15 Bean Soup plus Ham

At a glance

What stands out: Fifteen bean soup is a warm and comforting soup, reliable for cool weather. It’s loaded with ham, a rainbow of beans, and vibrant vegetables. Bean soup is hearty and nutritious, and low in calories.

How long it takes: 2 hours (mostly hands off), plus 8 hours to soak the beans (overnight)
Equipment you’ll need: large soup pan
Servings: 8

From-scratch Bean Soup with Ham

Use that leftover ham bone. Repeat after us: we, beautiful/handsome, kind, smart and valued reader of Bomumo, do solemnly swear to never throw away a ham bone. That ham bone will take this soup from mediocre to amazingly rich. When you make a ham dinner or purchase a spiral-sliced ham, Just toss the leftover bone in a zip-top bag and stick it in your freezer until you’re ready to make this soup.

Real ham flavor. You might be thinking, “The 15 bean dried bean mix comes with a packet of ham flavoring.” That packet doesn’t look like ham to us! And here is the list of ingredients: Salt, dextrose, maltodextrin, sugar, bacon flavor (which has nine ingredients), disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, ham flavor (which has an additional four ingredients), and silicon dioxide added as an anti-caking aid. We say, why put in nine ingredient “bacon flavor” when all you need is a ham bone and a couple of spices and herbs? And we're willing to bet that the real thing probably tastes better than that little tiny package labeled “ham.”

A straightforward recipe. Don’t be scared off by the total time it takes to make this 15 bean soup. It’s almost entirely hands off time and the soup is not difficult at all to make.

15 Bean Soup

If you’re wondering what 15 bean soup is, it’s a mixture of dry beans (legumes) sold in a bag. A popular brand contains a mixture of these beans: Northern, pinto, lima, yellow eye, garbanzo, baby lima, green and/or yellow split peas, kidney, cranberry, white, pink, red, lentils, navy, and black beans. The soup mix also includes a seasoning packet which we’ve already talked about.

Soaking Dry Beans

Dried beans need a good long soak. After you give the beans a speedy rinse, sort through them, removing any foreign objects like small pebbles or the like. Cover the dried beans with water.

We recommend soaking them overnight, or at least 8 hours. If you don’t have 8 hours, there are directions on the package for the speedy-soak method (cook beans for 2 minutes, then let them soak for an hour or more). Both methods are fine.

When the beans have finished soaking, drain off the soaking water, rinse the beans again, and drain.

P.S. If you’re looking for a faster bean soup recipe, try our popular bean and bacon soup, white bean soup, or Instant Pot black bean soup.

How it comes together

Now the beans are soaked. It’s time to get started on the soup. You’ll need at least two hours to cook this soup but more time is fine, too. The soup can simmer for as long as you want.

Sauté chopped onions, carrots, and celery in a Dutch oven or stockpot. When the veggies are softened, add the soaked beans, water, and seasonings. Nestle that ham bone in, bring the soup to a boil, turn the heat down, and simmer. We recommend an hour and a half, but no worries if you go longer than that.

Remove the ham bone and if there’s any ham still clinging to the bone, pull it off and add it to your soup. We like to add some additional ham at this point. If you don’t have any extra ham, don’t worry, there will be plenty of good flavor in the soup from the ham bone.

Simmer the bean soup 15 minutes more to make sure everything is nice and hot. Remember to remove the bay leaf before serving the soup. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Serve with warm from-scratch lighter corn bread made with cornmeal, cheddar and black pepper. Beer bread is great, too, and doesn’t take long at all. We love no-knead Dutch oven bread, too, which is another overnight recipe.

Ways to change it

• Ham bone substitutions: While the ham bone does add great flavor as it simmers slowly with the beans, you could substitute sausage. Kielbasa or smoked sausage is great, or Italian sausage. Sometimes, we stir in cooked and crumbled bacon at the end of the cooking time. Another great substitute for a ham bone is ham hocks. We always use ham hocks when we're making the traditional Hoppin’ John with black eyed peas and ham.
• Vegetarian or vegan: Just leave the ham bone and ham out. Try adding a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast to enhance the flavor and use vegetable broth instead of water. For smoky flavor, consider adding smoked paprika to the soup.
• Like lots of veggies? Increase the amount of carrots, celery, and onion; add chopped bell peppers; stir in spinach or kale near the end of the cooking time.
• Make it “One bean soup”. If you can’t find 15 bean soup mix, this soup is rich with just one type of dried beans. Great Northern beans or another white bean would be reliable.
• 15 or 16? Some bean soup packages include 15 types of beans, others include 16. Fifteen or sixteen, it doesn’t make a difference with this recipe, so feel free to use whatever you like. Call your soup 16 bean soup or 15 bean soup, it’s all the same!

Keeping leftovers

Refrigerate: This recipe makes a large batch of soup. Refrigerate leftover soup in covered containers. It will keep for three or four days and is reliable for lunches.

Freeze leftover soup for future meals. Bean soup freezes well. It will keep for at least 6 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator overnight before reheating.

Reheat: Individual portions can be reheated in the microwave, using a microwave safe bowl. Cover the bowl because beans tend to explode in the microwave. Large amounts can be reheated in a saucepan on the stove. If the soup seems too thick, add a bit of water or broth.

Free Meal Plan

Interested in a weekly meal plan that includes this recipe? Take a look at Meal Plan #86. You’ll find a wholesome recipe for each weekday plus a categorized grocery list. We add a new meal plan weekly.

Browse Meal Plans

• Yield: 8
• Prep: 15 minutes
• Cook: 1 hour 45 minutes
• Total: 10 hours

Ingredients

• 1 bag (20 ounces) 15 bean soup mix, seasoning packet removed (16 bean soup mix is fine, too)
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 cup diced peeled carrots ( 4 medium carrots)
• 1 cup diced celery ( 3 celery stalks)
• 1 cup diced yellow onion ( 1 medium onion)
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon dried parsley
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 ham bone
• 8 cups water
• 2 cups diced fully cooked ham, about 8 ounces

Method

1. Rinse beans and sort out foreign objects. Pour beans into a bowl or pan, cover with plenty of water (the water should be at least 1 inch above the beans), and soak overnight, or for at least 8 hours.
2. Drain water from beans and rinse again.
3. Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium-high heat, and add onions, carrots, and celery. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until softened, and onion is translucent, about 5 minutes.
4. Add cumin, parsley, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Add beans, ham bone, and water. You can add more later if it gets too thick. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for about 1 ½ hours or until beans are tender.
5. Remove ham bone. If you like a thicker soup, remove a few cupfuls of the soup and mash the beans lightly before adding them back to the soup. Add the diced ham, and simmer for another 10 minutes.
6. Taste, adjust seasonings as desired. Remove bay leaf and serve. If not ready to serve, turn heat to low and simmer for as long as needed.

Notes

Without a ham bone: If you don’t happen to have a ham bone, no worries! Just skip that part and add diced ham at the end of the cooking time.

Not a fan of ham? If you would prefer not to use ham at all, kielbasa, Polish sausage, bacon, or Italian sausage can be substituted.

Vegetarian: Make this soup vegan or vegetarian by not adding any meat. Instead add a couple of tablespoons of nutritional yeast and use vegetable broth instead of water. If you want to add a bit of smoky flavor, smoked paprika can be added, to taste.

Storage: Leftover bean soup can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. Bean soup also freezes well and will keep for at least 6 months.