Leftover Hambone Soup
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You can use up your leftover hambone to make this cozy, hearty soup loaded with tons of veggies and chunks of sweet ham!
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reasons to make hambone soup
- Repurposes leftover holiday hambone
- Makes for an amazing, flavorful ham stock
- Warm, cozy, hearty, hug-in-a-bowl vibes
- Great clean-out-the-fridge meal, adding in leftover vegetables and extra herbs
tips and tricks for success
- Use a hambone. Not only can you repurpose a leftover hambone, but the hambone will add such luscious flavor, richness and body to the soup.
- Add pasta. Add ditalini, macaroni or a small shape pasta for a heartier soup.
- Add in leafy greens. This is a great recipe to sneak in leafy greens for those picky eaters. Spinach, kale, collard greens, swiss chard, or arugula are all great options.
- Serve with crusty bread. Serve with all the homemade crusty bread for dipping, sopping and dunking!
- Freeze as needed. Hambone soup is a great recipe to freeze, perfect for a quick, cozy weeknight meal in the coming weeks. Always use airtight, resealable freezer bags, label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
what to serve with hambone soup
Tools For This Recipe
Dutch oven
Leftover Hambone Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
This can certainly be made without the hambone. It may not have the exact same flavors or richness than using the bone, but it will still be a great way to use up all that leftover holiday ham.
Absolutely! But because dried herbs are often more potent/concentrated than fresh herbs, you need less when using dry. The correct ratio is 1 tablespoon fresh herbs to 1 teaspoon dried herbs.
Yes! This is a great IP version for an even quicker time stamp.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Yes! You can freeze the leftovers in individual freezer bags, thaw overnight, and reheat on the stovetop.
Leftover Hambone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 leftover hambone
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 cup canned white kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- ¾ cup frozen corn kernels
- ¾ teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
- 2 bay leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ cups leftover diced ham
Equipment
Instructions
- Place leftover hambone in a large stockpot or Dutch oven and add enough water to cover the bone halfway, about 6-7 cups. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until very fragrant, about 30 minutes to 1 hour; set aside ham stock and discard hambone.
- Heat olive oil in the large stockpot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, carrots and potato. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have become translucent, about 2-3 minutes.
- Stir in ham stock, beans, corn, thyme and bay leaves; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 10-12 minutes. Stir in ham until heated through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Serve immediately.
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Absolutely delicious!
I had two frozen ham bones in the freezer, used them both. One had a decent amount of meat left on the bone. Perfect amount for this.
Let the ham bones cook for about 4-5 hours until the marrow released. Highly recommend doing that for a creamier / more flavorful stock!
Added celery, and thickened with corn starch / water mix at the end. Otherwise followed to a T. This will definitely be my new go to for using up ham bones!
If you know anyone (friends or family) that throw away their ham bones, ask them to save them for you! Vac seal them and just chuck them in the freezer! Such a great thing to have in the freezer in the winter. Easy to use what you have in the fridge / pantry to make a hearty healthy meal! 🙂
Thanks for the recipe! Whole family loved it!
Followed the recipe pretty close, with only the minor addition of some celery salt and extra garlic, and it turned out amazing!
If you are in a rush, only simmering the hambone for an hour or so works perfect. It came out amazing and adding in the ham meat adds that awesome boost of flavour, especially if it was cured!
Made this today and it is damn delicious I must say. I boiled the ham bone for 6 hours so that the bone marrow released and made a creamy soup. We all loved it. Will make again for sure! Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper.
Hambone soup is always a crowd pleaser
Excellent soup, easy to make and came out delicious! The whole family loved it.
This is a very flavorful soup. My adult daughter could not get enough of it. I added a couple of parsnips and a small white turnip because I had them on hand and they totally complemented the gentle sweetness of the soup.
The base of the soup is great but I added and changed some things to make it pop more. Instead of water, I used 6 cups of chicken stock (low sodium) to marinate the bone in along with a whole quartered onion, celery leaves, chunks and fat of the ham. I let the stock simmer for 6 hours before I started the soup. I used a sieve and strained the stock, removed the bone and reserved the ham for my dogs (can’t waste ham). I made the soup as directed but used 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, diced up, one can of fire roasted diced tomatoes, a small bag of frozen kale, celery leaves and diced celery in addition to other ingredients listed. I seasoned with white pepper and salt and the seasoning was spot on. Simmered for an additional 2 hours and then had it for dinner. Very filling and excellent.
you are too funny….this is a totally different recipe! It does sound good though!!
I thought the same thing! A completely new recipe. Sounds good though.
This is our favorite soup! The kids are always excited when I buy a ham because they know Ham Bone Soup is coming up. Thanks!
I have made this multiple times. I rarely follow it to EXACTLY anymore just bc leftovers are different each month. I’ve even gone to our local butcher got the bone for around $2. So much flavor and so economical!!! I highly, highly recommend!
Made this with ham hocks instead of a ham bone and it had that extra smoky flavor. Great recipient!
I’ve made this several times now and it is absolutely PERFECT! In fact, my family looks forward to this soup after holidays than the ham itself! Great recipe! Simple and delicious.
simple but delicious. we ate with hot homemade biscuits.
Delicious! I’m making for the third time!
This soup was great, the whole family enjoyed.
Best soup ever! Only time I have ham is after Easter. So I make this once a year. But i could eat it every day. So good!
Ham bone soup DELICIOUS.
This recipe was fabulous!! I didn’t have beans so I added some peas towards the end. I followed the recipe as written, except I added a dash of Worchestershire sauce. So delicious. Thanks!!!
This soup is so delicious and budget friendly! I did not except to get so much comfort from this bowl of soup.
my son and husband really enjoyed it, easy to make just let it cook.
This is amazing! I’ve made it 4 times now. It is so flavorful. It tastes just fine with dried thyme if that’s all you have on hand. I like to add a little chopped celery & also a 15 oz. can of italian style diced tomatoes. It’s very simple to make & made with staple ingredients that I normally always without having to run to the store.
Wow, this was delicious! I wasn’t sure if I should veer from my family favourite recipe but this is my new favourite! It is really delicious and I will definitely cook it again and again. I did use some of the ideas suggested in the comments: added celery, a spoonful of chicken stock, and I did three quick whizzes on a hand held blender to slightly thicken it. It is a very, very, very tasty soup! Thank you!
Fantastic. Will use again. Think it needs a little “kick” of something, but its perfect the way it is! Thank you for sharing.