Leftover ham?! You have to make this Easy Leftover Ham Bone Soup! The perfect way to use your leftover holiday ham and ham bone! This cozy ham soup recipe is full of tender ham chunks, fresh vegetables, potatoes, white beans, and it simmers on the stovetop all afternoon for the perfect Sunday Supper on a cold winter day.
Leftover Ham Bone Soup With Beans
A great way to use your leftover ham! There aren’t too many things better than a delicious ham roasting in the oven, but I’m here to tell you that the leftover meat and ham bone (or ham hock) made into this hearty soup might be just as amazing!! If you have ever thought to yourself, “I would love to use this leftover bone/ham, but I have no idea what to do with it”, you have to try this great recipe! So simple and for an added bonus your house will smell amazing the next day with this simmering on the stove.
In need of a delicious ham recipe? Checkout our Honey Glazed Ham or Double Smoked Ham!
What You Will Need
- water – after a few hours of simmering this will turn into the most flavorful broth!
- kosher salt – the perfect simple seasoning for any homemade soup recipe.
- bay leaves – another must, to help add flavor to your favorite soup recipe.
- onion – we like using a sweet yellow onion for so much flavor.
- celery, carrots, & russet potato – the fresh vegetables that we chose to use but you can use whatever you have on hand. Chopped cabbage or frozen peas would also be good!
- frozen or canned corn – we typically reach for frozen corn but either would work just fine.
- great northern beans or navy beans – pick up your favorite from a local grocery store for a great addition. If you want keep it Whole30/Paleo, you will want to omit the beans.
How Long Is A Leftover Ham Bone Good For?
This all depends on how you choose to store your leftover bone:
- Fridge: You can keep the leftover hambone in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days. You can cut extra ham off the bone before placing in the fridge or after, that’s up to you.
- Freezer: A ham bone can be kept in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 year.
How To Make Leftover Ham Bone Soup
You can simply begin this easy soup by placing the ham bone and bay leaf in a large soup pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil on medium heat on the stove top and then reduce to a simmer and cover. Simmer on the stovetop for at least 2 hours of cooking time.
As you near the end of your simmer time, grab your large kitchen knife and cutting board and start chopping! Prep all the veggies that you will be using.
Now you can remove the ham bone from the large pot and add in your veggies and diced ham meat to the ham bone broth. Continue simmering for 30 minutes of cooking time and then add any additional salt if needed.
Enjoy this amazing ham bone soup recipe or store for later!
Storing Ham Bone Soup
Any leftover soup can be cooled a bit and then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This is also a great soup recipe to freeze. Which can be done by placing in a freezer-safe container (leave some space at the top for it to expand) and storing in the freezer for up to 3 months. To thaw, just move the delicious soup to the fridge the night before you plan to enjoy it.
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Easy Leftover Ham Bone Soup
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: Approx. 14-16 cups
- Category: Soup
- Method: Stove Top
- Cuisine: American
Description
Leftover Ham Bone Soup – the perfect way to use your leftover ham and ham bone to make a cozy soup! So flavorful and delicious!
Ingredients
- 1 leftover ham bone (preferably with some meat still left on the bone)
- water (enough to almost cover your ham bone – I used 12-14 cups)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (more to taste)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sweet yellow onion, diced
- 2 large stalks celery, sliced
- 4 medium carrots, peeled and sliced
- 1 large russet potato, cubed
- 1 –2 cups corn, frozen or canned
- 1 can great northern white beans (optional)
- 2 cups cooked ham meat, cubed
Instructions
- Place the meaty ham bone in a Dutch Oven and almost cover with water.
- Add bay leaf.
- Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer and cover.
- Let simmer for at least 2 hours. The longer you let it simmer, the more flavorful the broth will be and you will then need to use less salt to help season it.
- After you are done simmering the ham bone, remove it, and discard. Feel free to remove any meat from it and add it to the pot if you wish, although it might be a little dried out.
- Add onion, celery, carrots, potato, corn, beans and ham meat.
- Cover and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until potatoes and retables are firm, but soft.
- Taste and add 1-2 teaspoons salt, depending upon preference. Add additional salt, as desired.
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- Ham: photos shown are with a bone from a 9lb smoked ham and I used a 5.5qt Dutch Oven.
- Whole30/Paleo: to make this soup Whole30/Paleo, simply omit the white beans.
- Additions: feel free to add some chopped cabbage to this soup or even some frozen peas!
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 130
- Sugar: 2.6 g
- Sodium: 613.3 mg
- Fat: 2.2 g
- Carbohydrates: 17.4 g
- Protein: 10.2 g
- Cholesterol: 29.9 mg
Susan says
I made this today after looking at many recipes. This was the best way to use the bone and cook the vegetables to make a delicious soup without adding fat and calories. I added half a small cabbage chopped and didn’t add corn.
The flavor was so good..
Mary says
Great recipe! We had tummy problems with (yummy) split pea soup in the past, so this soup was perfect for the leftover ham bone 🙂
It was as simple as the instructions.
Erin says
So glad to hear this, Mary!!