Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup

Jump to Recipe

This instant pot ham and bean soup is hearty, healthy and tasty. It's a perfect use of leftover ham bones (or buy ham hocks from your local grocer). A budget-friendly dinner that your family is sure to enjoy!

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: a close-up of the soup in a blue and white bowl, sitting next to a hunk of crusty bread and a ramekin of grated Romano cheese.

During the cold winter months, there is nothing more enjoyable
than a hearty soup that warms the soul.

Here are the top 5 reasons that you will love this ham and bean
soup:

#5: It’s cheap! Dried beans and a leftover ham bone
are the main ingredients. You can feed a family of 5 for $5. WIN! (Yeah, my
husband wanted to rate this #1)

#4: It’s a one pot meal! This
makes for easy cooking and clean up.

#3: It’s easy to make! This recipe involves a
little sautéing...then you let the instant pot do the work. Does “Set it
and forget it” ring a bell?

#2: It’s healthy! Beans are
full of protein and complex carbs. As a whole, this soup has tons of
healthy ingredients, like protein, fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients.

#1: It’s full of flavor! The
spices, herbs, and veggies all complement each other to make a hearty dish that is comfort food at its best.

A bowl of Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup on a teak cutting board next to a hunk of crusty bread and a ramekin of Romano cheese.

Ingredients for ham and bean soup

Dried beans

I prefer to use navy beans: I find that navy beans break down really well, creating a thicker, more hearty soup.

Ham bones

Leftover ham bones are ideal. Every time I make ham (like my Orange Bourbon Glazed Ham), the next day is mandatory ham and bean soup time in our house.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup being ladeled into a bowl. A hunk of crusty bread rests on the edge of the bowl.

This gives us two completely different meals with one ham, plus leftovers for sandwiches and delicious snacks like Tangy Deviled Ham & Cheese Spread.

If you don’t have leftover ham bones, simply buy a ham hock from the grocery store.

Hopefully you DO have some top-rate leftover ham. If not, you may want to buy some cubed ham to add in once the soup is done.

A red and white bowl with a serving of Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup. A spoonful of the soup is being raised toward the camera.

Cooking liquids

I use a mix of water and chicken stock for this soup.

Be aware that ham is salty, so make sure your liquids have low sodium content.

Vegetables

Celery, onion, and carrots are the base to this and most soup. Also, it adds fantastic color to the soup.

Herbs and spices

This soup is awesome with rosemary. I use both fresh, minced rosemary and a rosemary sprig, along with some Italian herb mix, garlic, and a couple of bay leaves.

Of course, we also use some salt and pepper. However, I don't advise adding salt until the beans are tender. Salting too early can result in tough beans.

But proceed with caution: ham is salty to begin with. You can always add salt later, but you can't take it out.

How to make instant pot ham and bean soup

Set instant pot to saute setting and add olive oil, celery, carrots and onions until softened. This takes about 2-3 minutes.
Add the garlic, tomato paste, bay leaves, and rosemary. Saute an additional minute.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: sauteing aromatics with tomato paste and herbs.

Deglaze the pot with white wine.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: deglaze with wine.

Add the dry beans.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: add beans.

Add your cooking liquids. Make sure the liquid covers the beans by 2-3 inches. This extra liquid will mostly be absorbed by the beans, but you will still have some broth.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: add stock and water.

Add the ham bone or hocks.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: add a ham bone or ham hocks.

Lid the instant pot. Close the valve and set to slow cook on the highest setting.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup, showing the settings on the Instant Pot, which should be set to slow-cook on the highest setting.

Stir the soup after 4 hours.
When the soup has slow-cooked for 8 hours, check to sure that the seasoning is to your liking. Add salt and pepper if necessary.
Remove the ham bone or hocks and pull off any meat (be very careful to discard any bones). Combine the meat with leftover chopped ham and add to the soup to heat through.

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup: add chopped ham for the last 30 minutes to warm through.

Optional: If you want a thicker soup, puree the soup a bit after removing the ham. I use an immersion blender simply buzz it through the pot a few times.
Serve immediately with chopped parsley, grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese, and plenty of fresh-ground black pepper.

Can you freeze ham and bean soup?

Yes! We do this all the time. It's so great to be able to pull a container of this soup out of the freezer when we haven't planned for meals—like when we come back to an empty refrigerator after a vacation.

Just put your leftover soup in freezer safe containers or bags.

Freezing Hack: Always label everything you freeze so you know what it is days, weeks, months later. I use painters tape and a Sharpie to note the contents and the date.

Because even if you tell yourself that you'll remember what was in that freezer container, trust me. You won't.

Slow-cooker Ham and Navy Bean Soup is pure deliciousness. It's a favorite in the Frank family: Phil even asks for it in the middle of the summer. And don't forget to serve it with Dinner Rolls or Homemade Rustic Bread!

I hope it's a hit at your house!

Instant Pot Ham and Bean Soup in a white bowl with handles. The bowl sits atop a wooden cutting board with a sprig of parsley and a ramekin of grated Romano cheese.

Stay safe. Stay well.

—xoxo Michelle

P.S. For more ideas for eating up your leftover meat, check out my post on Using up Leftovers! Or, get ideas for using up your pantry staples with Easy Pantry Meals – Living Out of Your Pantry (and refrigerator and freezer).