Ham and Beans Recipe

Ham and Beans: An old-fashioned and flavorful ham and bean soup recipe that’s made of canned great northern beans, ham, spices, and chicken broth!

With only a 7-minute prep time and 45-minute cooking time, this easy recipe is a vintage soup recipe you’ll want to add to your meal plan for dinner or a weekend comfort meal.

 

Sometimes a warm, and easy bowl of soup is what sounds good on a cold day. This 15 bean soup is one that we love to have on the rotation along with this ham and beans recipe. They’re both so easy to make but the 15-bean soup has more of a cajun flair while this ham and beans recipe has a gentle warm flavor that the whole family will love.

But if you’re looking for multiple soup recipes, perhaps for a food bar or to serve at a pot-luck, you may also love our hearty soups, like this Cowboy Stew recipe, our taco soup recipe, easy chili recipe, and this easy lasagna soup recipe!

Jump to:

• Why This Recipe Works
• Ingredients Needed
• Substitutions
• Equipment
• How to Make Ham and Beans
• Recipe Pro Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• Storage
• More Comfort Food
• Recipe
• Comments

Ingredients Needed

I’ve highlighted a couple of ingredients with some relevant notes but all are simple ingredients.

• Broth – We use my homemade chicken broth for this recipe although you can also use low-sodium broth.
• Beans – Using canned beans instead of dried beans is a faster way to make ham and beans since the beans have already been cooked
• Ham – Using pre-diced ham saves time but leftover ham (like we did for this ham casserole) works great as well. Dicing a ham steak or thickly sliced deli meat is also a great choice.

Substitutions

Sometimes substitutions are necessary because of ingredients that are unavailable or needed for dietary restrictions. Here are some suggestions that can help:

• Beans – you can use navy beans, dried beans with a quick soaking of beans method, cannellini beans, or pinto beans. If using dried beans, soak the beans overnight and drain. Simmer with broth, meat, and seasonings for 2-3 hours. 
• Ham – ham shanks, smoked ham hock, any extra ham you may have on hand or just an easy ham that you love to cook with.
• Broth – You can use vegetable broth or even homemade chicken broth.

Equipment

We cooked this ham and beans recipe on the stove top in a dutch oven but you may also want to try making it in the crock pot or an electric pressure cooker.

How to Make Ham and Beans

There aren’t many steps to this recipe since it’s a quick, dump-and-go soup!

*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*

STEP 1. Beans and Ham. Place beans, ham, and ham hock to a large pot or dutch oven. (Image 1).

STEP 2. Broth and Spices. Next, add broth and spices and stir to combine (Image 2).

STEP 3. Boil. Bring to a boil for 5-10 min* stirring frequently.

Tip: *For creamier beans, boil for 10 minutes and stir often. If less creamy beans are desired boil for a shorter amount of time and stir less often.

STEP 4. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-35 min stirring occasionally (Image 3).

STEP 5. Remove. Once done remove bay leaves and ham hock (Image 4).

STEP 6. Remove meat. Remove as much meat as possible from the ham hock and return the meat to the pot (Image 5). 

STEP 7. Stir & Serve. Stir once more and serve with cornbread and a dash of black pepper if desired (Image 6).

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Refrigerate any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Reheat on the stove or in the microwave. You can also freeze ham and beans in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Let them thaw in the refrigerator overnight before warming. 

More Comfort Food

If you love easy old-fashioned comfort food recipes like this, then you’ll also love these:

Did you make this? I’d be so grateful if you left a “star” rating below to let me know what you thought! Then, the next time you need a quick and easy recipe, come back to Fantabulosity to browse all of my easy recipes!

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