Instant Pot Leftover Hambone Soup
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A simple, hearty, cozy soup recipe with the most flavorful broth. The perfect way to use up leftover ham!
Featured Comment
why i love this recipe
- Repurposes leftover hambone. This is a great recipe to use up that leftover holiday hambone, adding rich, smoky, salty flavors to the soup. Not to mention, the leftover ham chunks on the bone will add even more meaty flavors!
- Easy, no-fuss recipe. With the help of the Instant Pot®, there is zero babysitting and zero fuss. And the soup tastes as if its been simmering for hours on end, yielding the most flavorful ham broth.
- Cozy, soup goodness. We’re talking cozy, hearty, veggie-loaded goodness here, warming you from the inside out during these cold winter days.
- Freezer-friendly. Leftover hambone soup freezes and reheats very well, and can keep in the freezer for up to 3 months.
what is hambone soup?
Hambone soup is a soup made by simmering a leftover hambone in water or broth, creating a rich, ham broth. From here, the soup is an incredibly versatile recipe, adding various ingredients on hand such as carrots, potatoes, beans and pasta.
why make hambone soup in the instant pot?
Bone broth generally takes about 12 hours of simmer time, but with the help of the Instant Pot®, the cook time is reduced substantially, yielding a rich, flavorful ham broth in just 30 minutes under pressure.
tips and tricks for success
- Use a leftover hambone from Christmas or Easter dinner. The Instant Pot® will help the hambone release gelatin, adding a velvety and luxurious texture to the rich, flavorful ham broth.
- 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!
- Mix it up. Use different vegetables such as green beans, broccoli or peas, skip the beans and add more potatoes (or use red beans instead), or add ditalini, macaroni or a small shape pasta for a heartier soup, using the simmer function until tender.
- Freeze leftovers. Hambone soup freezes beautifully, perfect to keep in your back pocket for a quick, cozy weeknight meal during the winter months.
pro tip
Yes, you can freeze a leftover hambone.
Not ready to cook with your hambone yet? Leftover hambone can be frozen for later use! To freeze, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and place into a plastic freezer bag (to prevent freezer burn), squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Label, date and freeze up to 3 months.
Tools For This Recipe
6-qt Instant Pot®
Instant Pot Leftover Hambone Soup: Frequently Asked Questions
We have a stovetop recipe here.
Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
Absolutely! Let cool completely; portion into plastic freezer bags in individual servings, squeezing out any excess air before sealing. Lay the bags flat in a single layer in the freezer (this will help them freeze quickly). To reheat, thaw overnight in the fridge, reheating over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through.
Instant Pot Leftover Hambone Soup
Ingredients
- 1 leftover hambone
- 1 sweet onion, diced
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 ½ cups leftover diced ham
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 1 russet potato, peeled and diced
- 1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup frozen corn kernels
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Equipment
Instructions
- Place hambone, onion and bay leaf into a 6-qt Instant Pot®. Add enough water to almost cover the bone without passing the max line of the insert, about 7 cups.
- Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 30 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions; remove and discard hambone and bay leaf.
- Add ham, carrots, potato, beans, corn, garlic and thyme. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 5 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions. Stir in parsley; season with salt and pepper, to taste.
- Serve immediately.
Did you make this recipe?
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Could this be done with a raw ham bone?
Hello-
I used my ninja foodi to make this soup. I had what I thought was an excellent hambone, yet the broth was underwhelming. It was light yellow in color and light in flavor. Maybe I should have pressure cooked for 40 mins? After I added and cooked the vegetables and seasonings, I took about half a cup of ham and mixed it with a cup of broth and chopped it up in blender, resulting in something that looked like a ham spread. I added that to the pot and stirred it in. It changed the color of the broth to pinkish, but also added a lot of flavor. I got a thumbs up from my husband, and that is hard to get! Hope to make again next year!
Thanks for the recipe.
This soup lived up to the website name!! Slight variations based on available ingredients…but nothing that I’d say “changed” the awesome base. I only had half of a sweet onion, so I also diced half of a red onion. I added some frozen mukimame (shelled edimame) along with the corn. Also diced a sweet potato along with the russet…and had a jalepeno that needed to be used so removed the seeds/membranes, diced it, and chucked it in with all the other veggies. When serving, I offered chopped green onions to top (added a nice crunch), and let people season in the bowl — my husband favored salt and crushed red pepper, I opted for a squirt of siracha. It was DAMN DELICIOUS!! Tomorrow, we plan to add some rice ramen noodles just for a different take. Thank you!!
Great lighter soup. Split pea is really heavy.
Thanks for this simple but delicious recipe! It was a nice change from the typical split pea ham soup recipes I used to think were the standard for using a leftover ham bone. My family enjoyed the soup, and I enjoyed how easy it was. I subbed in cubed butternut squash for the carrots, since I had one partially cut open in my fridge. It was delicious!
This turned out more amazing than I imagined! I was concerned about using a ham bone that was initially cooked from a spiral sliced ham in a slow cooker, but it turned out great. The only thing I would change is the amount of potatoes, corn, and carrots. It’s a personal preference, but I think it can handle more. This is a true winner and a “make again” for my family. Thank you for this incredible recipe!
This soup is absolutely delicious! My pot is a little bigger, so I used 10 cups of water and just about doubled everything else. It is hearty and so delicious! Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe! I substituted chopped cabbage (4 cups) for the corn and beans and added another potato.
What a wonderful flavor! Go easy on the salt or omit it if your ham is very salty.
What if you do not own an instant pot? How do you do this on a stovetop?
Here is the original recipe:
https://damndelicious.net/2013/12/25/leftover-hambone-soup/
She mentions it above: “I have been making this stovetop version every. single. year.”
It’s pretty much identical ingredients and instructions to the instant pot recipe, just use a pot on top of the stove instead.
It turned out so good!! I did change the amounts of everything as i doubled the bach and added a little heavy whipping cream to the broth at the very end I felt it needed an extra umph and that made it perfect!! My sone who hates carrots and potatoes loved this…..well at least the broth and corn lol 🙂
Thanks! This came out so good!!!
I’ve made this a number of times now – it’s the best recipe I’ve found for using up a ham bone. I often add a little lemon pepper to my own serving, but other than that, I do it as written.
This is my all-time favorite soup! The first time I made it I had a leftover ham bone, but since then we’ve not had one again. So, I buy smoked ham hocks and it works perfectly.
This turned out very good — the first time I ever made ham bone soup. However, mine didn’t look like the picture because mine had LOTS more broth. My variation was that I used some beef stock I had leftover from cooking a beef roast, in place of the water, but still had to add extra water to cover the ham bone. I added an extra potato, and used home cooked red beans in place of the canned beans. Oh, and I didn’t have any parsley. Still, it was good and easy to make.
That sounds delicious but it’s entirely different.
OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO GOOD! For Thanksgiving, my in-laws did not have enough room in their refrigerator for the ham so we had to store it in our fridge. In exchange for use of our fridge, we were allowed to keep the left over ham and bone. I Googled Ham Bone soup and was happy to see that Damn Delicious had a recipe. And WOW! This soup is so delicious and even my parents were impressed when we brought some over to them. Unfortunately, the yield is a little less than desired but I guess we will just have to make sure everyone gives us their ham bones during the holidays to make more of this!
Made this several times. It’s a great way to use that holiday hambone. Thanks, I expect a great recipe from damndelicious.net!
This was delicious and simple to make. A great use for the leftover Christmas hambone I almost threw out! I replaced the beans with more potatoes because we like that better and it turned out great!
Made the Leftover Ham Bone soup. I have an 8 qt Instant Pot so I had more water in it. I compensated by adding more veggies and also a stick of celery. it took 2.5 hours as I cut the meat off the bone and used it. Everyone loved it! It sure was Damn Delicious!!!!
Don’t you mean ✨ham delicious✨?
*Dah dum tss*
This is my first time making this recipe. In addition to your list of ingredients I added celery, a tied together bundle of fresh rosemary, sage and thyme, and three heaping tablespoons of tomato paste, and two tablespoons of chicken broth powder, a can of kidney beans instead of corn I opted for and 8oz. can of peas.
Our favorite soup! I am excited to try the InstantPot version. When we don’t have a leftover hambone, I go to Honeybaked Ham and purchase one there – no more waiting until after a holiday! We love your recipes Chungah
So good!! I substituted dried herbs for the fresh and used a mixture of great northern beans and red kidney beans that I pre-soaked from dried. I will definitely make this again.
I love the stove top version of the hambone soup!!! Hubby wants me to make it all the time. Now, I HAVE to try the Instant Pot Version!!! Thank you for this recipe!!!!