Ham and Bean Soup

April in Ontario has been much colder than March and today, in particular, was windy and cold. The warm stretch we experienced throughout a couple of weeks in March caused me to get all geared up for spring and summer.

I was not the only one as there were people in our neighborhood that started spring cleaning and gardening far earlier than normal.

It has been difficult to know how to dress the kids for school. A few weeks ago they walked to school in shorts and this week they have been bundled up in winter coats and gloves. We were hoping to be able to get the winter coats and boots put away by now, but the weather is causing us to hold out a little bit longer.

ham and bean soup 4

The cold wind today makes it the perfect weather for soup. I went down to the pantry to find out the supplies I had on hand to make a nice hearty bowl of soup.

Since Easter is over, I had lot of leftover ham in the fridge. I always make sure that I buy ham with a bone because it makes incredible soup. Ham and beans are a classic combination for soup and this recipe includes barley and split peas to make it extra hearty.

The split peas are great because they break down during the cooking and become a thickening agent for the broth. If there weather for you has been a cool and windy, I encourage you to whip up a pot of this ham and bean soup. It will warm you right up!

ham and bean soup 2

Ham and Bean Soup

5 out of 5
2 reviews
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Perfect soup for leftover ham with a ham bone. White beans, black beans, split peas, barley, carrots and onions are in the soup. Easy to make in a crockpot.
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 3 hours
Total Time: 3 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8

Ingredients

  • water
  • Ham bone
  • 3 garlic cloves , whole
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 1 onion , diced
  • 1 1/2 cup diced carrots
  • 2 cups diced ham
  • 1 can white beans , drained
  • 1 can black beans , drained
  • 1/2 cup green split peas
  • 1/2 cup pearl barley
  • 1/3 cup fresh parsley , chopped
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  • n a large soup pot place the ham bone, bay leaves, garlic cloves and enough water to cover the bone (at least 20 cups). Bring to a boil and let it cook on a low rolling boil for 2 hours to create a nice broth. Some of the water will evaporate and there will probably be around 15 cups left. Remove the ham bone, garlic cloves and bay leaves from the pot and enough broth so that there is only 10 cups of broth left in the pot. Keep the remaining broth on hand in case it is needed to add to the soup (sometimes the barley and split peas absorb a lot of the broth and adding a bit more may be necessary).
  • Add the carrots, onions, ham, white beans, black beans, split peas, and barley to the 10 cups of broth in the pot and bring it to a boil. Lower the heat so it is at a low rolling boil and cook for45-60 minutes. The split peas and barley will soak up a lot of the broth and get larger. During this cooking time, add more broth if it looks like too much is getting absorbed.
  • Add the chopped parsley, salt and pepper and remove from the heat.
  • Serve hot.

Notes

Crockpot directions – At step 2, add all the ingredients to a crockpot and set on low for 5-6 hours. 15 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the chopped parsley and salt and pepper.

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5 from 2 votes

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12 comments

  • Great recipe for these cold New England nights-‘ I made more of a pea soup with ur recipe by adding more split peas & left over vegetables in my fridge- I’m a single man & I found this recipe easy to make– Thanks for the help

    • Reply
  • I will have a ham bone but would like to make this more often so think I will also try this with a trimmed ham hock.

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  • 5 stars
    This is the best ham and bean recipe ever!

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  • 5 stars
    This is the first ham and bean recipe I have ever made! It is so delicious! Thanks for sharing… this one is a keeper & it’s easy!!

    • Reply
  • Looks totally yummy.

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  • I love barley and this kind of soup is so soothing! I will try this next time never added barley awesome idea!

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  • We are also having this weird winter/spring weather swap. I’m glad I didn’t put all the cold weather clothes away with all the warm weather we had in March. We are certainly using them now. I love a comforting bowl of soup and this looks like it would hit the spot! Have a great weekend!!

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  • Isn’t Ontario weather charming. Lol. I am so fed up I’ve taken to wearing capris and flipflops in hopes it will work sort of like a rain dance idea. If you dress for it, it will come. So not working though.

    This is a great soup. I just chucked my ham bone today before I saw this. Luckily I have some saved from Honey Bee Ham in my freezer downstairs. Great soup to warm up with.

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  • We were on a similar wavelength this week…whipped up some split pea & ham soup and I’ve been noshing on it ever since. Looks delish!

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  • I don’t think I’ve ever had a ham soup – but it looks delicious 🙂

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  • This looks wonderful, Steve. I have a ton of ham left from Easter (doesn’t everyone? Lol) and was thinking of bean soup. Yours looks really really good!

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  • This looks great.

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