This super easy Instant Pot Ham Bone Soup Recipe is filled with tender navy beans and the perfect way to use up that leftover ham!
With Easter right around the corner, I figured it was the perfect time to share with you what I like to do with my leftover ham bone!
Leftover Ham Bone Soup Recipe
After you’ve enjoyed a delicious Ham, don’t throw away that bone! It’s perfect for using in soup. The pressure cooker makes it super easy to just toss all the ingredients in, set it and come back to a deliciously seasoned broth with bits of ham that just falls off the bone.
Can I Freeze a Ham Bone?
YES! You can definitely freeze your ham bone for use later. Freeze for up to 3 months. What’s great about this recipe is that you can just toss the frozen ham bone right into the instant pot along with all the other ingredients and let it cook.
What If My Ham Bone Isn’t Frozen? Even if your ham bone isn’t frozen, you can still toss it in the pressure cooker and cook for the same amount of time.
What Beans To Use For Ham and Bean Soup?
For this recipe I used 1 pound of dried Navy beans, but you can also use dried pinto beans, black beans or any other type of dried bean that you like. A classic Ham and Bean Soup Recipe usually consists of navy beans, so that’s what I went with here and it’s a delicious choice.
Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup Instructions:
Don’t have an instant pot or pressure cooker yet? No worries! You can easily adapt this Ham Bone Soup Recipe to work in your slow cooker as well.
You’ll need to soak your beans in a few inches of cold water overnight first, drain and then add all the ingredients to your slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours.
I’ll also add these instructions to the printable recipe below.
Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup:
What’s great about cooking this recipe in the pressure cooker is that you do not need to soak your beans overnight. In fact, you can just toss in your dried beans and have plump, tender cooked beans in a 50 minute cook time!
Once the soup is cooked, you’ll simply remove the ham bone and any cartilage that’s left behind and toss those out. Shred the ham (it’s super tender) and add it back to the soup. Give it a little stir and you’re ready to eat!
Ham Bone Soup Tips and Variations:
- Chop your carrots a little on the thicker side, so they still have some consistency to them after being cooked.
- Feel free to swap out any of your favorite beans instead of the Navy beans.
- Try tossing in some baby potatoes for an even heartier soup.
- If you don’t have 6 cups chicken broth, you can use water and chicken bouillon in it’s place.
What To Serve with Leftover Ham Soup?
We love to have either a simple side salad or Caesar salad along with some homemade rolls to make this a complete meal. There are usually a few leftover rolls from the dinner that the actual ham was served at, so that makes this recipe even more amazing!
I know you’re going to LOVE this super simple soup recipe! Don’t forget that you can freeze that ham bone for up to 3 months to make this easy soup!
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Instant Pot Ham Bone Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 Ham Bone or Ham Hock, fresh or frozen
- 1 lb. dried Navy Beans
- 6 cups low sodium chicken broth
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 1 1/2 cups diced celery
- 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Combine all ingredients into the liner of the pressure cooker and stir. Secure lid on pressure cooker and make sure valve is in the closed position.
- Use the Bean/Chili setting for 50 minutes (or HIGH pressure). Let the pressure naturally release when finished cooking for 30 minutes, then carefully release the pressure the rest of the way.
- Remove the ham bone from the pressure cooker and shred any meat and return it to the pot. Discard the bones and cartilage along with the two bay leaves.
Notes
Nutrition
PIN THIS IMAGE TO SAVE THE RECIPE:
Leave out the cumin. It ruins the whole dish. Mine went straight into the disposal
I’m so sorry you didn’t enjoy the cumin in the soup. I think if you’re not a fan of cumin, you should just omit the cumin next time. 😉
I will never make another ham and bean soup recipe ever again. This recipe is amazing. The only thing I did different was to saute the onions and garlic in the Ninja for a couple of minutes prior to adding the rest of the ingredients and I added 1 can of diced tomatoes. Absolute perfection.
Well, I changed a few things–didn’t have celery, but added a can of chopped tomatoes. I cut the recipe in half as I didn’t need that much. Used a really good smoked ham hock. It came out amazing! Smoky and creamy with the beans cooked perfectly. Will definitely make this again. It was so easy. I questioned not sauteeing the onions and garlic first, but it came out perfect.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Terry! Thanks for your thoughtful comment!
I usually don’t love the food that I cook myself, but I love this recipe! It is actually my favorite. I get so excited when I get to put a ham bone in the freezer and anticipate making this SUPER flavorful soup!
You weren’t kidding… Delicious and easy. I followed the recipe as written, except for substituting in dried pinto beans that I had on hand. The family loved it. Looking forward to having leftovers for breakfast. Thank you!
I’m getting ready to make this recipe for the 2nd time, I will use Great Northern beans this time because that is what we perfer. Last time I made a bundle with fresh rosemary and thyme that I could pull out when it was done, and then added a can of dice tomatoes when I pulled the ham bone out. Best ham and beans I’ve ever made!
Sounds like some great additions you made! Thanks for sharing Matt!
I use this recipe for black eyed peas. The best my family and I have ever tasted. With the Instant Pot there is no soaking overnight and they are perfectly cooked every time. About to welcome 2021 with this amazing recipe right now.
That’s so great to hear! Happy New Year!
This was definitely the best ham bone soup I have ever made. Thank you!
Yay! So great to hear Kathryn!
I made this tonight was good now I made in a 3qt pot so next time I will have Half the recipe as this was right at the top and the beans were a little Al dente. Also I would add more vegetables. But I saved with cornbread and my kids loved it. It’s a good way to use the Christmas ham as I’m always looking for good leftovers recipes
I don’t think a 3 quart pot is big enough for this recipe. It would come to pressure too quickly and that is probably why your beans were not cooked all the way. I’m glad you still enjoyed it though!
Just made this with left over Christmas ham and bone. Literally my new favorite recipe. I haven’t made soup in a long time. So I’m glad I found this! My husband and one of my sons can’t stand beans so I took some of the ham and the juices from the soup and put it with rice. They loved it! Thanks for sharing this with us!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jessica! Thank you for the comment!
Jessica, after the soup is cooked, try pulling out the hambone and ham, mash or purée the beans and broth and add back in the chopped up ham and stir. My daughter does not care for the whole beans either but loves when they are mashed.
I just made this tonight and it came out PERFECT! It’s soooo good! I left out the cumin and the bay leaves because I hadn’t either but I am not a fan of cumin. I also used 4 cups of chicken broth and 2 cups of water. I sautéed my garlic first then added the vegetables and let them sautée just a little bit before adding the hambone and liquid. I served this with a loaf of crusty artisan bread. So so good. Please try it.!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Victoria!
Can or should I use the soup/broth setting for cooking my beans and ham bone? I do not have a chili/bean setting on my instant pot
You should use the HIGH pressure setting if you do not have the bean setting. It’s essentially the same thing.
Very delicious recipe! This will be my go-to recipe from now on. Made a little modification to make it more hearty: halved the amount of beans, added a can of drained corn, boiled some chickpea pasta shells separately and added at the end. Next time I’ll throw in some kale too.
Love that! So glad you enjoyed the recipe Catherine!
I’ve tried recipe versions of direct dry bean addition to soup in IP & there is always an issue with the texture of either the beans (too hard) or the veggies (too soft). I found this recipe & made a few modifications. For the beans, another option is to prepare them separately in order to infuse them with flavor and ensure proper texture for both the beans & the veggies in the soup. Beans can be prepared alone prior to the soup by putting the dry beans (1 lb) in instant pot, cover beans with 2 inches of liquid (water or stock)over top of beans (8 cups) & add in seasonings to taste. I use tsp garlic powder, tsp oregano, tsp onion powder, 1 tbsp oil, tsp salt, tsp pepper. Pressure cook on high for 15 mins & quick release prior to preparing the soup. Then, remove the beans and saute carrots, onions, garlic, celery for a couple minutes in oil. Add back beans and the rest of ingredients in this recipe, push the soup button on the IP & set low pressure for 40 minutes. Came out perfectly & packed with flavor. Thank you for helping me figure this out!
Glad you enjoyed it MO!
Delicious!
My folks go to Honeybaked Ham and get a buy one, get one free deal on their ham bones. They gave me one and I made this soup exactly according to the recipe, with the added step of using an immersion blender to puree some of the beans and veggies before adding the ham back in. This gives the soup more of a cream consistency. The hubs could not stop eating it. It is fantastic! Thanks for the recipe!
That’s so awesome! I’m so glad you enjoyed the recipe Amy!
Did you soak your beans? If using soaked beans, do I need to adjust the cooking time?
No need to soak the beans on this recipe. If you’re soaking them prior to cooking the soup, just cut the cook time down to 30 minutes. Hope that helps!
This sounds delicious! Can I substitute canned beans for 1 lb of dried beans? I wasn’t sure pressure cooking canned beans would turn them to mush?? Thanks for sharing.
I’m not sure how the canned beans would fare after 50 minutes under pressure. My guess is they would be pretty mushy. If you’re not using a ham bone, but rather just cut up ham, you can get away with using canned beans and cooking it for about 18 minutes of HIGH pressure. Hope that helps!
I had a ham bone left over from Easter 2020. During these trying times, I am trying to use up what I already have in the house. So I used dry black beans intead of navy beans. I had all the other ingredients. Well, this was the BEST ham and bean soup I’ve ever made, in the Instant Pot or other methods. My husband and I enjoyed it last night and we have enough for a few more meals. Thanks for a great recipe. We’re grateful.
I’m so glad you were able to make it work with ingredients you had on hand! Thanks for the comment Toni!
For years I have tried to find a ham and bean soup recipe as good as my mothers. This one is it in all of it’s simple glory!
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the soup Tammy!
If I already soaked the beans overnight and IPd the hambone in the liquid & removes the bones, how much longer to use IP with the beans, juices, ham pieces & carrots??
I think you’ll want to just cook it long enough to cook the carrots through and heat everything up, I’m thinking you should be good at 10 to 15 minutes of High pressure.
Made this today. Omitted beans because I didn’t have any (would have liked to have them). It is very flavorful. Added a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar (saw this addition in another recipe). I’m sure delicious without it. Great recipe!
So glad you enjoyed it Josephine!
I have large Lima’s. Will the cooking time be the same?
I’m not sure since I have not tested Lima beans, but I’m thinking it should be just fine!
I saw that you mentioned that potatoes could be added to this recipe. Would I toss them in with everything else and cook it all together or would I need to put the potatoes in later so they won’t get mushy? I’m new to IP so I am learning as I go.
Yes, dice the potatoes a little on the larger side and they should be good!
Hi Shawn, I made baked beans on the wk end. The recipe said 50 min. & my beans wre still hard so I put it back on for a total of 2hrs +expire date was for 2022so can I make this soup with first cooking my beans then add the rest of the ingredients.?
If you have hard TAP water, the dried beans will stay crunchy even after extended cook times.. Put a pinch or two of baking SODA in the cooking water. Your beans will be softer and “done”. It’ll also help decrease the gassiness. Only a pinch! More than that can have undesirable results… Alternatively use GOOD bottled water.
This is GREAT info! Thank you so much for giving us that nice little tip!
Looking forward to making this soup this afternoon with our Easter ham bone! Can you clarify the timing? In the recipe it instructs to set the pot to high for 50 minutes, with 30 minutes of natural pressure release, so this would seem like almost 2 hours total to me if you include the time it will take to prep and pressurize. But in your notes, you write, “*Total time (1 hour) reflects the time it takes pot to come to pressure and for pressure to release.”
I just want to make sure not to overcook everything. Thanks for your help!
Hey Jill! Sorry for the confusion. We just recently switched recipe card formats (last week) and some things didn’t transfer over properly. The total time will be about 140 minutes, with the addition of 10 minutes to build pressure and 30 minutes of NPR. Hope that helps! (I’ve updated the recipe too).
As this Coronavirus pandemic continues, I tried to find Dried Navy beans, but as all the stores nearby have been 100% sold out of Dried beans but only several cans of beans left, I could only score Canned Pinto beans…
I’ve got ham bone, enough chicken stock/broth and planning to add carrots, celery & onion (maybe plus sone baby potatoes).
What TIME Setting should I use for IP?
As I plan to make it today, I hope to hear your reply SOON!
Thank you.
Hey Yumi, not sure if you went ahead and made it with the canned beans already, but I would recommend at least 30 minutes of cooking. Hope you were able to make it work!
Hi Shawn. Well, yes I went ahead as I found another source… I did 5 min of High pressure and 3 min quick release. I used 4 cups chicken broth + 2 cups water, so it was kind of watery… I added dissolved potato starch (katakuriko – I’m Japanese) to thicken a bit…
It came out delicious.
I’d think 30 min would make all the veggies mushy…
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner, I try to be as responsive as possible, but I was out of town with my family on a camping trip for Spring Break. I’m glad you were able to find a way to make it work!
I had been on the fence for about a year as to whether I needed and Instant Pot or not. I was visiting my brother and he made this recipe in his new IP. We followed your recipe exactly. (except for the added salt as I prefer adding that to taste afterwards) IT WAS THE BEST ham bean soup I’ve ever tasted. I bought an IP as soon as I got home and this was the first thing I made in it. Someone just gifted me with a very meaty ham bone from their freezer, so guess what is for dinner today?! Thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe. I would suggest to others to follow the recipe exactly without making a lot of modifications. It is awesome just as it is.
That’s so awesome that you’re loving your Instant Pot and enjoying this soup! Thank you for your comment Kyasi!
This was delicious! We all loved it
Great! I’m so glad you enjoyed it Jennifer!
I did not soak my beans and I cooked it 35 minutes on chili setting and did quick release. The ham bone was frozen. I left out the cumin and extra salt and added a sprig of rosemary from my garden.
I blended about two thirds with my stick blender.
Delicious! This recipe on stove top takes hours. This was just as good in the instant pot!
So glad you enjoyed the soup Heather!
I’m cooking this tonight, I’m thinking about adding some chopped up ham because the bone was stripped pretty well and I think some extra ham chunks won’t hurt.
Adding in extra ham will work just fine! Hope you enjoy it!
Wind recipe. Comes out exactly as described and taste fantastic! I used pinto beans because the store was out of navy and they worked out great! Thank you for sharing such a delicious recipe’
So glad you enjoyed it Sandy!
This is the first ever recipe I tried today in my Instant Pot. Came out absolutely perfect! Thank-you for this!
So glad you enjoyed it JP!
Can you give me the ratios if I’m using 2 bags of beans (Great Northern). Making enough to freeze for the winter and my son. Thanks.
If you’re planning on doubling the beans, I would at least double to broth as well. If you want you could also double the veggies too!
I am making this recipe today, it’s only my second time using my new IP. We love ham and beans soup, so I am excited to see how this turns out. I did use the Saute function for the onions, carrots, and celery first and used cut up ham because we had no bone. My hubby likes his meaty too. Thank you for sharing your recipe!
I usually use dry beans but I have 2, 48oz jars of Randalls Great Northern beans. I don’t want the beans to turn to mush so do you think it would be a good idea to halve my beans and add after it is done? It will be thicker (which I like) but the other half added will add the texture. Thanks!
I think adding the beans afterwards will be just fine! Enjoy!
I made this today. Added an extra onion and replaced celery with 2 large kale leaves cut up and used pinto beans. Really yummy and healthy!
Sounds like a great addition Tessa!
Super yummy! Eating it as we speak. Very easy recipe in the instant pot! Thank you. I subbed the beans for kidney beans because that is what I had. I used 1 pound of ham steak. I served over instant pot mashed potatoes I made for Thanksgiving last week. Paired very nicely and very hearty and filling. I also loved that the carrots were soft.
So glad you enjoyed it Judy!
24 oz. of chicken broth doesn’t seem like enough liquid, especially when the dry beans soak it up? Says it makes 10 one cup servings?
The recipe calls for 6 cups of chicken broth. Hope that helps!
Thanks, but where does the additional 4-cup of liquid come from?
It calls for 6 cups of chicken stock.
I see that… However how does one get ten cups of soup when there is only six cups of liquid?
In addition to the broth, there is also ham, veggies and beans, which make up for the extra volume. 😉
Fabulous recipe! I made it in the pressure cooker. First I prepared the broth by pressure cooking the bone in the chicken broth. Then i took all of the meat off the bone and let the broth cool in the fridge so that i could skim off the fat. I then put all of the ingredients in the pc and cooked on the soup setting. In addition to the ingredients listed in the recipe i added fresh green beans and little yellow Dutch potatoes which i cut into quarters. I used a half bag of Hurst’s Hambeen dry beans which is a mix of 15 varieties and looks and tastes lovely. The ham was a sweet spiral ham and gave the soup a great slightly sweet and smoky flavor. Can’t wait to have some with my lunch today!
Awesome! Love all the modifications you made, sounds like a winner!
Can I make this without the ham bone? I have leftover diced ham but threw away the ham bone.
Definitely! You can toss in the leftover diced ham in place of the ham bone. Enjoy!
Healthy and tasty soup.
Great Recipe.
Thanks for posting .
I’m glad to hear you are enjoying it!
Made this tonight and my whole family thought it was YUM, YUM, YUMMY!!! I did use low sodium chicken broth and it was perfect.
That’s great! I’m glad you enjoyed it.
Living alone, I decided to buy the 3-qt Instant Pot rather than the 6. If I cut the recipe (and the bone) in half, do you think (a) it would still work all right? (b) fit into the smaller Pot? Sounds lovely, in any case. Thanks!
Yes, I would halve everything (use as much bone as will fit). I, too, always use the 3-qt mini IP. I’m cooking for one or two people, not for or 6 at a meal. It still provides leftovers! Works great for me as I don’t need that much food cooked and the Mini Instant Pot is lighter and easier to move about, clean, and store.. Go for it.
Cutting the recipe in half should be OK. Your cooking time will remain the same, but getting up to pressure will be a shorter time. Any size bone is fine as long as the bone fits into the pot. Hope this helps!