There is nothing like a bowl of hot soup after a long cold day. Make this on the weekend and you’ll have a few nights of deliciousness waiting for you when you get home. It’s hands down the best way to use a ham bone that I can think of!
PrintWhite Bean Soup – The Very Best Way to Use a Ham Bone
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ham bone with meat
- 1 lb white beans – I used Great Northern
- 7 cups of water
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 T olive oil
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, sliced
- 3 small yellow onions or 2 larger ones, chopped
- 1 t salt
- few grinds of pepper from the mill
- 1 sprig fresh tarragon, chopped
- 1/4 c heavy cream
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and sort, taking out any misshapen beans
- Place beans, water, bay leaf and ham bone in pressure cooker
- Cook on high for 30 minutes, let pressure come down naturally
- Remove ham bone from beans and pick off any meat
- Remove and discard bay leaf
- In large dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat
- Add chopped vegetables and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly
- Add ham to dutch oven with the liquid and beans from the pressure cooker
- Let simmer about 30 minutes on low heat
- Add the tarragon
- Add the heavy cream
- Adjust salt and pepper to taste
For extra goodness, brush slices of baguette with olive oil and toast in a 400 degree oven until brown – about 15 minutes
Float a piece or two on top of the soup
I had mine with a lovely glass of Sangiovese and it really hit the spot!
If I ever have a left over ham bone–that takes company–I will try this. Your presentation is always so appealing.
Goodness, this looks tasty. I’m having ham and bean soup tonight, but I must confess – I bought it at Whole Foods.
I love Ribollita and after visiting Rome I put it on my must make list. Thanks for reminding me RMW! 😀
Looks tasty! Wish I had a ham bone on hand!
I am a member of the old school who fears a pressure cooker.
Exquisite, I love your creative recipe!
I love to eat but not to cook, lol !
I have made this several times and it’s wonderful every time!! Tasty and comforting on a snowy evening and quick and easy, too!
Hi Gail,
Thanks for taking the time to tell me! It really makes me happy!
XXOO,
RMW
Made this last night for dinner! I’ve never used tarragon before and I will definitely be using it again; it was so good! I had to make a few adjustments: I poured off a lot of the water after cooking the beans because my toddlers are really messy with soups so I tend to reduce liquid and add veggies so any soup becomes more like a stew. I used a small chunk of ham leftover from a different recipe earlier this week to cook with the beans and then added chopped up deli ham when I put it all together on the stovetop because that’s what we had. 🤷🏼♀️. Other than that, I followed the recipe and it was delicious! Carl and I love it and the kids all had seconds which, for me, is the ultimate measure of success! 😂
Yay! So happy you enjoyed it. Pressure Cookers are such a great tool for young families with kids who want to eat well!
xxoo,
Barb
I made this soup. However could not find any tarragon at my superstore. So i made it without it. I think my onions were a little too big and so were the carrots but turned out well.
★★★★★
Hi Radka,
Thanks for letting me know. I’m happy it worked for you!
RMW