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Garlic & Zest

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Smoky Black Bean Ham Soup

Smoky Black Bean Ham Soup
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Looking for the best black bean soup? Search no further. My Smoky Black Bean Ham Soup is thick and meaty and loaded with extras like fire roasted hatch chiles, diced tomatoes and jalapenos. Top this ham hock and beans recipe with all your favorites, like queso fresco, cilantro and a squeeze of lime.  This ham bone bean soup recipe is perfect for cool days. 

   black beans soaked overnight for black bean ham soup.

 

I don’t know about you, but during the holidays my refrigerator was so jam-packed that it was like  a game of Tetris — stacking Tupperware containers, trying to make room for new dishes while carefully extracting others.  Sound familiar? 

sautéing vegetables for my ham bone bean soup recipe

 

The leftover with the greatest yield was a ham.  I had been been staring at the remains of this smoked pork for the better part of 5 days, cutting off slices and chunks here and there to serve with  leftover sweet potatoes for a quick dinner, with quiche for an easy breakfast, and in these angel flake ham biscuits, which I  made far too many of.   I was finally getting to my favorite part of the ham — the bone – THE essential ingredient for a ham bone and bean soup, don’t you think?

Hatch chiles and ham bone for the best black bean soup.

Ham Bone or Ham Hock and Beans Recipe

To me, a ham bone is the jumping off point for any number of soups — vegetable, white bean,  split pea you name it.  Heck, just by covering the bone with water and letting it simmer for a few hours, you can achieve a broth that can be used in any number of dishes.  If you don’t have a ham bone, many grocers will sell a ham hock — it has less meat than a leftover ham bone, but will add big flavor to your broth.  Supplement the ham hock and beans recipe with a ham steak, cut into bite-sized cubes.  

diced ham, garlic, jalapeños and cumin for ham bone and bean soup.

How To Make Black Bean Ham Soup

  1. Place the black beans in a large pot and sift through the legumes with your fingers.
  2. Remove any damaged beans or other foreign detritus, like pebbles or stones. 
  3. Fill the pot with cold water so that it’s about 2″ above the beans.
  4. Cover the pot and let it sit 8 hours or overnight (or use the quick soak method).
  5. The next day, drain the beans in a colander and set aside.
  6. In a large dutch oven, sauté the vegetables until tender, then add the ham bone, beans, chiles and water.
  7. Add the ham bone or ham hock.
  8. Bring the pot to a boil, cover and reduce heat to a simmer.  Cook until the beans are tender — about 1 1/2 hours
  9. While the beans are cooking saute the garlic and jalapeno. Stir in the cumin and onion powder and cook until fragrant and toasty. Set aside.
  10. When beans are tender remove the ham bone and let it rest until it’s cool enough to handle. Then trim any remaining meat from the bone.
  11. Add the diced ham and trimmed ham to the beans along with the jalapeño mixture and tomatoes.
  12. Simmer for 20 minutes until the flavors marry and adjust seasonings to your tastes.

 

ham bone and bean soup with tomatoes, spices and diced ham.

 

Though this ham bone and bean soup is awesome on its own, it’s even better with a few fresh toppings sprinkled on just before eating. I’d say everything except the squeeze of lime are optional — but trust me, you want that squeeze of lime. That hint of citrus turns this from a standard ham bone and bean soup to the best black bean soup ever.

add ons for ham bone and bean soup.

 

This makes a BIG pot of the best black bean soup! Chunky, rich, thick and satisfying, it’s a ham hock and beans recipe with staying power. It makes a hearty filling dinner with a green salad.  So much so, that my diners went back for seconds (and thirds). The scant leftovers were promptly claimed for lunch the following day.  

smoky black bean ham soup in a bowl.

black bean ham soup with lime, cilantro, green onion and queso fresco.

Emily holding a bowl of Smoky Black Bean Ham Soup

Garlic & Zest is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. 

Smoky Ham and Black Bean Soup

Course: Main Course, Soup
Cuisine: American
Keyword: black beans, ham, hatch chiles
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 14 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 296 kcal
A simple, hearty soup, thick with vegetables and smoky ham.
Print

Ingredients

  • 1 16 oz. package dried black beans
  • 10 cups water divided
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil divided
  • 1 cup celery diced
  • 1 bell pepper I used a yellow pepper, seeded and diced
  • 1 onion peeled and diced
  • 1 carrot peeled and diced
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cup fire roasted hatch chiles diced, optional
  • 1 leftover ham bone
  • 1 1/2 cups diced ham
  • 1 15-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
  • 1 jalapeño diced (seeds & membranes make it hotter - so if you like it spicier, leave them in)
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 1 tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Garnish options

  • cilantro
  • lime wedges
  • queso fresco crumbled
  • sour cream
  • green onions diced

Instructions

  1. In a pot, add the dried beans. Sift through them with your fingers to remove any debris or stones. Add three cups water to cover beans. Soak the beans overnight.
  2. The next day, drain the beans and set aside.
  3. In a heavy dutch oven, add two tablespoons of olive oil and sauté the celery, bell pepper, onion and carrot for five minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
  4. To the vegetables, add the beans, bay leaves, hatch chiles and ham bone and 7 cups water.

  5. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally until beans are tender.
  6. Meanwhile, in a small sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil. Add jalapeño and garlic and sauté for one -two minutes, until tender and fragrant.
  7. Add cumin and onion powder to garlic mixture about a minute, until cumin smells toasty. Remove from heat.

  8. Using tongs, remove ham bone from the soup.  Remove any loose meat from the bone to go back into the soup. Discard the bone.

  9. Add diced ham, garlic mixture, tomatoes, salt and pepper.

  10. Stir to combine, simmer, covered for 20 minutes on medium-low heat. Taste for seasonings and adjust as needed.  Serve with your choice of toppings.

Recipe Video

https://www.garlicandzest.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/black-bean-ham-soup.mp4

Recipe Notes

I serve this with little condiment bowls filled with garnish and let everyone finish their soup with their favorite toppings.

Nutrition Facts
Smoky Ham and Black Bean Soup
Amount Per Serving
Calories 296 Calories from Fat 72
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 8g 12%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 15mg 5%
Sodium 806mg 34%
Potassium 249mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 8g 3%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Sugars 4g
Protein 6g 12%
Vitamin A 53.4%
Vitamin C 81.2%
Calcium 4.2%
Iron 7.4%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Pin “Smoky Black Bean Ham Soup” For Later!

Looking for the best black bean soup? This easy black bean ham soup is it w/cumin, hatch chiles & tomatoes. You'll love ham bone and bean soup. #blackbeans #hambone #hambonesoup #blackbeansoup #hatchchile #hatchchilesoup #cumin #homemadebeansoup #beansoup #hamandbeansoup #blackbeanhamsoup #bestblackbeansoup #hamboneandbeansoup #driedblackbeans #soupfromhambone #leftoverhambone #hambonesouprecipe #jalapeno

More Hearty Bean Soups:

Red Bean and Sausage Soup
Red Bean and Sausage Soup
Navy Bean, Sausage and Escarole Soup
Navy Bean Sausage Escarole Soup
Black Bean and Sausage Soup
Black Bean and Sausage Soup

 

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Comments

  1. anjali says

    January 21, 2019 at 1:30 PM

    With the weather, black bean soup sounds awesome!

    Reply
  2. Neli Howard says

    January 21, 2019 at 1:17 PM

    I just finished making your soup! It’s great. Thanks for the recipe! This soup is DELICIOUS!!! It has a smoky flavor that my entire family enjoys

    Reply
  3. Sherri says

    January 21, 2019 at 12:46 PM

    Such a great way to use up leftover ham! So many delicious flavors in this soup! Perfect for the negative wind chill we have going on here! 🙂

    Reply
  4. Veena Azmanov says

    January 21, 2019 at 12:09 PM

    Love the veggies, Black Bean and Ham option to this yummy Soup. This soup is so perfect for the season and best for a healthy and delicious dinner.

    Reply
  5. Cliona Keane says

    January 21, 2019 at 11:59 AM

    This looks incredible and so warming! We are set for a cold snap and I’m a 35 weeks pregnant and craving healthy comfort food right now, so it’s the perfect soup recipe to keep me going!

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      January 21, 2019 at 12:02 PM

      congratulations on your pregnancy — and yes, the baby wants SOUP!

      Reply
  6. Sally says

    January 21, 2019 at 11:46 AM

    This soup looks fabulous! AAAND I see several other soups of yours I want to also try. Love the garnish options as well. Thanks for the video to demonstrate just how easy it is to make. Perfect for the colder weather.

    Reply
  7. Joan says

    January 12, 2019 at 6:13 PM

    I used my leftover black bean soup today and my husband and I really, really liked the addition of the ham. My soup was a bit on the soupy side so in addition to the ham I topped it with diced oven roasted potatoes, onion, red bell pepper, and baked tortilla strips. After filling our soup bowls there was a little leftover, however it did not go to waste. We both went back and finished that off. Thanks again for the inspiration.

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      January 12, 2019 at 7:51 PM

      Hi Joan! I’m so glad you enjoyed the soup and love your ingenuity! The potato and tortilla sound like a hearty addition!

      Reply
  8. Joan says

    January 8, 2019 at 3:39 PM

    I have some leftover black bean soup, ham, and various small amounts of veggies. Your soup has inspired me to put them all together. Thanks ever so much for your posting.

    Looks like you have an additional white colored topping other than the sour cream. Looks like mashed potatoes or maybe cauliflower. What is it?

    Reply
    • Lisa says

      January 8, 2019 at 3:44 PM

      That’s the Queso Fresco! — It’s a mild, fresh, crumbled cheese usually found near the standard cheddars and monterey jack. It’s usually packed in a round plastic wrap and you just break off what you need and crumble it over your dish! You could use other cheeses here as well.

      Reply
  9. Emily Larson says

    September 20, 2018 at 2:38 PM

    Made this! So good on a chilly day!

    Reply

Trackbacks

  1. The Best of Winter Soups | The Effortless Chic says:
    January 17, 2014 at 7:01 AM

    […] 3.?Smoky Black Bean and Ham Soup, Garlic + Zest […]

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Calling all cooks! You don’t have to be a gourmet chef to get a delicious, healthy meal on the table! At Garlic & Zest, I’ll show you how to make hundreds of seasonal, fresh recipes and indulgent comfort foods with easy step-by-step instructions and photos to help you master the dish.

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