White Bean and Ham Soup

Make use of canned beans to make this easy stovetop White Bean and Ham Soup. It’s cozy, comforting, and a perfect way to use up leftover ham.

Looking for more leftover ham recipes? Be sure to check out my Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup, Ham Fried Rice, and Ham Salad recipes.

I’m a huge fan of cooking beans from scratch. My Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup is one of my beloved dry bean recipes. But, I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Sometimes, after a marathon day of holiday cooking, I’m ALL about kitchen shortcuts and using up those leftovers for easy meals!

This White Bean and Ham Soup has so much going for it. In addition to coming together quickly, it’s creamy (with no added cream), loaded with fresh herby flavor, and topped with crispy homemade croutons. If you haven’t had bean soup topped with croutons, you’re missing out!

Ingredient Notes

• Ham: You don’t need to rely on leftover ham to make this tasty soup. Just pick up one of those vacuum sealed ham steaks at the grocery store and you’ll be good to go. If you’re using leftover ham with a sweet glaze, be sure to rinse it well with cold water before adding it to the soup.
• Beans: A couple of cans of white beans, rinsed and drained, make this recipe incredibly fast and easy to put together. While you could use small white beans, I prefer cannellini beans, which are a bit larger. They are so naturally creamy and delicious!
• Produce: Diced white or yellow onion, carrot, celery, and some miced garlic add flavor to the creamy soup base.
• Broth: I use Better than Bouillon Reduced Sodium Chicken Base to make just as much broth as I need for my recipes.
• Seasoning: Salt, freshly ground black pepper, and fresh thyme. In many recipes, I think it’s fine to substitute dry herbs, but I feel the fresh thyme is vital in this one.
• Croutons: For the optional croutons you’ll need some cubed French bread, extra virgin olive oil, a little butter, garlic powder, and grated Parmesan cheese,

How to Make White Bean and Ham Soup

1. In a Dutch oven, sauté the veggies in a little melted butter or oil (for a dairy free soup) until softened. Toss in several sprigs of fresh thyme.
2. Add the chicken broth and beans and bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Remove what’s left of the thyme sprigs. Some of the leaves will have released into the soup and that’s a very good thing. We just want to get those twigs out of there. I used my immersion blender to lightly puree the mixture. I don’t want a completely smooth texture so I leave some of the beans whole. If you don’t have an immersion blender, transfer the soup, in batches, to a blender or food processor and then return it to the pot.
4. Add the chopped, leftover ham, salt, and freshly ground black pepper. to taste Simmer the soup just until warmed through.

Easy Homemade Croutons

1. In a small dish, melt the butter and olive oil with the garlic powder. Scatter the cubed French bread over a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Toss the bread with the butter mixture and the Parmesan cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F until toasted.

Storage Tips

This soup keeps really well! Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.

To freeze, let the soup cool completely, then portion it into freezer-safe zip-top bags. Freezing in individual or meal-size portions makes reheating a breeze, just grab what you need. Lay bags flat in the freezer to save space and speed up thawing. When ready to enjoy, thaw overnight in the fridge or warm gently on the stovetop. Thin with a little water or additional chicken broth, if necessary, for the desired consistency when reheating.

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Adapted from Food and Wine This post was originally published on May 3, 2014. It has been updated with new text and images.