15 Bean Soup with Ham
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Fifteen bean soup is a warm and comforting soup, perfect for cool weather. It’s loaded with ham, a rainbow of beans, and vibrant vegetables.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: Bean soup is hearty and nutritious, and low in calories.
How long it takes: 2 hours (mostly hands off), plus 8 hours to soak the beans (overnight)
Equipment you’ll need: large soup pan
Servings: 8
Repeat after me:
“I, beautiful, kind, smart and valued reader of Rachel Cooks, do solemnly swear, to never, ever, ever throw away a ham bone.”
Unless you’re a vegetarian or you don’t eat pork for religious reasons. But then I’m not really sure what you’re doing with a ham bone in the first place.
The ham bone takes this soup from mediocre to amazingly delicious. Trust me.
Did you know you can freeze ham bones? Now you really have no excuses for throwing it out. Just toss it in a zip-top bag and stick it in your freezer until you’re ready to make this soup.
You might be thinking, “Doesn’t the 15 bean dried bean mix come with a packet of ham flavoring?”
Doesn’t look like ham to me!
And just for kicks, here is the list of ingredients: Salt, dextrose, maltodextrin, sugar, bacon flavor (which has nine ingredients in and of itself), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, ham flavor (which has an additional four ingredients), and silicon dioxide added as an anti-caking aid.
An anti-caking aid? Gross! I’m not an obsessive label reader and yes, I put some things in my body that probably aren’t the best for me and probably aren’t all-natural.
But why put in nine ingredient “bacon flavor” when all you need is a ham bone and a couple of spices and herbs? And I’m willing to bet that the real thing probably tastes better than that little tiny package labeled “ham.”
About This Soup Recipe
Don’t be scared off by the total time it takes to make this 15 bean soup. It’s almost entirely hands off time and it’s a super easy recipe to make.
Dried beans need a good long time to soak. After you give the beans a quick rinse, sort through them, removing any foreign objects like small pebbles or the like. Cover the dried beans with water.
I recommend soaking them overnight, or at least 8 hours. If you don’t have 8 hours, there are directions on the package for the quick-soak method (cook beans for 2 minutes, then let them soak for an hour or more). Both methods are fine.
When the beans have finished soaking, drain off the soaking water, rinse the beans again, and drain.
P.S. If you’re looking for a quicker bean soup, try my popular bean and bacon soup or Instant Pot black bean soup.
How To Make Bean Soup
Okay, now the beans are soaked. It’s time to get started on the soup. You’ll need at least two hours to cook this soup but more time is fine, too. The soup can simmer for as long as you want.
Sauté chopped onions, carrots, and celery in a Dutch oven or stockpot. When the veggies are softened, add the soaked beans, water, and seasonings. Nestle that ham bone in, bring the soup to a boil, turn the heat down, and simmer. I recommend an hour and a half, but no worries if you go longer than that.
Remove the ham bone and if there’s any ham still clinging to the bone, pull it off and add it to your soup. I like to add some additional ham at this point. If you don’t have any extra ham, don’t worry, there will be plenty of good flavor in the soup from the ham bone.
Simmer the bean soup 15 minutes more to make sure everything is nice and hot. Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving the soup. Garnish with fresh parsley.
Serve with warm homemade healthy corn bread or whole wheat biscuits made with cornmeal, cheddar and black pepper. Yum! We really love no-knead Dutch oven bread, too, which is another overnight recipe.
FAQs
A popular brand in the U.S., Hurst 15 Bean Soup contains a mixture of these beans: Northern, pinto, lima, yellow eye, garbanzo, baby lima, green and/or yellow split peas, kidney, cranberry, white, pink, red, lentils, navy, and black beans. The soup mix also includes a seasoning packet.
Beans are legumes which are high in plant protein and low in calories. They contain lots of fiber, vitamins, and minerals. In addition, most bean soup recipes are made with vegetables like onions, carrots, and celery, which also have health benefits.
Make It Your Own
- Don’t have a ham bone? Or ham? While the ham bone does add really great flavor as it simmers slowly with the beans, you could substitute sausage. Kielbasa or smoked sausage are great, or Italian sausage. Or stir in cooked and crumbled bacon at the end of the cooking time. Another great substitute for a ham bone: ham hocks. I always use ham hocks when I’m making the traditional Hoppin’ John with black eyed peas and ham.
- Want to make this soup vegetarian or vegan? Just leave the ham bone and ham out. Try adding a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast to enhance the flavor and use vegetable broth instead of water.
- Like lots of veggies? Increase the amount of carrots, celery, and onion; add chopped bell peppers; stir in spinach or kale near the end of the cooking time.
- If you can’t find 15 bean soup mix, this soup is delicious with just one type of dried beans. Great Northern beans or another white bean would be perfect.
- Some bean soup packages include 15 types of beans, others include 16. Fifteen or sixteen, it doesn’t make a difference with this recipe, so feel free to use whatever you like. Call your soup 16 bean soup or 15 bean soup, it’s all the same!
Storage & Reheating Tips
This makes a large batch of soup. Refrigerate leftover soup in covered containers. It will keep for three or four days and is perfect for lunches.
Freeze leftover soup for future meals. Bean soup freezes well. It will keep for at least 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.
Reheat individual portions in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl because beans tend to explode in the microwave. Large amounts can be reheated in a saucepan on the stove. If the soup seems too thick, add a bit of water or broth.
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1 bag (20 ounces) 15 bean soup mix, seasoning packet removed (16 bean soup mix is fine, too)
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 cup diced peeled carrots (4 medium carrots)
- 1 cup diced celery (3 celery stalks)
- 1 cup diced yellow onion (1 medium onion)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 tablespoon dried parsley
- 1 dried bay leaf
- 1 ham bone
- 8 cups water
- 8 oz. (2 cups) diced fully cooked ham
Instructions
- Rinse beans and sort for foreign objects. Pour beans into a bowl or pan, cover with water, and soak overnight (for at least 8 hours).
- Drain water from beans and rinse again.
- Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened, and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
- Add cumin, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Add beans, ham bone, and water. You can add more later if it gets too thick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 ½ hours or until beans are tender.
- Remove ham bone. If you like a thicker soup, remove a few cupfuls of the soup and mash the beans lightly before adding them back to the soup. Add the diced ham, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Taste, adjust seasonings as desired. Remove bay leaf and serve. If not ready to serve, turn heat to low and simmer for as long as needed.
Notes
- If you don’t happen to have a ham bone, no worries! Just skip that part and add diced ham at the end of the cooking time.
- If you would prefer not to use ham at all, kielbasa, Polish sausage, bacon, or Italian sausage can be substituted.
- Make this soup vegan or vegetarian by not adding any meat. Instead add a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast and use vegetable broth instead of water.
- Bean soup freezes well and will keep for at least 6 months.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Helen K says
I make this soup too and it’s so good. The only think I do in addition to the above directions is take a cup or 2 of the bean/veggies/ham just before you are ready to serve it, throw it in the food processer and return it to the soup. Thickens it up and really adds extra flavor.
Rachel Gurk says
Great tip!
kim meller says
I give this 5 stars. I made it with the leftover Christmas ham. Cant say i changed much. Used a couple cups of veggie broth only because i wanted to use it up. Took a bit longer to cook, but all in all, fantastic!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thank you for the feedback!
Brian Clerkin says
Love your recipes, insight and enthusiasm!
I was without a ham bone and wondering if some kinda
prosciutto/bacon mix might work… or might it be too
“exotic” and salty? I think the more familiar taste would be better!?!
‘Best’s to you,
bc
Rachel Gurk says
Thank you! I think it’s worth a try…you can never go wrong with bacon. ;)
Marie says
The first time ever I decided to do something with my ham bone. Followed the recipe to a T and it was fabulous. I have been wanting to make sweet potato biscuits ever since I had them at a restaurant in Kentucky, and thought they would be perfect with this dish. Found a great recipe for those as well. I was right!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! Thanks for taking the time to comment.
Gina says
Love bean soup. This is very similar to mine. I leave out the ham bone b/c hubby doesn’t eat meat. :(. I sautée plenty garlic with the onions and add a block of frozen spinach and frozen yuca. Serve with shredded cheddar cheese and sometimes sour cream just for a slight change.
Rachel Gurk says
That sounds terrific!
Alan says
I do something similar, but instead of bread, I add an equal amount as the beans of rice.
Either way, a grain + a legume = a complete set of essential amino acids.
willYum says
If you have issues with beans, definitely try sprouting them
overnight. It uses up some Chemicals that make us Gassy and bloated
Amy says
I found this recipe a couple of days ago. I tried it yesterday . . . WOW!!!! I did add one large garlic clove. I had to make a few other minor tweaks but stayed quite close to the recipe. And, for the previous commenter, yes, it works wonderfully in the crock pot. This was a hit with all five people in my family. My only complaint is that there were no leftovers. Thanks!
Rachel Gurk says
So glad you liked it! It is one of my favorites as well.
Rachel Horowitz says
I’m making this soup right now, although I don’t have a ham bone. I’d purchased a box of Goya Ham Concentrate when I bought the 16 Bean Soup Mix, but I’ve decided NOT to use that crap. I had Turkey Italian Sausage in the freezer, so I threw in turkey sausage towards the tail end of cooking the mirepoix. Now I sort of wish I’d just browned the sausage in the soup pot, and removed it to add back later. C’est la vie. I hope it doesn’t get rubbery.
I added some roasted cumin, instead of regular cumin, as well as the Trader Joe’s South African Smoke Seasoning Blend, that another poster mentioned.
Right after I added the dried parsley, I realized I had the fresh stuff on hand — may add some later.
I’m trying to decide whether or not to add some turnips that I have on hand — bought them from a Farmers Market, but haven’t figured out how best to use them.
Rachel Gurk says
Sounds wonderful! Hope it turned out great!
Linda says
I started making this soup with the intent of putting into the crockpot but the ham bone was too big for the crockpot! :) Not a bad thing. Switched over to my dutch oven and it’s simmering away. My family likes spicy…anything spicy, so I also sauteed a seeded jalapeño with the onion, celery and carrot. I’ll adjust seasonings to our taste after I take out the ham bone and add the diced ham…might add some garlic since we’re also love garlic :) Thank you for the recipe. Looking forward to enjoying this with some artisan bread. Can’t wait!
kat says
Hi, just wondering if anyone has tried this in the crock pot….and what adjustments, if any, did you make. Thanks.
Rachel Gurk says
I think that would absolutely work! Make sure to soak the beans, and I’d cook it on high for at least 6 hours or until the beans are nice and soft.
Beth says
I’ve been looking for a ham bone and bean soup recipe ever since my friend made it for us a few years ago. I just followed your recipe and I’ve got it on the pot now, and it smells SOOO good! I’m gonna make cornbread to go with it. She would actually put a slice of cornbread in the bottom of the bowl and then would pour the soup over it…..yum! Can’t wait to try it, thank you for sharing- it makes a great warm comfort food meal when its snowing outside! :)
Rachel says
How did you like it?! Love the cornbread on the bottom of the bowl idea, I need to try that!
Beth says
It was amazing!! We had to add a little more spices for flavoring (you would think a huge ham bone and extra ham would have done the trick!), but it was awesome!! I think the cornbread bottom gives it an even heartier taste. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again, thx for sharing!
Rachel says
Yay! Glad you liked it.
Mare says
I am a vegetarian, due to the way factory farms produce pork/ cows, anything of this sort, so in turn can someone please send me a recipe for this soup, where i am not contributing to the way creatures are treated?
Rachel says
The soup would be great without the ham too! The spices provide good flavor!
Karen says
Mare, Instead of the ham I added something from Trader Joes called “South African Smoke Seasoning Blend”. It is sold in a spice grinder. It added the smokiness that the ham would add and was delicious! I also diced up some kale and threw that in :-)
Rachel says
Great advice, Karen! That sounds fantastic! I’ll have to look for that next time I’m at TJ’s! Love the addition of extra greens too!
Kathryn says
Love bean soup. I have always added a couple diced potatoes to bean soup. A dear older man told me to try noodles. Said his Mother always made it that way. Sounds good.
Elizabeth says
I’m making this now….never been a huge bean soup type, but it smells wonderful. Can’t wait to see what the family thinks of it! Thank you for the inspiration to try something new.
Rachel says
Awesome! How did it turn out?
Elizabeth says
The soup was great! Thank you. I’m always looking for something outside our usual. I made cornbread to dip with, even my teens loved it!