Ham Bean Soup Leftover Make Over
What to do with those holiday leftovers? This ham bean soup is a leftover make over. Your ham bone never looked so good as it does swimming with some beans, carrots and celery.
A simple soup that is packed so full of flavor, you’ll swear it had to be complicated. Nobody needs more complication in life. Make this soup and sit back, enjoy your leftovers and reflect on the good things in life.
We usually have a huge, (I mean, huge!) ham for our holiday meals. About the third day of eating leftover ham and the family gets a bit tired of looking at the same meal.
Except my husband, I think he could eat ham every day of the year and be perfectly happy!
I try to mix up the ways I serve the left over ham – omelets, casserole, sandwiches, you know the routine. This ham bean soup, however, is probably the most popular leftover make over I’ve served.
I use my favorite kitchen secret weapon – the slow cooker – to cook down that ham bone with some water, spices and an onion. After simmering on low all day, the meat literally falls off the bone.
I just spend a few minutes with two forks breaking the meat into bite sized bits and it’s ready to go into the soup pot.
If you want to use dried beans, make sure you put them on to soak when you start simmering the ham bone. They’ll be ready to add to the soup pot at the same time as the ham.
If you use canned beans, you may want to drain and rinse. Remember that ham has a pretty good sodium content, so added salt in the beans (and the soup) might be too much!
Make It a Meal:
Serve this hot soup with some biscuits or crackers and you’re all set for supper on a cold winter night. If you want to make this part of a larger meal, consider serving with grilled cheese sandwich, side salad or even a baked potato.
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This soup really is hearty enough to call supper. It’s especially welcome on cold winter nights, when the darkness falls before supper time and you’re wanting to warm yourself from the inside out.
Ham Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
Ham bone, carrots, celery, onion, butter beans and some of your favorite spices.
Recipe Directions:
Slow cook the ham bone. Add meat to vegetables and broth, simmer.
Ham Bean Soup
Use the remains of your holiday dinner in this leftover make over. A hearty soup that will warm the soul!
Ingredients
- 1 Ham Bone or
- 2 cups Ham Chunks
- 4 cups Water
- 1 tsp Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Parsley
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 2 cups Carrots chopped
- 2 cups Celery chopped
- 1 cup Onion chopped
- 2 cups Butter Beans
Instructions
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Place ham bone in slow cooker with water and spices. Cook on low 6-8 hours.
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Remove ham bone, shred meat from bone. Discard bone. Return meat to broth in slow cooker.
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Remove bay leaf, discard.
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Add chopped vegetables and butter beans to slow cooker.
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Increase water to cover vegetables.
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Cook on high one hour.
Approximate Nutritional Information:
Servings Per Recipe: 8, Amount Per Serving: Calories: 121, Fat: 3g, Cholesterol: 19g, Sodium: 483mg, Carbs: 14g, Protein: 9g
(please remember these are approximate and will vary slightly based on your ingredient selections.)
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Such a comforting dish now that as been so cold this is the kind of food we crave. I need to make your recipe soon.
Hasn’t this cold weather been a kicker? All I want to do is eat soup, drink tea and hibernate!
This will be best in this climate. I need to make your recipe soon.
There’s nothing that warms you up like a pot of soup!
The bone in the soup must be giving so much flavor to the soup. Your soup is definitely a strengthening soup, perfect for those awfully cold days.
That’s totally the secret about this soup … bone broth! The flavor really is out of this world.
Totally agree some of the best soup is made from leftovers. What a delicious way to clean out the fridge and get more bang for your food budget dollar. Great for this cold weather we are having too.
Left overs never tasted so good!
Totally wished I would have had this last week. We had a ton of ham leftovers. I’ll be sure to save it for leftover Easter ham!
Easter is coming! And there’s always next year for the big holiday hams!
That is comfort food and so perfect for the weather we have here these days. I know all about left overs. I’m always looking for way to serve left overs. Love the use of ham in this dish… Saving for later.
So many people don’t like to eat left over meals as the exact same meal. I don’t mind, but do enjoy the challenge of turning leftovers into new meals.
I love making soup with leftover ham! I usually make split pea but this would be a welcome change!
This is a very different soup from split pea – which I also love.
Perfect use of leftovers! This soup is sure to hit the spot on a cold winter day!
Guaranteed winner when the winter wind blows!
With this cold weather, your soup recipe is a perfect comfort food. Saving this for later.
Do let me know how your family likes this. I’m eating bowls of soup this month just to keep warm!
Leftover tackle is a great task and when you can make a delicious meal out of leftovers, it is a winner. Soups are perfect for this time of the year.
Dealing with leftovers (especially from the big dinners) is a challenge. I’m glad you like this one.
Oh this is a perfect comfort meal for the whole family. Love how easy it is to make and has a good combination of protein with meats.
Sneaky way to add protein and vegetables, huh?!
This is perfect for this weather. Love bowl of filling soup, ham and beans sounds wonderful combo. That too with lot of flavor.
This is so full of ham flavor, I can’t describe it accurately. You’ll just have to try it to believe it!
Ham and bean soup is one of our all time favorites. It’s perfect for the weather we’re having but we’ve been known to make it in the summer too. That broth looks rich.
I like the usually thick and creamy ham and bean soup, too. This was something different and really hit the spot.
We usually have a huge ham for our holiday dinners too. It’s such a treat. And so is the soup that comes after. I love this recipe — it looks incredible!
Those huge hams are amazing, aren’t they? Sometimes I buy one that’s seriously too much for the meal with the sole intention of leftovers.