Smoked Ham Soup with White Beans is one of my favorite soup recipes.
On one recent (and rare) rainy day, I made soup- a good one, a healthy one. Nutritional information is included on this recipe. And if you’re following the Weight Watchers program, you’ll be really happy. One serving of this Smoked Ham Soup with White Beans counts as 2 blue or purple points or 5 green points.
This soup is a high fiber soup (8g) that is low in fat (3g) and calories (193). The recipe makes 8 servings, so you can make it on the weekend and eat it for lunch all week. If you don’t have ham lying around, just pick up a slice of it at your market- they usually sell packaged slices near the bacon.
When I’m watching my weight, I like to eat soup. It feels filling and satisfying to me when I’m starving and otherwise ready to fall off the wagon and raid my pantry in a mad fury. Having a big bowl of soup in the fridge -ready for immediate consumption- helps fend off that crazy idea. Our whole family enjoys this soup. And it feels good and comforting to eat Smoked Ham Soup with White Beans on a blustery day. Enjoy!
Here are a few more soup recipes you might like to try:
- Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup
- Ham and Lentil Soup
- Creamy Mexican Turkey Soup
- Butternut Squash Soup
- Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Split Pea Soup with Rosemary
- Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
- Wild Rice Soup
Smoked Ham Soup with White Beans
Recipe Details
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped
- 4 medium garlic cloves, minced
- 6 cups fat-free, low-sodium chicken broth
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
- 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Two 14.5-ounce cans white beans, drained and rinsed
- 2 whole bay leaves
- ham hock (optional)
- 2 cups chopped smoked ham
- One 14.5-ounce can petite diced tomatoes, undrained
Instructions
- Heat oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until tender, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the broth, water, parsley, thyme, salt, pepper and bay leaves. If you happen to have a ham hock available to you, throw that in too. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat; simmer for about an hour. If you're not simmering a ham hock, then cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes.
- Add the beans and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Discard the bay leaves. Remove the ham hock (if using).
- Place 1 cup of the bean mixture in a blender or food processor; process until smooth. Return the puréed bean mixture to the pan, add chopped ham and tomatoes and stir until blended. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the ham is heated through, and then serve.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as gluten-free, just be sure to use brands of chicken broth, beans and ham that are known to be GF.
Great recipe! Loved the flavors and richness of the soup. We had a large center cut smoked ham slice from a local farm that worked perfectly in this soup. Based on the amount of broth though we ended up needing to double the tomatoe and bean quantity. Otherwise the soup was just broth and ham. We also added collard greens which I would recommend to everyone since they will cook in that first long simmeribg with the ham hock. Also, we didn’t remove the ham hock the whole time. All together great soup base recipe that we will come back to.
I made this as printed except I added 2 carrots and 2 celery with the onions. I used the Easter ham bone–not smoked but still tasty. I found it easier to use an immersion blender right in the soup pot instead of dirtying the food processor. Just remove the bay leaves and thyme stems first. (no need to pick off the thyme leaves before cooking–the leaves just fall off the stems into the soup)
Thank you so much! I am a Food Gawker addict and came across your recipe. I’ve had one can of white beans in my pantry for a couple of months now. And since it’s just me I didn’t need two cans. I ended up using smoked neck bones (which I had never cooked before). I also had some zucchini that I needed to use pretty quick. This dish didn’t need any salt at all. I added some fresh rosemary & lemon thyme from my container herb garden. This was sooooo full of flavor I just sat in silence and mentally appreciated every bite. Can’t wait to share with my coworker tomorrow.
Your additions sound wonderful!
This soup looks great! I have been so into ham lately. It’s got so much lean protein with loads of flavor. I buy the Trader Joe’s nitrate free sliced Black Forest Ham. It would be yummy here, but the cubes look better.
We are in SoCal too…..Orange County. Where r you guys??
Healthy, fast and easy; sounds great to me!
I’m like you, since we live in this amazing Southern California weather, once the temperatures dip below 60, I’m in the mood to make soup. I’ve got two on the menu for this week.
I’m bookmarking this and will try it soon!
It is cold here in NY! I am sure my family will love this soup. Thanks for taking the time to post it.