White Bean and Ham Soup
It has been so cold this winter! The cold and the flu are running wild and it’s all I can do to stay healthy and warm. One of the best foods for this cold weather is soup. Everyone always goes for a chicken noodle or some other variation when sick. I wanted to try something a little different this season.
Over the holidays a friend of mine cooked a delicious spiral ham for our friend’s Christmas potluck. It was so good that I couldn’t let the bone go to waste! I had just made chili the other day so I didn’t want to make another soup. Instead, I made a ham broth that I put in my freezer for another day. Well, another day came!
I had been thinking about making this soup when I was grocery shopping so I had picked out some ingredients I thought would make a good ham soup. At home, I took that ham broth out of the freezer and started to melt it into a pot over low heat.
As the broth was melting, I diced up a yellow onion, 5-6 celery stalks, and about a half bag of carrots.
Then I took the small Boar’s Head Maple Glazed Honey Coat Ham I had found at the grocery store and cut that up into bite-sized pieces. If you have leftover ham this is the perfect recipe to use it.Ā Ā 
Next, I added everything I had just diced up to the pot along with some basil, oregano, bay leaves, and a can of white beans. After stirring I realized I didn’t have enough beans so I added another can. I turned the heat up to high and brought the soup to a boil, then reduced the heat to low so the soup would remain at a simmer.
I knew I wanted the flavors to meld together like a chili so I covered it and let it cook for an hour before tasting it. For my taste, it needed some salt and pepper. I also felt that was broth was a little too strong. To fix that I added a couple cups of water to tone it down. Then I returned it to a boil, reduced again to a simmer, and cooked covered for another hour at which point it was perfect!
My son loved the chunky bits of the soup for dinner and I loved the soup! It was great for a cold, rainy day.
What’s your favorite soup to eat on a cold day?
This healthy soup is great for cold days and sick days. When you get sick of chicken soup, try ham!
Pour stock into pot. I had ham stock that I had made from a leftover spiral ham bone in my freezer so I had to melt it in the pot before doing anything else.
Add all ingredients to pot, cover, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low to simmer. It should continue to gently boil.
Continue to simmer covered for 2 hours for flavors to meld together well. Taste halfway through and add salt and pepper to taste. If the broth tastes too strong for you add a 1-2 cups of water to dilute, return to boil, reduce again and continue cooking covered an additional hour.
Serve and enjoy!
Ingredients
Directions
Pour stock into pot. I had ham stock that I had made from a leftover spiral ham bone in my freezer so I had to melt it in the pot before doing anything else.
Add all ingredients to pot, cover, and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to low to simmer. It should continue to gently boil.
Continue to simmer covered for 2 hours for flavors to meld together well. Taste halfway through and add salt and pepper to taste. If the broth tastes too strong for you add a 1-2 cups of water to dilute, return to boil, reduce again and continue cooking covered an additional hour.
Serve and enjoy!
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18 Comments
Sarah
This looks amazing! Cold weather is on its way again so I might have to make this soon.
admin
This has been great as my family has been sick with the flu. Nothing is better than hot soup when you are sick!
Laura
Sweet. Looks yummy
admin
Thank you!
Haley
I wonder if it would be good with a different meat! Sounds delicious
admin
It would work really well with chicken as well if you don’t eat pork. I was sick of chicken which is why I tried it this way.
Britney
Iām vegan now but I definitely think my husband would enjoy this. Nice for a winter day.
admin
It is, but defiantly not vegan. My father is vegan and I made him a little jealous with this one!
Tifanee
This looks delicious, I love soups! Our favourite is onion soup right at the start of fall š
admin
Onion soup is so good! Especially with lots of cheese š
Yu Lan
Yum! This sounds like a great soup for those cold winter days!
admin
It is! I know I get sick of chicken so had to try something new and different!
Ashley
Sounds delicious and simple!
admin
Thanks! It is!!!
Diane
This looks delicious and perfect for winter! Just to double check, you meant 6-7 cups of broth and 2-3 cups of ham, right? š
admin
Yes! It still comes out really thick, but I like it that way! Makes it more filling.
Ashly
This looks so good. I cannot wait to try! It would be so nice if this was in a format to be easily printed without using so many sheets of paper.
admin
I’ll look into that. Thanks for the feedback