This old-fashioned ham and bean soup is thick, hearty, and rich with slow-simmered flavor, the kind of soup that fills your kitchen with comfort and your belly with satisfaction. Tender beans, vegetables cooked until perfectly soft, and smoky bits of ham all come together in a broth that tastes like it simmered all day.
Serve with quick dinner rolls or make biscuits fast with this biscuit mix recipe for a completely from-scratch meal that takes very little hands-on time.
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Quick Look at This Recipe
- ✅ Recipe Name: Old-Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup
- 🕒 Ready In: About 2 hours
- 🍞 Method: Stovetop or slow cooker
- 👪 Yield: 10 to 12 servings
- 🍽 Calories: Approximately 100 per serving
- 🥄 Tools: Dutch oven or stockpot, knife, cutting board, tongs
- ❄️ Freezer Friendly: Yes
- 📖 Dietary Info: Gluten-free, dairy-free
- ⭐ Why You’ll Love It: Big flavor, low cost, minimal prep
- 👩🍳 Tip: Bones equal flavor. Always save them for soups and broth.
What Makes This Recipe Unique
- Frugal – Frugal living does not have to be flavorless. Soups like this traditional borscht recipe, slow cooker cream of broccoli soup with cheese, creamy Delicata squash soup, a hearty beef stew, and, of course, this old-fashioned ham and bean soup stretch the grocery budget without sacrificing flavor.
- Simple – While soup pairs well with this honey whole wheat bread, old-fashioned ham and bean soup is hearty enough to serve as a full meal.
- Easy – Minimal prep, and simple steps to make on the stovetop or in a slow cooker.
- Make Ahead – Freezer-friendly and great for meal prep, making cooking from scratch practical.
Key Ingredients:
A full ingredients list, including measurements, can be found in the recipe card below.
- Ham Bone – Make sure there is still some meat attached to the bone. This will provide flavor and richness to your soup.
- Beans – You can use store-bought or home-canned beans. Great Northern, pinto, or navy beans are all great choices.
- Vegetables – My favorite combination is onion, garlic, rutabaga, carrots and celery.
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Recipe Instructions
Step 1: Chop all vegetables into evenly sized pieces so they cook at the same rate.
Step 2: Place the ham bone in a large stockpot. Add vegetables and beans, including the liquid if using home-canned beans. Pour in 4 cups of water. Bring to a low simmer on the stovetop and cook for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
Step 3: When the meat begins falling off the bone, remove the bone and pick off any remaining meat.
Step 4: Return the meat to the pot, season with salt and pepper, and serve hot.
Recipe Tips
- Bones with meat attached give you the most flavor for your money
- Home-canned beans save time and add richness to the broth
- Simmer low and slow to avoid breaking the beans apart
- This soup thickens as it cools, making leftovers even better
Make Ahead and Storage Instructions
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days
- Freezer: Freeze in portion-sized containers for up to 3 months
- Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of water if needed
FAQ’s
The deep flavor comes from a meaty ham bone simmered low and slow, which releases smoky richness into the broth while the beans and vegetables soak it all up.
Rushing the simmer, under-seasoning at the end, or cooking beans too hard and fast can leave you with bland broth and split, mushy beans.
Time is the real secret, because a gentle, unhurried simmer is what turns simple ingredients into a rich, comforting soup.
Ham and bean soup is hearty and nourishing, providing protein, fiber, and minerals, especially when made from scratch with whole ingredients and balanced seasoning.
Did you make this old-fashioned ham and bean soup? If so, please leave a star ⭐ rating in the recipe card below (this really helps me out)… then, snap a photo and tag me on social media @melissaknorris so I can see! I love getting a glimpse of what you all make in your kitchens.
Old-Fashioned Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
- stock pot
- Cutting Board
- Knife
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone with meat
- 1 cup onion diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cup carrot diced
- 1 cup rutabaga diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 4 cups white beans Use store-bought or home-canned beans
- 4 cups water
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Chop all of your vegetables up in fairly even size, so they cook evenly. Put your ham bone in a large stock pot, Dutch oven, or slow cooker. Dump in all your vegetables.
- Add the beans, undrained if using canned, drained if you soaked dried beans the night before. Pour in 4 cups of water.
- Bring to a low simmer on the stove top. Allow to simmer for about 2 hours, stirring every now and then.
- Once meat is falling off the bone, transfer bone to a plate. Using tongs, pick off any good chunks of meat remaining on the bone, and put meat back into soup. Add a dash of pepper and salt. Serve.
Notes
- Bones with meat attached give you the most flavor for your money
- Home-canned beans save time and add richness to the broth
- Simmer low and slow to avoid breaking the beans apart
- This soup thickens as it cools, making leftovers even better
- Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days
- Freezer: Freeze in portion-sized containers for up to 3 months
- Reheating: Warm gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of water if needed
This recipe takes me back to my childhood, and tastes just as I rememberd it.
I love making this soup because my family enjoys it — we’ve never eaten a rutabaga before this recipe and honestly, had to look up on YouTube how to dice one 🙂 This soup also freezes well and tastes better the next day after the flavors have had time to get happy together. I serve this soup with cornbread on the side.
Simple and delicious. This is kind of like the pea soup that was a tradition in my dad’s family. Instead of beans we use split peas. But I made it with the beans and love it.
This sounds great! I’m curious to take a step back from this and learn how you prepared the ham itself. This is one thing (sadly) I’ve never done in my home kitchen.
This looks tasty but might I suggest that you swap cage-free organic for pastured organic. From what I know, it seems like a kinder option!
I raise my own 🙂
This looks yummy. And a way to try a new (to use) veggie – rutabaga. I’ve wanted to try them before but never have. One question though – can you really buy an organic ham for around $1/lb???
The price of ham will definitely vary on where you live. I used our cost which is just cut and wrap to the butcher and feed costs.
Bought a ham butt earlier this week on sale . 6 and one half pounds for under 7 dollars, much less than a pound of deli meat. Had a delicious meal and plenty left over for lunches and casseroles. I saved the ham bone with some meat on it to cook with green beans , potatoes and tomato sauce which my aunt used to cook to stretch the meals. Stumbled upon your email today and decided your soup would be a good use of it as the temperature here is about 15 degrees today. I have everything on hand and I opened a can of white beans the other day by accident to add to chili I had made but then found the black beans. Thanks for the inspiration ! Off to rattle some pans
We love ham & bean soup, and make it every time we buy a ham. My recipe is almost identical to yours, except I’ve never put rutibaga in mine, but will give it a try next time ?
Hi Melissa, I live alone with 4 cats and a 15 year old poodle which I inherited when Sam’s owners emigrated to the UK. I have already made 3 Gammons this month and there is never anything left for soup. Maybe I will save the bone which is already promised to another doggie…
Wishing you and your family well for 2019 and may I share this video with you that was a real blessing to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4fvMgNfN0I
Blessings from Frances in a cold and wet South Africa
Melissa, I did a soup something like this right after Christmas. We had a large family,
and extended family gathering and so, a 12 lb spiral and a 15 lb picnic ham AND a 22 lb fried turkey..I’ve frozen the soup fixins for at least the rest of the Winter season. Your soup recipe will come in handy.
Now that is some awesome prep work for easy meals Ethel! Nice work.
I wish I had a bowl of this soup for lunch. I love the Mexican flair and the spice!
Hello Melissa,
Can you can this recipe?
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Hi I’d like to see this with dried beams, but 4 cup seems like a lot. How much dried beans should I start with to make this? Thanks.
Amber,
You can make it with dried beans, I’d soak 2 cups of dried beans overnight or at least for five hours and then use them in the soup.
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I made this soup tonight and it was astonishingly good. I used canned beans and a ham steak, which I cubed. Also, I had 3 cups of chicken broth, so I used that with 1 cup water.
I can’t wait to make this again! Great recipe!
Thanks, Lisa. Chicken broth is always a great sub in for any soup for the liquid. We really enjoy this one, too!
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Can you can the ham with the beans? I am new to canning meat.
You may use a pressure canner recipe for bean and ham soup. My Ball Complete Book of Home Canning has a recipe for ham and split pea soup that your pressure can. I haven’t canned this soup as we eat it fresh as I make it.