Leftover Ham Bean Soup is the easiest and most flavorful soup your family will love made with a rich broth in the slow cooker from your holiday ham bone.
Add carrots, celery, onion, chicken broth, leftover ham bone, chili powder, garlic, and bay leaf to your slow cooker and cook on low at least 4 hours.
Remove bay leaf along with any fat you don't want to eat (see note below). Transfer ham bone to a cutting board and cut off any pieces of meat, chop them small, and add them back to the soup.
Just before serving, add drained beans to the soup, stir to combine, and serve when the beans have heated through.
Optional: If preferred, you can blend part or all of the soup. To do this, do not add the ham pieces back to the soup until it has been blended. Then, either use an immersion blender to partially blend. Alternatively, you can transfer half of the soup to a blender, blend it, and then combine it with the rest of the soup. Add the ham back in before serving.
Notes
How to make ham bean soup in the Instant Pot
With the benefit of being able to saute in the Instant Pot, add a small amount of olive oil to the pot and sear the vegetables for 5-10 minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the canned beans and pressure cook on high for 20 minutes.
Release the pressure and transfer the ham and any large chunks of meat to a cutting board. Dice ham and return it to the pot with the drained beans. Stir until heated through and serve.
How to make ham bean soup on the stovetop
Similar to the Instant Pot, take advantage of the fact that you can saute the vegetables for a bit and give them some extra flavor. Using a large Dutch oven or stockpot, cook the vegetables over high heat for a few minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients except for the beans. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to the lowest amount which allows you to maintain a simmer.
Cover and cook for about 40 minutes.
Transfer the ham and any large chunks of meat to a cutting board. Dice ham and return it to the pot with the drained beans. Stir until heated through and serve.
Cooking tips for best results
Blend it: If preferred, you can blend the entire soup or a portion of it. To do this, transfer the soup to a blender or use an immersion blender. Follow all of the instructions and add the beans to the soup, but do not add that ham prior to blending. The ham bits can be added in after the soup is blended.
Remove excess fat: When the soup is done, before you add the beans, there may be a lot of fat. If you want to remove the excess fat, the easiest way is to refrigerate the soup so that all of the fat congeals on top. At that point, you can remove all of the fat, reheat the soup, and then add the beans.