Muy Bueno: Fiestas 
Easy Navy Bean Soup with Ham
This simple and comforting white bean soup transports me back to my childhood in a single bite. I have long loved Navy Bean Soup With Ham for being healthy, filling, and bursting with flavor. It doesn’t hurt that this hearty meal (which is also known as Senate bean soup) is extremely economical, making it easy to feed a crowd even on the strictest of budgets.
My mom and I used to love to eat dinner together at Marie Callender’s — it wasn’t very often we ate out, so the whole experience was a big treat for us. In the winter, we each would order a bowl of Navy Bean Soup and share a piece of cornbread.
While the old-timey restaurant chain closed its doors years ago, I still crave this special soup. Thanks to canned beans, I can replicate this beautiful soup (and memory!) at home.
Why I Love this Recipe
My Mom was the one who came up with this copycat recipe for the soup. You may have some leftover holiday ham kicking around in the fridge or freezer. If you’re looking for ways to give it a new life, my favorite northern bean soup may just be what the doctor ordered.
I don’t know about you, but I love a recipe that will help me use up what I already have in the fridge. Since the meat is almost always the most expensive part of any recipe, using leftover holiday ham makes this a perfect cheap dinner idea. I also make this ham and bean soup with canned beans as a shortcut to getting dinner on the table in under 30 minutes.
Serve a hefty helping of this old-fashioned navy bean soup with a drizzle of Tabasco for a hit of bright spice and a wedge of cornbread slathered with butter for the ultimate classic comfort food pairing.
Ingredients & Substitutions
One of the things I love best about this navy bean soup recipe is that you don’t need much to make it. It calls for just 10 simple ingredients that you can easily find at any store. Here’s your list:
- Butter – You can swap in vegan butter or oil if you’re dairy-free.
- Garlic – Fresh is best, but you can always use jarred minced garlic or garlic powder if that’s what you have on hand.
- Onion – Any color will work here! You can also swap in leeks or shallots if needed.
- Carrots – Again, any color will work. Feel free to leave the peels on to cut back on prep time.
- Celery – While this plain Jane, earthy tasting veg doesn’t get a lot of love, it’s part of both the French and cajun trinities for a reason. Feel free to swap in fresh fennel bulb if needed.
- Ham – If you don’t have the bone from your last holiday gathering, reach for thick ham steaks instead. You can also use a smoked ham hock if you prefer!
- Canned White Beans – I usually reach for Navy Beans or Great Northern Beans, but any small, white beans will do. You can also feel free to use dried beans to save a bit of money. If you do, make them in the Instant Pot to speed things up!
- Reduced Sodium Chicken Broth – Either homemade or store-bought is just fine.
- Bay Leaves – For rich flavor.
- Thyme Sprigs – You can use about 1/2 teaspoon of dried thyme instead.
- Black Pepper & Salt – Freshly cracked pepper and salt are all the remaining seasoning this easy ham and bean soup needs.
How To Make My Easy Navy Bean Soup
Step 1: Sauté Alliums. In a large Dutch oven, over medium-high heat, melt the butter until bubbling. Add the garlic and onions, stir and sauté them until the onion is transparent, about 2 to 3 minutes.
Step 2: Add the carrots and celery and continue cooking for a few more minutes.
Step 3: Add Remaining Ingredients. When the veggies begin to brown (after about 5-6 minutes), add the ham and remaining ingredients and stir well.
Step 4: Simmer. Bring to a boil and then lower heat to medium-low. Simmer uncovered for 10 minutes to allow flavors to meld.
Step 5: Thicken & Serve. 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 or pepper if needed. Enjoy!
Frequently Asked Questions
To thicken the Navy Bean Soup, I suggest that you remove 1 cup of beans and mash with a masher, immersion blender, or purée in a food processor or blender until smooth. Return mixture back to the soup and stir to combine. The natural starch from the beans will act as a thickener.
If you prefer your bean soup to resemble more of a stew, you can mash more of the beans to thicken it even further!
Great Northern Beans are a type of white bean, though not the same type as navy bean. Great Northerns are a slightly larger bean, and they are actually reputed to hold up better to cooking than navy beans. All that said, you can use either strain of bean for this delicious ham bone bean soup recipe.
Replace the chicken broth with veggie broth and omit the ham. For a vegan version, use either plant-based butter or oil in place of the butter.
Like most soups and stews, this Navy Bean Soup recipe will continue to develop flavor as it rests, meaning it’s even better the next day. Leftover soup will last for up to a week in the refrigerator.
This yummy soup recipe is also an excellent candidate for freezing. It should last for up to three months in the freezer.
Need More Cold Weather Food Inspiration?
Check out these other treasured soup and stew recipes:
- Chorizo Chili con Carne (Frijoles Enchilados)
- Red Chicken Pozole
- Caldo de Albóndigas
- Caldo de Pollo
- Brazilian Feijoada (Black Bean Stew)
- Asado de Chile Colorado (Pork in Red Chile Sauce)
If you made this delicious Navy Bean Soup recipe, please comment below to let me know how it turned out. I hope you enjoy it as much as my mom and I do!
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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
- 2 cups reduced 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
Photography by Jenna Sparks
Originally published: January 2021.
10 Comments on “Easy Navy Bean Soup with Ham”
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.
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!