Easy Navy Bean Soup with Ham
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Updated May 23, 2025, Published Sep 09, 2022
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This comforting Navy Bean Soup with Ham takes me straight back to childhood — it’s warm, filling, and full of nostalgic flavor. My mom and I used to order it at Marie Callender’s and share a piece of skillet cornbread. Now, I make this cozy classic at home with canned beans and leftover ham — it’s just as satisfying, and way faster!
Also known as Senate Bean Soup, this recipe is healthy, hearty, and budget-friendly — perfect for feeding a family on a weeknight.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Budget-friendly and hearty: Perfect for using up leftover holiday ham.
- Fast & easy: Using canned navy beans makes it a 30-minute meal.
- Classic comfort food: Just like the one from Marie Callender’s — warm, creamy, and nostalgic.
- Great for meal prep: Tastes even better the next day and freezes beautifully.
Ingredients & Substitutions
You only need a handful of simple ingredients to make this old-fashioned navy bean soup. Here’s what to grab:
- Butter: Swap in oil or plant-based butter if dairy-free.
- Garlic: Fresh is best, but jarred or powdered garlic works in a pinch.
- Onion: Any variety is fine — or use leeks or shallots if preferred.
- Carrots: Any color works; peeling is optional.
- Celery: Adds classic flavor; fennel bulb makes a good swap.
- Ham: Use diced leftover ham, ham steaks, or a smoked ham hock.
- Canned White Beans: Navy Beans or Great Northern beans work great. You can also use dried beans — pressure cook them to save time.
- Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth: Homemade or store-bought is fine.
- Bay Leaves & Thyme Sprigs: For that deep, savory flavor.
- Salt & Black Pepper: Season to taste.
The full ingredient list and measurements can be found in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Optional Variations
This recipe has not been tested with all of these substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!
- Add diced green chiles for a spicy Southwestern twist.
- Stir in a handful of chopped kale or spinach for added greens.
- Use turkey or smoked sausage instead of ham.
How to Make Navy Bean Soup with Ham
Step 1: Sauté the aromatics. In a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, melt the butter. Add the garlic and onions and sauté until translucent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 2: Cook the veggies. Add carrots and celery, cooking for an additional 3–4 minutes until slightly tender.
Step 3: Add remaining ingredients. Stir in the diced ham, canned beans, chicken broth, bay leaves, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring everything to a boil.
Step 4: Simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to meld.
Step 5: Thicken the soup. Remove 1 cup of beans, mash them, and return to the pot. This gives the soup a naturally creamy texture. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serving Suggestions
- Garnish with a few dashes of Tabasco for a zesty finish.
- Serve with cheesy skillet cornbread, homemade flour tortillas, or crusty bread.
- Add a dollop of crema Mexicana or a sprinkle of crumbled queso cotija for extra richness.
Navy Bean Soup Expert Tips & Tricks
- Don’t skip the mash: Mashing some beans is the secret to that signature creamy texture.
- Use what you have: This leftover ham soup recipe is meant to be flexible — don’t stress substitutions.
- Make it ahead: This soup tastes even better the next day after the flavors deepen.
- Freeze for later: Cool completely, then freeze in airtight containers for up to 3 months.
Storage & Reheating
Refrigerator: Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Freezer: Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight.
To Reheat: Warm gently on the stovetop or in the microwave, adding a splash of broth or water if needed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Absolutely. Navy beans are ideal for ham soup because they’re small, creamy, and soak up all the smoky flavor from the ham beautifully.
For this easy ham and bean soup, I use garlic, onion, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper. You can also add a splash of hot sauce or smoked paprika for extra depth.
Classic navy bean soup recipes often include thyme, bay leaf, black pepper, and garlic. Feel free to customize with paprika or chili flakes to taste.
Both are small white beans, but Great Northern beans are slightly larger and a bit firmer. Navy beans are creamier and cook down more, making them ideal for thick soups like this.
More Recipes You’ll Love
If you tried this Easy Navy Bean Soup with Ham or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below!
Easy Navy Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 stalks celery, diced
- 3 ham steaks, chopped (18 ounces)
- 3 (16-ounce) cans Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups reduced low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 thyme sprigs
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- salt to taste
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt butter add the garlic and onions. Sauté them until the onion is transparent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the carrots and celery, continue cooking for a few more minutes until they begin to brown about 5 to 6 minutes. Then add the ham and stir well.
- When the vegetables are well sautéed, add the beans, broth, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper.
- Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes.
- When ready to serve, remove 1 cup of beans and mash with a masher until smooth. Add the smooth beans back to pot and stir. Taste and season with salt if needed.
- Ladle into bowls and garnish with hot sauce and ground black pepper and serve with cornbread.
Notes
- Leftover ham: This recipe is perfect for repurposing leftover holiday ham or ham steak. Smoked ham hocks or even turkey can also be used.
- Canned or dried beans: I use canned navy beans for convenience, but you can use dried beans if preferred. Cook them in the Instant Pot to speed things up.
- To thicken soup: Mash 1 cup of beans and stir back into the pot for a creamier consistency.
- Make it vegetarian: Omit the ham and use vegetable broth. Use olive oil or vegan butter instead of butter.
- Freezer-friendly: Let soup cool completely, then store in airtight containers and freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Photography by Jenna Sparks
That’s a great looking soup! Ham and beans go so well together.
I found 2 cups of water not nearly enough to come to the top of the beans. I added about 2-2.5 cups more and more bullion.
I rinsed the beans and even rinsed the ham, but the soup was still very salty. Next time I’d skip the seasoned salt. Using unsalted butter to start the onions would be a good idea.
Speaking of onions…. I held the garlic out until the onions were soft…5 min is way too long to cook garlic. It will become bitter.
What I did love is how easy this soup is and I’ll make it again with slight modifications.
I found 2 cups of water not nearly enough to come to the top of the beans. I added about 3-3.5 cups more and more bullion.
I rinsed the beans and even rinsed the ham, but the soup was still very salty. Next time I’d skip the seasoned salt. Using unsalted butter to start the onions would be a good idea.
Speaking of onions…. I held the garlic out until the onions were soft…5 min is way too long to cook garlic. It will become bitter.
What I did love is how easy this soup is and I’ll make it again with slight modifications.
Garlic only becomes bitter if you burn it. Cooking it with the onions prevents it from burning like it would if you cooked it by itself.
Added four cups of chicken bone broth and some bouillon and it was SO good! Thank you!
This is a good, quick soup. I let it cook a little longer on simmer to meld the flavors a bit more. I almost doubled the broth, otherwise it would not have been a soup…maybe partially because I halved the recipe since I was making it for 2 people…plus leftovers. How have other people “removed beans” to smash up? I couldn’t separate the beans from the rest of the ingredients. I ended up just smashing some with the side of a spoon. All in all, I would make this again. Good weeknight dish.
Was looking for a quick bean soup and this was it. Thank you. The only thing is the recipe calls for ham but the instructions does not say when to add the ham.
It is in step #2 in the recipe card.
Navy Bean soup was one of my favorite things about the holidays My mom made the best soup. I have been looking for a recipe that used canned Beans and this is it! Thank you for sharing!
Love the bean soup recipe, now I just made the Mexican bread, I’m really looking for a recipe to make my husband’s favorited, don’t know what they are called but they look like pretzel, or eights, would appreciate if you can get me a recipe. Thank you Nellie Martinez Rosales Brown
Yummy. Love this soup, very hearty and comforting anytime, Good short cut with the Bushes canned beans.
I very well remember when we would go out to eat. Our favorite thing on Sat. Miss those wonderful times mija, that we would spend together. Love you
Perfect timing with this recipe. I have my ham bone in freezer from New Year Day dinner. I was planning to look for recipe for white bean soup/stew! Thank you! It will save me time to use Bush’s canned beans. We use this brand of canned beans often!