Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

My ham and bean soup is full of hearty, creamy white beans with a hint of fresh thyme and tender chunks of everyone’s favorite smoky, salty piece of pork.

Course Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword Ham and Bean Soup

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 2

Total Time 22

Servings

Calories 394kcal

Author Kathleen

Ingredients

1 pound dried white beans
6-8 cups water for soaking
2 tablespoons butter
1 large yellow onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 medium carrots, 1/4 inch diced
4 stalks celery, 1/4 inch diced
8 cups cold water
1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 large ham bone or 2 ham hocks
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1 pound cooked ham cut into 1/2 cubes

Instructions

Rinse beans then lay them out on a flat surface and pick through, removing any rocks. Place in a large bowl and cover with 6-8 cups of cold water. Allow to stand 6-8 hours or overnight, or use Quick soak method (directions above in Notes). Drain water and rinse.
In a heavy bottomed soup pot melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery and cook over medium heat until onions are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add 8 cups water, salt, Cajun seasoning, pepper, bay leaves, and ham bone or ham hocks. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, 1 hour.
Add drained beans and thyme leaves and return to a simmer. Continue to cook until the beans are tender, about 1 hour. Turn off the heat.
Remove the ham bone/ham hocks to a cutting board. When ham bone/ham hocks are cool enough to handle, remove any meat. Discard any skin and bones.
Remove and discard bay leaves. Stir in cubed ham and any ham from ham bone/ham hocks. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as needed. Serve.

Notes

Quick soak method – If you forget to soak your beans overnight, fear not. Just put your beans in a big pot, cover with a couple of inches of water, then bring to a boil. Boil for about 1 minute, then turn off the stove, cover the pot, and let the beans sit for an hour. Rinse the beans off with warm water and they’re ready to use! If you do use this method, make sure you use warm water for the cooking step, too since pouring cold water over warm beans can make the skins start to fall off and break down the beans before the cooking process even starts.
Aromatics – Be sure to saute the onion, garlic, carrots, and celery. The flavors in raw vegetables are very different from the flavors in cooked vegetables.
Water – By the way, don’t be shy about adding a little extra water if the soup thickens too much. Leftovers in particular will need to be thinned out during reheating.

Nutrition