Okay the holidays are nearly over and we can all get back into our routine. A lot of us have tons of leftovers we’re not sure what to do with. Well, hopefully you didn’t throw away your bone from your Christmas ham. If you still have it, I have a solution for you. It’s a fantastic ham and bean soup that is healthy… especially compared to all the junk we’ve been putting into our bodies the last few weeks.
I took a combo of recipes and made this fabulous soup the other day! I was lazy with my pictures, (still in holiday mode) but the recipe is one to keep.
My husband loves ham and bean soup. My MIL makes a version of this after Christmas or after a big ham is made and it’s one of his favorites. I took the same ingredients and threw in a couple of extras.
On with the soup. First things first. The night before take your navy beans and soak them in a large bowl or pot full of water. Let it sit overnight and until you get ready to make your soup. At least 8 hours.
Next, drain the beans and rinse them.
Now, in a large pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and saute celery, carrots, onion and garlic until soft.
Heat a large pot of chicken broth. If I don’t have ready made broth, I’ll just take bouillon cubes and throw into boiling water. That’s actually what I did here. I think I put about 9 cubes into about 9 cups of water.
Add soaked beans. Take a large spoon or potato masher and mash about 1/3 of them. This will thicken your soup.
Add ham bone and ham, cooked vegetables and the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil. Turn down heat and simmer covered on low for 3 hours or more. Stirring occasionally.
Before serving, take out ham bone and bay leaves. Remove as much ham as you can from the bone, chop it up and return to pot. Discarding the bone.
Give it a big stir and serve with a big slice of corn bread.
This soup reheats well and makes a great lunch.
Enjoy!
xo-Megan
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| Prep Time | 10 minutes |
| Cook Time | 3 hours |
| Passive Time | 12 hours |
| Servings |
servings
|
- 1 ham bone keep the meat on it
- 4-5 cups leftover ham
- 2 cups dry navy beans
- 2 cups Celery chopped
- 2 cups Carrots chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 8-9 cups chicken stock
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 1-2 bay leaves
Ingredients
|
- Soak navy beans in water overnight for at least 8 hours. Drain and rinse.
- In a large pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil and sauté celery, carrots, onion and garlic until soft.
- Heat a large pot of chicken broth, add beans. Take a large spoon or potato masher and mash about 1/3 of the beans. Add ham bone and ham, cooked vegetables and the rest of the ingredients and bring to a boil. Turn down heat, cover and simmer on low for 3 hours or more. Stirring occasionally.
- Before serving, remove ham bone and bay leaves. Chopped the meat from the ham bone and return to pot. Serve with a big slice of corn bread!