This Easy White Bean and Ham Soup is a hearty, filling and super flavorful soup made with ham, canned cannellini beans, veggies, and smoky ham hocks. Great for cozy fall nights, and works well with leftover ham!

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Delicious and simple White Bean and Ham Soup - made with canned beans!

This cozy and hearty White Bean and Ham Soup is a great set it and forget it Sunday night dinner, or make ahead meal prep for weekday lunches. Made with loads of smoky and tender ham, creamy white beans and lots of veggies, this soup is just what the doctor ordered for a cold night.

Serve it with some warm crusty bread and butter for a simple and satisfying meal any night of the week.

Bonus? This soup is a great way to use up that leftover ham from Easter!

What you'll need to make the Ham and Bean Soup

2 cups ham steak (or leftover ham), cut into small pieces. If you have leftover holiday ham, you can use that instead!
2 smoked ham hocks. Again, if you have a leftover ham, the ham bone will work as a great substitute for the ham hocks in this recipe.
3 15.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained. I love the flavor and texture of cannellini beans. They are creamy and delicious! No need to rinse these for this recipe. And using canned speeds up the prep and cooking time!
32 oz (a quart) of chicken stock.
4 cups water. You'll need a lot of liquid for the long cooking time of the ham hocks, which will infuse the soup broth.
6 cloves garlic, minced.
1 medium onion, diced.
2 carrots, diced. If you like bigger pieces, go for it! I like tiny veggies in my soup.
1 rib celery, diced.
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, for sweating the veggies.
Salt and pepper to taste. Always, for every soup. And always taste, especially when working with salty ingredients like ham hocks.
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary. You can sub in dried if that's wha you have, just cut the amount in half. I will say the fresh is soooo good in this soup, though.
2 dried bay leaves. These will be removed before serving.

Tools to make the soup:

A large soup pot, or Dutch oven.
A sharp knife and cutting board.
A potato masher, for easily mashing some of the beans.
A strainer or colander, for draining the cannellini beans.
A good ladle and wooden spoon, for serving and stirring.
A couple forks, for easily shredding the ham hock meat.

Tips for a great soup

Use quality ingredients

For the best soup, you want the best ingredients! Be sure to use good quality chicken stock and canned cannellini beans. Grab fresh looking smoked ham hocks and ham steak. Use fresh rosemary. If good things go into the soup, your final product will be that much better.

Don't skip a step

Don't forget to sweat the veggies or mash the beans with a hand masher. These little details add depth of flavor and great texture to the soup!

Be patient

When working with ham hocks, it's important to cook them low and slow, for a WHILE. This will not only infuse amazing flavor into your broth, but it will also allow the ham hocks to break down, so you can easily get all the delicious ham out of them to add to the soup. The fat and bones will be discarded, but their flavor lives on in your pot of soup!

Storing and reheating the soup

Storing leftovers

This soup can be stored in airtight containers in the fridge for up to 5 days. The soup can also be frozen for up to 2 months.

Heating up leftovers

To reheat the soup, simmer on medium-low heat on the stove until warmed through, or microwave for about a minute and a half on high power. If reheating from frozen, I recommend thawing, or reheating using a pan rather than the microwave.

What makes this soup great

Budget Friendly

This soup is not only super delicious, it's also very budget conscious. Made with simple and inexpensive ingredients, like ham steak and canned beans, this soup is very easy on the wallet.

Pantry and leftover friendly

Using canned beans, store bought chicken stock and ham makes this soup easy to whip up with what you have on hand. Have a leftover holiday ham? Sub the ham bone in for the hocks, and cube up the leftovers for this soup!

Hands off and easy to make

This soup basically cooks itself. After a bit of prep and getting it started- this soup simmers low and slow, while you chill out or work on other chores!

Substitutions:

Use a leftover ham bone from a holiday ham instead of the ham hocks.
Use leftover holiday ham (cubed) rather than a ham steak.
Try using canned Great Northern Beans instead of Cannellini Beans. Even Pinto beans would be a great substitute if that's what you have on hand!
Use half the amount of dried Rosemary instead of the fresh.

More Soup Recipes:

Hungry for more soup? Here are a few of my favorite soup recipes!

What to serve with the soup?

This soup goes great with a hunk of crusty bread and butter, garlic bread, or even some fluffy biscuits. This soup is also great with a simple side salad for a more balanced meal.

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Print Recipe

Easy White Bean and Ham Soup

Prep Time15

Cook Time2 35

Total Time3

Course: Dinner, Soup

Keyword: beans, ham, soup

Servings: 6

Equipment

5 quart (or larger) Dutch oven, or soup pot
potato masher

Ingredients

2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
2 carrots, diced
salt and pepper to taste
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary, finely chopped
2 cups ham steak (or leftover ham), cut into small pieces
32 oz chicken stock
4 cups water
2 dried bay leaves
2 smoked ham hocks
3 15.5 oz cans cannellini beans, drained

Instructions

1. Add olive oil to a soup pot or dutch oven, add onions, celery and carrots, and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until translucent.
2. Add rosemary and garlic, stir and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add chopped ham steak, stir, and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add chicken stock, water, bay leaves and ham hocks and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to low, Cover and simmer for 2 hours, until ham hock meat pulls away from bone easily.
6. Remove bay leaves, and ham hocks, and shred meat from ham hocks, discarding fat and bones. Add shredded meat back to the pot.
7. Add drained beans, stir, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Mash some beans with a potato masher, cover and cook 30 minutes more.
8. Serve hot with crusty bread!

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