Dutch Oven Ham and Bean Soup
If you have a leftover ham bone sitting in your fridge after a holiday dinner, this Dutch oven ham and bean soup is exactly what you should make next. It’s thick, smoky, hearty, and loaded with tender beans and rich homemade flavor that tastes like it simmered all day in an old farmhouse kitchen.
The best part is that the ham bone does most of the heavy lifting here. As it slowly cooks, it releases smoky flavor, collagen, and richness into the broth that you simply cannot recreate with shortcuts or packaged soup mixes. This is true comfort food made from simple ingredients.
I first started making soups like this years ago while working in restaurant kitchens. One of the older line cooks taught me that the best soups usually come from ingredients other people overlook. A leftover ham bone is not scrap. It’s the secret to building a deep savory broth with real homemade character.
What makes this version special is the combination of dried navy beans, a meaty ham bone, and the slow even heat of a Dutch oven. Everything gently simmers together until the beans turn creamy, the broth thickens naturally, and the entire kitchen smells incredible.
Recipe Snapshot
- Old-Fashioned Comfort Food: This Dutch oven ham and bean soup is thick, smoky, hearty, and loaded with tender navy beans and rich ham flavor in every spoonful.
- Perfect Leftover Ham Recipe: A leftover holiday ham bone transforms simple pantry ingredients into a deeply flavorful homemade soup that tastes like it simmered all day.
- Slow Simmered Flavor: The Dutch oven helps everything cook low and slow so the beans become creamy while the broth develops incredible savory richness.
- Best For: Leftover holiday ham, cozy winter dinners, Sunday suppers, freezer meal prep, budget-friendly comfort food, and old-fashioned homemade soup nights.
David’s Tip: If your beans are still slightly firm near the end of cooking, give them more time before adding extra salt. Salt and acidic ingredients can slow down how quickly dried beans soften while simmering.
Why You'll Love Old-Fashioned Soup
The Ingredient Breakdown
Top Tip for “No-Soak” Success
If you forgot to soak your beans overnight, don't panic! Place your dried beans in the Dutch oven, cover with 2 inches of water, and bring to a boil for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat, cover, and let them sit for one hour. Drain, rinse, and proceed with the recipe—you’ll get that same creamy texture in a fraction of the time.
How to Make Dutch Oven Ham and Bean Soup (Step-by-Step)
Step 1: Soak Your Beans
The night before you plan to make this soup, rinse your dried navy beans and pick out any that look shriveled or discolored. Cover them with several inches of cold water in a large bowl and let them soak overnight at room temperature. The next day, drain and rinse them well. If you are short on time, do a quick soak by covering the beans in water, bringing them to a boil for two minutes, then turning off the heat and letting them sit for one hour before draining.
Step 2: Build the Flavor Base
Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in your dutch oven over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until it turns soft and slightly translucent. Add the garlic and cook for another minute until fragrant. You want to smell that garlic blooming in the oil before you move on. Add the carrots and celery and cook for another three to four minutes. The vegetables should be starting to soften at the edges.
David's Tip:
Season this aromatic base lightly with salt and pepper right now, before anything else goes in. Seasoning in layers is one of the most important habits I picked up working in professional kitchens. It builds flavor from the ground up instead of just tasting salty at the end.
Step 3: Add Everything and Simmer Low
Nestle the ham bone into the pot. Pour in your drained beans, the diced tomatoes, the broth, the smoked paprika, and the thyme. Give everything a good stir and bring it up to a gentle boil. Once you see the first bubbles, drop the heat down to low. You want a very gentle simmer where you see small bubbles breaking the surface every few seconds, not a rolling boil. Cover the pot and let it go.
Step 4: Simmer for Two and a Half to Three Hours
This is where patience pays off. Let the soup simmer, covered, for at least two and a half hours. Check on it every 45 minutes or so and give it a stir. If the beans look like they need more liquid, add a cup of broth or water at a time. Around the two-hour mark, taste a bean. It should be completely tender all the way through with no chalkiness in the center. If they still have a little bite, keep going.
Step 5: Remove the Bone, Shred the Ham, and Finish
Carefully lift the ham bone out of the pot. It will be hot and the meat will be falling off, so use tongs and be careful. Set it on a cutting board and let it cool for a few minutes. Once you can handle it, pull off every bit of meat you can find. Shred it into bite-sized pieces and stir it back into the soup. Taste the broth and add salt and pepper as needed. Serve hot with a thick slice of crusty bread alongside.
Fun Variations to Try
Go smokier with sausage. Slice up some smoked kielbasa or andouille sausage and stir it in for the last 20 minutes. That extra layer of smoke takes this soup somewhere amazing.
Add kale or spinach. Stir in a few large handfuls of chopped kale or baby spinach in the last 10 minutes of cooking. It wilts down quickly and adds beautiful color and nutrition. This is similar to what I do in my sausage kale tortellini soup.
Make it spicy. Add a pinch of cayenne pepper or a diced jalapeño with the aromatics if you want a little heat. A smoky chipotle pepper in adobo sauce stirred in at the end is also incredible.
Slow cooker version. Build the flavor base on the stovetop, then transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on low for eight hours. Perfect for a set-it-and-forget-it approach on a busy day.
Add potatoes for extra heartiness. Dice two medium Yukon Gold potatoes and add them in the last 45 minutes of cooking. They bulk up the soup and make it even more filling. This pairs the same energy as my instant pot green beans and potatoes.
Storage, Make-Ahead, and Reheat
Room Temperature: Do not leave this soup sitting out for more than two hours. Bean soups are hearty and thick, which means they hold heat longer, but they still need to be refrigerated promptly.
Refrigerator: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. The soup will thicken considerably as it cools. Add a splash of broth or water when reheating to loosen it back up.
Freezer: This soup freezes beautifully for up to three months. Let it cool completely before portioning into freezer-safe containers or zip-top bags. Thaw overnight in the fridge before reheating on the stovetop over low heat.
Make-Ahead Tip: You can absolutely make this soup one or two days before you plan to serve it. The flavors deepen significantly overnight in the fridge, making it one of those rare recipes that is genuinely better as a leftover. Just reheat gently on the stovetop and add a little extra broth if needed.
Tips for Making Dutch Oven Ham and Bean Soup
- The Ham Bone Power-Up: Don't have a ham bone? You can substitute with a smoked ham hock or 1 cup of diced cooked ham. However, the bone truly provides the deepest flavor, so save it after your holiday dinner!
- Salt Control: Ham and ham bones can be quite salty. To better manage the sodium, use a low-sodium chicken or beef broth. You can always add more salt at the end, but you can't take it away!
- Why Canned Beans? Using canned, pre-cooked beans (and rinsing them!) saves hours of soaking and boiling. It's the secret to making this recipe so fast! You're nurturing your time management!
- Flavor Boost the Next Day: This soup is one of those meals that tastes even better the next day. As it sits, the flavors deepen and meld. Make a double batch and enjoy leftovers!
Recommended
Instant Pot Corn Soup
Instant Pot Southwest Chicken Soup
Instant Pot Lentil Soup
More Cozy Soups & Comfort Food to Try
If you enjoyed this satisfying Dutch oven ham and bean soup, try these other hearty recipes!
Cowboy Crockpot Potatoes
Crockpot Red Beans and Rice
Slow Cooker Chicken Pot Pie
Instant Pot Lasagna Soup
Ground Beef Stroganoff
Slow Cooker Sausage Tortellini SoupÂ
Cheddar Buttermilk Biscuits
This Dutch oven ham and bean soup is everything I love about cold-weather cooking. It is humble, it is deeply satisfying, and it makes the whole house smell incredible while it simmers. That is my favorite kind of recipe. One that does not ask much from you and gives you so much in return.
I want to hear how yours turns out! Leave a comment below and let me know if you added anything different or made it your own. And if you made this for a crowd or brought it to a potluck, I want all the details. Happy cooking, everyone.
Dutch Oven Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 yellow onion diced
- 3 carrots peeled and diced
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 ham bone
- 9 cups chicken OR beef stock
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ teaspoon thyme
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- 3 cans white beans drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
- Cook the onion and carrot for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add garlic and cook for an additional 30 seconds.
- Then add the ham bone, thyme, paprika, and bay leaves.
- Add stock and beans to the Dutch oven.
- Cover and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove the ham bone and strip any remaining ham off it. Add this ham back into the Dutch oven.
- Serve with toppings of your choice.
Notes
- If you want more control over this recipe's salt content, use low-sodium broth.Â
- As it sits, the flavors mix even more, making this soup so delicious the next day!
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!FAQs: Ham and Bean Soup, Answered
Can I make Dutch oven ham and bean soup without a ham bone?
Yes, you can. If you do not have a ham bone, use two smoked ham hocks from your grocery store's meat section, or dice up about two cups of leftover cooked ham and add it directly to the pot. The flavor will be slightly less complex without the bone, but the soup will still be delicious.
Do I have to soak the beans overnight?
You do not have to, but I strongly recommend it. Soaking dried beans overnight cuts your cooking time by about 30 to 45 minutes and gives you beans with a much better, creamier texture. If you skip the soak, plan for the soup to take at least three and a half to four hours to fully cook.
Why is my ham and bean soup too thick?
Bean soups naturally thicken as they cool and as the beans release starch during cooking. If your soup is thicker than you like, simply add half a cup to one cup of warm broth or water at a time, stirring well, until you reach your preferred consistency. This is especially common when reheating leftovers from the fridge.
Can I use canned beans instead of dried?
You can, and it will save you a lot of time. Use three cans of navy beans, drained and rinsed. Because canned beans are already cooked, you only need to simmer the soup for about one hour to let the flavors meld and the ham bone to do its work. The texture will be slightly softer than dried beans but still very good.
How do I know when the soup is done?
The soup is done when the dried beans are completely tender all the way through with no chalkiness in the center, and the broth has turned a rich amber color with a silky, slightly thick consistency. Taste a bean around the two-hour mark. If it still has a bite, keep simmering and check again in 30 minutes.
Can I freeze dutch oven ham and bean soup?
Absolutely. This is one of the best soups to freeze because it holds up beautifully. Let it cool completely, portion it into airtight freezer containers, and freeze for up to three months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and reheat gently on the stovetop, adding a splash of broth to loosen it up.
What can I do if my soup is too salty?
If the ham bone made your soup too salty, add a peeled raw potato to the pot and let it simmer for 20 minutes. The potato absorbs excess salt. Remove it before serving. You can also dilute the soup by adding more unsalted broth and an extra can of beans to balance everything out.
I made this recipe, in my new Le Creuset Dutch Oven, on New Year’s Day. It’s so flavorful! I made only one small change, as my husband doesn’t like onions. Instead, I added two more carrots and our remaining ham. I also used only 8 cups of no sodium chicken broth, because I didn’t want to open a third 32 ounce container for one cup. This recipe is a new favorite! Bon Appetit!
So happy you enjoyed it, Shelby! I love it when can easily personalize a recipe for your own! Thank you so much for visiting and trying out my Dutch Oven ham and bean soup!