What to Do with Leftover Ham: Home Canned Ham and Bean Soup
If you are like half of America, there will be a ham on your Easter table this weekend. So what do you do with all the leftovers? Instead of the old standby of sandwiches or casseroles that cause you and your entire family to get burnt out on ham, get out the canner and make some old-fashioned Canned Ham and Bean soup to add to your pantry.
I’m not a fan of Ham & Bean Soup. I never have been. But based on the cost of everything nowadays, I have been attempting to teach myself how to eat more beans as a protein source versus spending so much money on meat every week at the grocery store. Inflation is killing us all.
Budgeting for groceries I believe is becoming the most difficult aspect of my budget. Utilities are getting there, but the trips to the grocery store are the worst. I have been canning way more than usual lately in an attempt to make sure that I can have a “No Spend” month soon. At least as far as where the cost of food is involved. (Don’t worry… I’ll be writing a post all about how I do a No Spend month in my household. I’m not going to leave you hanging.)
Home Canned Ham and Bean Soup
While I cannot vouch for how good this soup is, I know I learned to make it years ago for my dad. He could live on this stuff. Any time we had ham in our family, the ham bone always came home with us so that Dad could make himself a pot of Ham and Bean Soup. My sister and I both despised the smell of it cooking, but I learned how to make it for him. Hey, that’s just what a good daughter does, right?
What you Need…
The list of ingredients for this is seriously simple. You need Great Northern beans, and to be frugal, make sure you buy dry beans. They are so much cheaper than the already canned beans on the grocery store shelf. Next, you need your leftover ham. This gets diced before you add it to your jars. After that, you need onion, garlic, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. You can boil off your ham bone for broth for this soup, or use water or chicken broth.
This soup gets canned in a pressure canner. And we are canning it into quart jars. Make sure you have at least 5-quart jars washed and sterilized. Double-check your supplies before you begin. It’s the worst thing in the world to get started and then realize you are missing something or do not have enough lids. (Personal experience talking here. LOL)
Canned Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
- 1 Pressure Cooker
- 5 quart canning jars
- canning lids
- stock pot
Ingredients
- 1 cup diced ham
- 1 cup Great Northern beans
- 1/4 cup chopped onion
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- water or broth simmering
Instructions
- Prepare beans: Either soak in water for 24 hours, or place beans in large pot. Add water to 2" above. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Turn off heat, cover, and let stand 30 minutes. Drain before using.
- Into each sterilized jar, place the full amount of all ingredients above
- Wipe each jar lid with white vinegar. Place lid. Add a ring and tighten it to finger-tight.
- Place into simmering pressure canner with the amount of water specified by product directions. Seal lid and raise heat to HIGH. Heat until venting, and allow to vent 10 minutes before placing weight. Bring to 10psi. Reduce heat to maintain pressue. Process for 90 minutes. After time is up, turn off heat. Allow to naturally release pressue. Remove jars from canner. Set aside to cool, not disturbing for 24 hours.
- Label the jars and store for up to 1 year in your pantry.
Want more canning recipes? Find all of my recipes to stock your pantry here.
