The BEST Ham and Beans Recipe | Easy To Prep In 10 Minutes

This ham and beans recipe is the definition of comfort food. It combines smoked ham hocks with tender navy beans, savory herbs, a blend of spices, and veggies to create one delicious dish. But, this ham and beans recipe isn't just super tasty, it's also easy to make too! 4 Simple steps and 10 minutes of prep work are all that's required to make it.

The Best Ham and Beans Recipe

Now, this dish may sound simple, but simple doesn't have to equal boring. This ham and beans recipe is wonderfully smoky, filled with flavor, and has all of the building blocks of a healthy and satisfying meal.

Now, of course, the ham and the beans are the main components of this recipe, but they're accompanied by a select combination of herbs, seasonings, and veggies to elevate the dish. The result is a hearty, nutritious, and delicious meal that your family simply won't be able to get enough of. At least mine never seem to.

And, as I mentioned before, all you need is about 10 minutes to prepare the recipe. The rest of the time is just passive cooking time. So, while the ham and beans are cooking, you can prepare some sides to go with it. I love serving it with this sweet corn cake, these red skin mashed potatoes, or this sweet potato cornbread.

Ingredients

If you've made our Great Northern beans recipe, then you have just about all the ingredients you'll need to make this ham and bean soup. If not, the ingredients are really simple, so you'll be able to pick them up from the store if you don't have them already.  

Now, let's dive into our ingredient list for this ham and beans recipe:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ¼ cup celery, sliced
• ½ cup carrots, sliced
• 4-5 black peppercorns
• ½ cup onion, diced or 2 ½ teaspoon onion powder
• 2 teaspoon garlic paste
• ½ lb. dried navy beans, soaked overnight, rinsed
• ¾ lb. smoked ham hock
• 1 teaspoon mix of dried herbs (thyme, parsley)
• ½ cup baked ham, cubed
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 4 ½ cups water

If you have any extra cubed ham, you can use it to make this ham, green beans, and potatoes next!

Not too shabby, eh?

Now, if you're unfamiliar with ham hock, it's also known as pork knuckle, and it's the meat between the foot and leg of the pig. One advantage to using smoked ham hocks is that the ham bone holds tons of flavor and collagen, which is a building block for healthy skin.

For the baked cubed ham, you can use any leftover ham, old fashioned ham, or already diced ham. Then you can use anything you have left to make these butter beans!

And when it comes to the beans, you do not have to use dried beans. If you prefer to use canned beans, then you don't have to soak beans overnight. 

How To Make Ham And Beans

This recipe for ham and beans is as simple as it gets. As I mentioned, just 10 minutes of prep is all you have to do. Then, the rest of the time, the pot does all of the cooking.

By the way, if you want to use a slow cooker, I've included instructions down below.

Step 1: Prep Work

Begin by heating the olive oil in a saucepot over medium-high heat.

Next, add the carrots, celery, and onion to the saucepot. Now, cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.

Then, add the garlic paste to the pot and cook for 30 seconds.

Now, add in the navy beans, smoked ham hock, salt, pepper, black peppercorns, and your herb mix of parsley and thyme. Pour the water - or broth - into the pot and bring everything to a boil.

Step 2: Cook The Ham and Beans

Once your ham and bean soup comes to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 2- 3 hours, partially covered.

Also, if you think the beans need more water during the cooking process, you can add more. Just make sure to check on it every so often to see how it's coming along.

Step 3: Shred The Smoked Ham Hock

Once the beans and the ham are both tender, remove the ham hock and shred the meat from the ham bone.

Then, place the meat back into the saucepot with the beans and give everything a good stir.

Next, add cubed ham and cook for another 15 minutes. 

Step 4: Serve

Finally, serve your ham and beans warm.

I like to add some toasted bread along with the ham and bean soup for dipping. It's just such a delicious addition, and this garlic bread goes really well.

Making Slow Cooker Ham And Beans

If you prefer to use a slow cooker to cook the ham and beans you totally can. Just go ahead and place all of your ingredients - minus the cubed ham - into it, and cook on low for 7-8 hours, or high for 4-5 hours.

Once the time is up, remove the leftover ham bone, shred the meat, and return it - with the cubed ham - back to the slow cooker.

Let it cook on high for another 10 minutes so the flavor can meld.

How To Store Ham And Beans

This recipe for ham and beans will make about 6 servings. So you'll either have plenty for a big family dinner or leftovers that you can enjoy throughout the week. And, as you may have guessed, this dish makes for some awesome leftovers.

You can store your leftover ham and bean soup in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. Alternatively, you can also freeze your leftover ham and bean soup for up to 3 months.

How To Reheat Ham and Beans

To reheat the leftover ham and beans I recommend using a saucepan.

Just add the ham and beans to the pan, cover it, and cook it over medium-heat. Then, let it simmer for 10 minutes or until thoroughly warm.

Alternatively, you can reheat your ham and bean soup in the microwave in 20-second increments, stirring between each one until thoroughly warm. If you decide to go this route though, I recommend putting a plate on top of the soup to keep it from making a mess.

Wrapping It Up

Well, that's how to make ham and bean soup from scratch!

Seriously, this dish is surprisingly tasty for being so healthy. It's a great dish when you're feeling under the weather, when it's chilly outside, or when you just need something warm and comforting.

If you give this recipe a try, leave a comment below and let us know how it went.

As always, be sure to follow us on TikTok, YouTube, and Instagram for more easy recipes. We post new ones every day on them.

More Recipes

If you want to give some more hearty dishes a try, we have a ton on the blog that you can make next!

Give one of these a try next:

• Charro beans
  
• Ham loaf
• Ham salad
• Ham balls
• Baked beans casserole
• Southern meatloaf