Leftover ham bone? Use it to make this hearty Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup! Made with dried beans, a rich stock, and a leftover ham bone, this Ham and Bean Soup is made for pennies, yet filled with incredible flavor.
Whenever you have a leftover ham bone from Baked Glazed Ham or your Instant Pot Ham, this comforting soup is a MUST make!
After every holiday, my mom or grandpa would make a big batch of Ham and Bean soup from our leftover ham bone. It would simmer on the stove for hours, tempting our taste buds all day long.
I use my family's generations-old Ham and Bean Soup recipe, but I have sped up the process significantly by preparing it in the Instant Pot.
Reasons to Love Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
- Old-Fashioned Flavor Fast. This recipe used to require soaking dried beans and simmering the soup for hours, but with the Instant Pot there is no need to soak the dried beans, and the cooking process is significantly faster.
- Cheap Recipe. Made with inexpensive dried beans and a leftover ham bone, this ham bean soup turns humble ingredients into a spectacular, hearty soup.
- Rich, Deep Flavor. Tender white beans and chunks of ham swimming in a rich, smoky broth, Instant Pot Ham and Bean soup truly is comfort food.
Ingredients for Ham and Bean Soup
- Dried White Northern Beans: Ham bean soup traditionally uses dried white northern beans, but feel free to use dried cannellini beans if that is what you have on hand. I don't recommend pinto beans or navy beans for this recipe. They will be a bit chewier and heartier than northern beans, but still work well using the cooking times provided.
- Cooking Liquid: I recommend using a combination of water and low-sodium chicken stock OR simply water to make this soup. When cooking unsoaked dried beans, extra salt can interfere with the bean's ability to soften, not to mention the ham bone itself is rather salty and will help to season the soup's broth.
- Ham Bone/Ham Hock: This is the perfect time to use a leftover ham bone, from a baked ham. If you don't have a ham bone on hand, you can opt to purchase a smoked ham hock, which will work well to make Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup.
- Celery, Onions, Carrots: The combination of celery, yellow onions, and carrots is a classic trinity of vegetables used as a classic base for most soup recipes. Feel free to omit one if you have picky eaters.
- Tomato Sauce: Helps develop a rich flavor to the soup, feel free to omit it if you don't have it on hand.
- Herbs: Bay leaves, fresh thyme, and garlic add the perfect herbal tones to the soup.
- Seasoned Salt: My Papa always added a bit of seasoned salt to his Ham Bean Soup, and I recommend the same. Seasoned salt is a blend of seasonings that adds just the right amount of flavor and salt to this soup.
Recipe Modifications
- No fresh thyme? In place of fresh thyme sprigs, use 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves.
- Note on using a bone from a Honey Baked Ham: Be sure to remove any pieces of ham with glaze-or your soup will end up on the sweeter side.
- Using Soaked Beans: If your dried beans have been previously soaked, decrease the water to 3 cups and cook time to 35 minutes.
- Using Canned Beans: In place of dried beans, feel free to use two 16-ounce cans of Great Northern beans. If you use canned beans, decrease the water to 2 cups, adjust the cooking time to 20 minutes, and decrease the seasoned salt to ¼ teaspoon.
- No seasoned salt? Add ½ teaspoon of salt along with ¼ teaspoon each of onion powder and paprika.
Tips for the Best Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Saute the vegetables. Taking a few extra minutes to saute the carrots, onions, and celery before pressure cooking the ham bean soup, will significantly deepen the flavor of the vegetables, in turn deepening the flavor of the soup.
- Don't forget to deglaze the inner pot. Any time you use the saute function, you want to add a bit of liquid and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the inner pot afterward. This will prevent a burn notice from occurring.
- Allow pressure to release naturally. Once the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally for at least 15 minutes. This will help the beans fully cook and retain their texture and prevent a starchy mess from spewing all over the kitchen.
- Discard the ham bone and spices. Before serving the soup, remove the ham bone, bay leaf, and sprigs of fresh thyme. Discard the dried herbs. If desired, pick off any excess meat left on the bone, and stir into the soup. Discard the ham bone at this point, it will have released all of its flavor.
- Wait to season the soup. It is best to add the salt after pressure cooking ham and bean soup, as the salt can interfere with the dried beans' ability to soften. Ham bones also have varying sodium levels, and you want to ensure your soup is not overly salty.
Serving Suggestions
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup is a filling, yet light soup that is perfect for the days after a big holiday meal. It is a meal all on its own, but I love pairing this soup with crusty bread and a big salad, like a Caesar Salad or Kale Salad.
Storage and Reheating Instructions
- Refrigerate: Allow the soup to cool to room temperature. Transfer the soup to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- Freeze: Allow the soup to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer the soup into a freezer-safe container and freeze for up to 3 months.
- Reheat: If needed, defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Heat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave in 60-second intervals until warmed through, adding more stock or water to thin the soup if needed. Alternatively, heat large portions in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through, adding stock or water to thin if needed.
More Instant Pot Soup Recipes
- Instant Pot Potato Soup
- Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup
- Instant Pot Zuppa Toscana
- Instant Pot Chicken Noodle Soup
- Instant Pot Tomato Soup
- Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup
If you enjoyed this Ham and Bean Soup made in the Instant Pot, I would love for you to leave a comment and review below.
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup
Made with dried beans, a rich stock, and a leftover ham bone, Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup is made for pennies, yet filled with incredible flavor.
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Servings: 8
Calories: 183kcal
Ingredients
- ½ tablespoon canola or olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion minced
- 2 stalks celery thinly, sliced
- 2 large peeled carrots diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups low-sodium chicken stock or additional water
- 2 cups dried white northern beans rinsed and sorted
- 4 cups water
- 1 ham bone or smoked ham hock
- 6 ounces tomato sauce
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 sprig of fresh thyme
- 1-2 teaspoon seasoned salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Turn the Instant Pot to saute, add the oil, and let briefly heat. Once heated, add onions, celery, and carrots and saute for 3-4 minutes, or until onions have become soft and translucent. Once the onion has softened, add in garlic and saute for another 30 seconds. Hit Cancel to turn the Instant Pot OFF.
- Add the chicken stock (or water) into the inner pot and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the inner pot.
- Rinse the dried beans and look through the beans to be sure there are no stray rocks.
- Add water, ham bone, beans, carrots, onions, celery, tomato sauce, bay leaf, thyme, and pepper to Instant Pot.
- Place lid on pressure cooker and turn vent knob to sealed. Set cook time to 45 minutes on HIGH pressure. (Hit manual/pressure cook button and then use +/- keys to adjust time to 45 minutes).
- After the cooking time has elapsed, let the pressure release naturally. This can take 15-20 minutes. Open the lid and remove ham bone, bay leaf, and thyme sprigs.
- Remove ham from the bone and stir it into the soup, along with 1 teaspoon of seasoned salt and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
Equipment Needed
Notes
No fresh thyme? In place of fresh thyme sprigs, use 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves.
Note on using a bone from a Honey Baked Ham: Be sure to remove any pieces of ham with glaze-or your soup will end up on the sweeter side.
Using Soaked Beans: If your dried beans have been previously soaked, decrease the water to 3 cups and cook time to 35 minutes.
Using Canned Beans: In place of dried beans, feel free to use two 16-ounce cans of Great Northern beans. If you use canned beans, decrease the water to 2 cups, adjust the cooking time to 20 minutes, and decrease the seasoned salt to ¼ teaspoon.
No seasoned salt? Add ½ teaspoon of salt along with ¼ teaspoon each of onion powder and paprika.
Storage: Allow the soup to cool to room temperature. Transfer the soup to an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
To reheat: If needed, defrost the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Heat individual servings in a heat-safe bowl in the microwave in 60-second intervals until warmed through, adding more stock or water to thin the soup if needed. Alternatively, heat large portions in a saucepan over medium-low heat until warmed through, adding stock or water to thin if needed.
Nutrition
Calories: 183kcal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 1125mg | Potassium: 706mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Vitamin C: 6.8mg | Calcium: 62mg | Iron: 3mg
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ChemteacherB2
This is an excellent bean soup recipe! A bit nontraditional (for me) with the tomato sauce, but it really adds a lot to the soup. I never was a huge fan of plain ol' ham & beans. My hubby loved it as well, which is impressive because he loves everything "the way my mom made it". THANK YOU!
Kristen Chidsey
What huge praise! Thank you so much for sharing!
Jennifer J.
This was a DELICIOUS recipe! I used the canned beans.
I have just 2 things that I would do differently next time:
-add 1 more can of beans because there were not enough.
-keep it at the 4 cups of water (instead of 2 when you used canned beans) because there needed to be more liquid. (I used stock instead of water.)
The seasonings and addition of the tomato sauce were spot on.
Really good recipe and I will definitely make this again!
James
do you drain and rinse the canned beans?
Kristen Chidsey
Yes, I recommend draining the beans if using canned beans.
Denice
I have never made bean and ham soup with tomato sauce, it added a different flavor, but I liked it all the same. I would make it again!
Kristen Chidsey
Glad to hear you enjoyed, Denice! Thanks for sharing.
Jocelyne
Do you soak the beans first
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Jocelyne! For this recipe, the beans are not soaked first.
Teri
This is a great recipe! I was raised in the south and had ham and bean soup lots of times but never really liked it. Decided to try this one and give it another try. I changed out a few things because as one reviewer said, "It needed to be used from my freezer or pantry." So instead of two cups of chicken stock (homemade, also from the Instant Pot), I used four. Instead of four cups of water I used only two. I know that the larger amount of water was intended to knock down the saltiness of the ham but I don't use salt when I make chicken broth so it came out fine. I used a whole can of tomato sauce as I didn't have a six ounce can on hand and for all the supplies of beans I have on hand, I didn't have any great northern so I used two cups of a 13 bean soup mix instead. Also, in addition to the ham hock, I had several frozen ham steaks and cut up one of them from the freezer and added it to make it meatier. Everyone loved it! I gave some to relatives and they wanted your recipe too. I also froze some. Nowadays it is just me and my husband and I always cook way too much! Again. Thank you! This will be my new go to autumn soup.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Teri! Thank you for sharing your modifications. I am a huge fan of using what you have on hand, and I love hearing how you made this work--and that you enjoyed the Ham and Bean Soup Recipe 🙂
Savannah
What is the serving size for one serving
Kristen Chidsey
About 1.5 cups. Enjoy!
Suzanne
I made the Bean soup today in my instant pot. Turned out great but how can I thicken it a bit?
Thanks.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Suzanne! So glad you enjoyed this soup. You can thicken it up by blending 1 cup of the beans with broth and then mix back into the soup. Alternatively, you can turn the IP to saute and let the soup simmer with the lid off to evaporate some of the liquid.
Nichole
Love the simplicity of this soup, it was so good. I used what I had in my pantry- dried black eyed peas- cause its what I had. Cubed ham (it needed to be used) I also tossed in a bag of the Great Value Seasoning Blend chopped frozen veggies- onions, celery, green peppers and parsley flakes- I asked myself- could this be easier? No, it was so easy. Loved that I could used dried beans in this in my instapot, and they were delicious, in just 45 mins- what! Love my instapot. Thanks for such a great easy recipe.
Kristen Chidsey
You are so very welcome! I love hearing you made this using what you had on hand!
Elaine Cipriano
45 min is not long enough for the Northern Beans to cook! I had to add 15 min. This is the second time making your recipe….and i forgot it takes longer.
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Elaine! I am sorry you have had issues with the timing. I myself, have not had this issue with any of the models I have tested this recipe on. That said, it is important to recognize sometimes Instant Pots, like ovens, vary in how they cook. I would make a note you need an extra 10 minutes and try that from now on. Also be sure to use cold water, cold stock and the full amount--all of that is crucial in the timing. I hope that helps 🙂
Brandon L. Roeglin
Easy to follow directions. My only modification was navy beans instead of the Great Northern. It turned out awesome. So flavorful. Thank you!
Kristen Chidsey
Thanks for sharing Brandon! Great to hear you enjoyed!
Robert
Hi! I only have pinto beans or black beans in my pantry right now. Can I sub? Are they bigger than great northern? Will I need more cook time??? Thanks
Kristen Chidsey
Hi Robert, I would use pinto beans, not black beans if you want to sub them out. The cooking time will be the same as well.
Robert
Thanks!