Ham And Bean Soup Recipe

When you think comfort food, your mind probably wanders to grilled cheese, mac n' cheese, pizza, or maybe even a creamy casserole. However, after you make this fast and filling ham and bean soup, we're pretty sure it's going to redefine comfort food for you. It's actually healthy and full of fresh flavors, yet its extremely hearty and warms you right down to your soul — just as any good comfort food should.

All you need is 20 minutes on a weeknight to whip this ham and bean soup together, and then you can sit back with a glass of wine (or do chores, homework, etc.) and wait while your house begins to smell of savory goodness. Seriously, just leaving this soup on simmer is basically all you need to do!

Though it can easily be made with leftover ham from any holiday feast, Chef Tara Rylie of RylieCakes walks us through how to make this recipe any time of the year with a ham hock — a constantly overlooked, dirt-cheap cut of meat!

The best part about this ham and bean soup is that it utilizes many pantry staples, and there are even a few easy substitutions. If you don't have canned tomatoes, you can always use fresh. Navy, lima, or cannellini beans can be subbed for the Great Northern beans. And of course, you can always use dried rosemary if fresh isn't an option.

The humble ham hock can be found at most grocery stores, even though it's not often sought after. If you can't find it at your regular grocery store, most butchers carry ham hocks on stock for low prices.

To start your ham and bean soup, you'll heat up both the olive oil and butter over low heat in a Dutch oven or stockpot. The reason we use both butter and olive oil here is because we want the flavor of butter, but the olive oil allows us to cook at a higher temperature. Once your butter is melted, increase your heat to medium and add your chopped onions. Sprinkle the onions with salt to help them sweat. The salt draws out extra moisture in the onions, helping them cook faster and brown better.

Next, add the garlic, oregano, black pepper, and red pepper flakes to your ham and bean soup and continue to sauté the onions with the spices until they start to turn golden brown and the spices become fragrant. By adding your spices now rather than later, you'll get really nice, blended flavors throughout. 

Add your ham hock to the pot and cover with your chicken broth and water. Add both bay leaves and rosemary sprigs, and increase the heat to high. Let your soup boil for just 2 minutes, then reduce the heat to low, cover your pot, and let your soup simmer for an hour.

Many ham and bean soups cook for 6-8 hours, in large part because they use dried beans. Though you can always sub dried beans for canned or vice versa, we chose to use canned beans here to make this soup accessible any night of the week!

After an hour of simmering, remove the lid and give your soup a taste test. Season it further if needed. Ham hocks are naturally salty, which is why we chose not to add any earlier. However, if your soup needs salt, add some here. Then, add your canned beans and tomatoes and let your soup simmer another 30 minutes.

While your ham and bean soup is in its final simmer, remove the ham hock from the pot and begin to cut off the meat. As ham hocks cook, its fat dissolves into the soup, adding a super savory, smokey, and salty taste to the soup. Additionally, the meat loosens up while cooking and practically falls off the bone at this point. Go ahead and add all the ham hock meat back to the soup and toss the bone.

Serve your ham and bean soup hot, and top it off with fresh parsley, if desired. If you have any leftovers, let them cool to room temperature before portioning it into airtight containers. Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. This soups tastes just as good the next day, so you can definitely plan on taking some for lunch or eating it again for dinner.