GRAMMY’S HAM AND BEAN SOUP is the perfect comfort food for a cold, blustery night! 🙂 It is soooo yummy and full of flavor! This hearty soup combines the yumminess of assorted beans, with diced ham, carrots, and seasonings, in a delectable broth flavored with canned diced tomatoes or the spice of your favorite salsa! For my family, we prefer the yummy use of salsa, as it adds just a hint of heat to our soup.  Either way, GRAMMY’S HAM AND BEAN SOUP is sure to be a favorite in your house, too!  Please note in my recipe below, that this soup can be adjusted for a slow cooker or an Instant Pot, too…..the best of all worlds, right?! 🙂  ENJOY!
GRAMMY'S HAM AND BEAN SOUP
Ingredients
- 1 bag 15 Bean Soup Mix (with ham flavored seasoning packet included)
- 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 medium carrots, rough chopped
- 8 cups chicken broth
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 - 1 tsp salt, to taste
- 2 chicken boullion cubes
- 1 ham bone or ham steak slice
- 1 14.5oz can of tomatoes OR (8 oz SALSA)
Instructions
- Put dry beans into a large dutch oven and cover deeply with water. Soak beans in water for at least 8 hours or overnight.
- After soaking beans, rinse them and drain water. Set aside in colander
- In the dutch oven, put the oil, diced onion, and minced garlic and saute until onions are tender, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add the beans, carrots, chicken broth, salt/pepper, chicken bouillon cubes, ham bone or diced ham steak, and can of tomatoes or salsa (depending on preference - I use Salsa). Stir to blend ingredients.
- Bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat, cover pot, and simmer for 1 1/2 - 2 hours, stirring occasionally.
- After beans are tender, remove remaining meat from ham bone, add to bean soup, and discard ham bone (if used)
- Add ham seasoning packet to soup and stir til combined. Taste and adjust seasoning (salt, pepper, etc as desired).
- Serve with biscuits or warm, crusty bread. ENJOY!
- NOTE: This recipe can be adjusted to be cooked in a slow cooker (place ingredients in cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hrs; low 6-8 hours) OR an instant pot (cook on High for 60 minutes, with a 15 minute slow release).
