Leftover Hambone Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see our privacy policy for details.
You can use up your leftover hambone to make this cozy, hearty soup loaded with tons of veggies and chunks of sweet ham!
For those of you who made a ham for Christmas yesterday, I highly suggest saving the bone so you can make this ultimate hambone soup.
I first made this soup two years ago and I was so amazed as to how you could actually use the hambone. In the previous years, I would toss them in the trash but the leftover hambone is actually quite a gold mine.
With a simple homemade ham stock, you could create such a cozy, hearty soup with ingredients you already have on hand.
Once you let the flavors meld together, this soup is wonderfully sweet and comforting with chunks of ham in every bite!
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
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.
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @damn_delicious on Instagram and hashtag it #damndelicious!
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.
I love this recipe. It’s my go to recipe for hambone. I add in celery. It’s delicious. Thank you so much for such a great recipe
Relatively quick and very easy to make! My husband and I loved it. I’ve made turkey and rice soup after Thanksgiving but had yet to try a soup from our Christmas ham. This one was so much easier! Thank you.
Will be making this every fall and winter going forward,
Easy to make, recipient very easy to follow, and absolutely delicious!
Have been doing this for years we let this simmer for 8hours, we do the same with turkey carcass , beef steak and rib bones just endless combinations.
Wow! Made this tonight and was incredibly full of flavor. I only let the bone simmer for 40 minutes and the rest was followed to a T. Was worried the ham bone wouldn’t give off much flavor but I was so surprised. No need for salt. Ingredients were a perfect match. Thank you!! Definitely going to make this after we have a ham!!!
Outstanding!
I was happy to find this recipe for hambone soup. I love to cook ham for Sunday dinner a couple of times a year. I hated to waste the leftover bone and small pieces of ham. This recipe solved that . It was easy ! I thought soups took all day and since I work I typically make dinner in about 30 minutes. The soup was delicious as written and I had all the ingredients in my pantry. Super easy and delicious.
Great! And so easy!