmer. Cook the soup for 2-3 hours, until the beans are tender. I like to simmer this soup for up to six hours, adding water when it reduces, for the best flavor.

Serve Hot

Serve this soup hot with freshly baked bread like Dilly Bread or our No Knead Bread.

Tips and Tricks to Perfect Ham and Bean Soup:

This Easy Ham and Bean Soup is so easy it’s only three cooking steps! Here are a few tips to make it even easier.

Use leftover diced ham. Got leftover ham from your holiday meal? Use it in this recipe!

Buy pre-diced ham. An 8oz package of ham is comfortably under $5 at most grocery stores, and comes pre-diced – so you can simply add to the soup. This is an economical choice that saves time and your wallet!

Throw in the ham bone. If you had a spiral ham, and have a ham bone, throw it into the soup as it cooks for even more flavor.

Ham and Bean Soup FAQs:

How do I store this soup?

Ham and bean soup will keep in your refrigerator for up to a week, and three months in your freezer.

What other vegetables can I add?

Bell peppers, okra, carrots, peas (only add peas at end of cooking), are all delicious in this soup!

Should I use the bean soup flavor packet?

If not using a ham bone to cook your soup, I like to use the flavoring packet in the bean soup bag – it helps to enhance the meaty flavor of your soup.

Can I add more ham?

Yes! Go ahead and load it up – with double or even triple the amount of ham, if desired.

How can I keep my soup from being salty?

Try to use a low sodium stock for this soup and reserve salt until after simmering, as ham is already quite salty.

Can I make this soup in a slow cooker?

Soup can be made in a slow cooker by adding all ingredients to slow cooker and cooking on low for 6 hours, high for 4 hours, or until beans are soft.

What to Serve With Easy Ham and Bean Soup

Soup and freshly baked bread go together well, so I’d pair this with my easy no-knead bread or my cheddar-jalapeno bread.

For some more adventurous or sweeter tooth I’d pair this easy Ham and Bean Soup with my delicious and sweet pumpkin bread or my skillet Irish Potato Bread.

Fresh and bright salads are also a healthy balance for this rich and hearty soup. I especially like to pair it with vinegar-based dressings like my easy coleslaw, crunchy parmesan salad, or garden vegetable greek salad.

For more of our bread recipes, find our recent favorites here: