American
Ham and Bean Soup
A small ham steak, canned beans, carrot, and onion become soup in half an hour. You are not soaking dried beans overnight. You are making dinner.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 30 min
- Total
- 40 min
- Servings
- 6
- Difficulty
- Easy
Why you’ll love it
- Canned beans keep it on a weeknight clock.
- Ham brings salt and smoke.
- Mashing a few beans makes the broth silky.
- Six servings from a small piece of meat.
Ingredients
Ingredient amounts scale. Oven temperature and cook time do not. Salt, spices, and leaveners are a starting point after you scale. Taste and adjust.
Rough grocery estimate for the full recipe: about $9–13 at a typical US supermarket. Prices vary by store, region, and season.
Check the ingredients you still need, then add them. If nothing is checked, the full list is added. Saved on this device.
Instructions
- 1
Warm the oil in a pot. Cook the ham 3 minutes, until the edges brown a little.
- 2
Add the onion and carrots. Cook 4 minutes. Add the garlic for 30 seconds.
- 3
Add the beans, broth, pepper, and bay leaf.
- 4
Simmer 20 minutes.
- 5
Remove the bay leaf. Mash a spoonful of beans into the soup so it looks creamy.
- 6
Stir in the lemon juice. Taste before adding salt. Ham is salty.
Pro tips
- A ham steak is enough. You do not need a leftover holiday ham.
- The bay leaf has to come out. It is not edible.
- If the soup is thin, mash more beans instead of adding flour.
Easy substitutions
- Ham steak
- Smoked turkey, diced
- White beans
- Navy beans
- Lemon juice
- A splash of vinegar
Storage and reheating
Storage
Refrigerate up to 4 days.
Reheating
Simmer until hot.
Nutrition
Estimates per serving, using standard ingredient averages and rounded to the nearest gram. This is not a lab analysis, and it shifts if you change brands or add sides.
- Calories
- 240
- Protein
- 18 g
- Carbs
- 26 g
- Fat
- 7 g
- Fiber
- 7 g
Budget friendly · Stovetop, One Pan · Dairy-Free
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From the kitchen
Kitchen tools we love
Practical tools these recipes actually use. This is not a review roundup, and these are not paid placements. If affiliate links are added later, they will be labeled and disclosed.
A heavy 12-inch skillet
Most of the chicken and steak recipes are written for one pan that holds heat. Stainless or cast iron both work.
An air fryer with a real basket
The air-fryer recipes expect a single layer. A crowded basket steams instead of browning.
A half-sheet pan
Drumsticks, potatoes, sausage, and carrots all use one. A dark pan browns faster than a very shiny one.
A sharp chef’s knife
These recipes do not need a specialty blade. A sharp 8-inch knife is faster and safer than a dull one.
A large cutting board
Big enough that the onion and the raw chicken are not sharing the same puddle.
Dry cups and a liquid cup
Desserts in particular expect level dry measures and a separate cup for milk.
An instant-read thermometer
Use it for poultry, pork chops, and meatloaf. Color is a weak guide.
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