Y’all, this is not a drill. My mother in law sent us home on Christmas Night with a literal bucket of ham. It’s a 4 Liter bucket filled with ham. We do love ham as is, and have eaten it as such for a few days, but I’m ready to get creative with the leftovers and wanted to share some of my favorite ways to use up leftover holiday ham.
First up, my take on the famous Senate Navy Bean Soup served on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. This soup is so beloved that it has been served in the Senate restaurant every day since 1903 (but maybe not during the shut downs, I’ll have to read up on that). The original recipe calls for soaking dried beans, but my recipe uses canned beans to save time. This is a great way to use up ham as well as veggies left in your fridge. If you happen to have mashed potatoes left from your holiday meal, you can use those too!
HAM AND WHITE BEAN SOUP
This is my take on the famous Senate Navy Bean soup served on Capitol Hill. This is also a great way to use up leftover holiday ham from Christmas or Easter as well as mashed potatoes and veggies you’ve got in your fridge. You can substitute any white beans or garbanzo beans if you prefer. I like the Better Than Bouillon brand chicken base. It’s great to have on hand and so versatile for a million other recipes!
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp butter divided
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2-4 stalks celery chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic (to preferred taste)
- 1 large russet potato* peeled (or 1-2 cups prepared mashed potatoes, see notes below)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 TBSP chicken base** (Better Than Bouillon)
- 10 cups water
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 1 bay leaf (if you have it)
- 1 pound ham cubed
- 1 16 oz can Navy Beans undrained
Instructions
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In a large dutch oven, over medium high heat, sauté onion, celery and garlic in 1 TBSP of butter until tender and fragrant, about 5 minutes.
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As the veggies are sautéing,, use a fork to poke holes all over the peeled potato. Place the potato in a microwave safe dish covered with plastic wrap and microwave on high for 3 minutes or until soft.
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Once the potato has cooled enough to touch, mash it and add 1 TBSP of butter and 1/2 cup of milk. Stir to combine.
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To the soup pot, add the mashed potatoes, chicken base, 10 cups of water, black pepper, bay leaf and cubed ham. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 60 minutes.
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To the pot, add the undrained beans and bring back to a boil over medium highheat. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 more minutes.
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If the soup is too thick, add bits of water or milk at a time until desired consistency is reached.
Recipe Notes
*If using prepared mashed potatoes, skip steps 2 and 3.
**You can use Ham Base if you already have it on hand, but if you’re purchasing a base for this recipe, I recommend the Chicken Base, simply because it’s much more versatile for future uses.
***Refrain from adding any salt to this recipe until you’ve tasted the final product. There is generally a lot of sodium in the ham and the chicken base, so you don’t want your soup to be too salty!
Here are some of my other favorite ways to put leftover ham to work for your family this week!
- Ham and Cheese Quiche
- Green Beans with Ham
- Creamy Ham and Pea Pasta
- Ham Salad
- Classic Cobb Salad
- Party Sliders
- Ham and Cheese Egg Muffins
- Slow Cooker Ham and Potato Soup
- Eggs Benedict
- Mac and Cheese with Ham
- Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes with Ham
