This ham cabbage and white bean soup can feed a large family on a budget easily.
Grandma and mom always used the leftover Holiday ham for this meal but you can flavor the broth with any meat you like.
This soup is so versatile since you can also add your favorite vegetables to make it even heartier.
It sure is a family favorite here all year round and is pure comfort food.
The soup makes a large amount and freezes well too so if you make too much just freeze this bean soup for later
IF you love soups try our roundup of Best Soup Recipes where you will find all of Grandma's favorites.
Don't miss out on trying this old classic just scroll down for this printable recipe!
Cabbage is so Good For You!
When it comes to cabbage, I never can eat enough of it.
We love it stuffed, with potatoes and ham. in soups, and even raw for my mandarin orange coleslaw.
It's healthy, delicious and so inexpensive to feed a large family, and very versatile.
We even use cabbage to make Oriental Salad and of course Homemade Egg Rolls.
Health Benefits
Cabbage is such a healthy vegetable, it's surely packed with vitamins!
Even though it looks a lot like lettuce, it actually belongs to the Brassica genus of vegetables, which includes broccoli, cauliflower, and kale.
So many varieties are available along with shapes and colors, including red, purple, white and green, and its leaves can be either crinkled or smooth.
Additionally, just 1 cup of cabbage has some Protein, Fiber, Vitamin K, Vitamin C, Folate, Manganese, Vitamin B6, Calcium, Potassium, and Magnesium so it's the perfect addition to anyone whose diet conscious.
Low In Calories
Most soups are low in calories, eat fewer beans to cut the carbs if watching.
The soup is hearty and filling.
Great for weight watchers with healthy delicious low calories inside this bowl!
Suggestions
- use any beans you like canned or cooked from dried
- flavor the broth with ham, pork bone from the shoulder, bacon, kielbasa, or chicken
- for a spicy broth add cayenne pepper
- any other vegetables can be added to the soup while cooking, carrots, celery, cubed potatoes, tomatoes, onions, or whatever else you like
Cooking Methods
- slow cooker: place everything in the slow cooker for 8 to 10 hours on high ( for quicker soup boil the cabbage separately first)
- instant pot: place on pressure cooker mode for 1 hour
- stovetop: place everything in the soup pot and simmer for 2 hours or more until cabbage is tender
- oven: place everything in a dutch oven in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 2 hours, keep checking to add more water if needed
Greens to Use
- green cabbage
- curly cabbage
- escarole
Note: I have substituted other greens in this soup like escarole instead of cabbage which is a much milder green, still, the taste will be fabulous.
Mom called this made with savoy curly cabbage. beans, ham, minestra.
Ingredients You Will Need to Make Ham, Cabbage, and White Bean Soup
- Leftover Ham with bone or use any of these chicken breast, leftover pork roast bone (shoulder or butt) bacon, and smoked pork chops work
- carrots
- potatoes
- small navy beans or any white beans
- plum tomatoes
- celery with leaves minced
- minced garlic
- granulated garlic
- regular or savoy curly cabbage, cut into quarters
- chicken broth
- white wine
- water
- oregano, basil, garlic powder, thyme, parsley
- salt and pepper
- cayenne pepper (optional)
Tips:
- This is a basic recipe for ham and cabbage soup and anything really can go into the pot
- Sometimes I just add potatoes and whole plum tomatoes, and even zucchini
- Almost any leftover meats to flavor the soup work great, pot roast leftover, meatballs, Italian sausage, kielbasa, even bacon or even a pork shoulder roast bone will go great in this to make a tasty soup
- This soup makes a huge pot so freeze it for later in freezer containers
Don't Forget To Pin Me For Later
Try Some More Of Our Favorite Recipes
Grandma's Home Chicken Soup
Italian Minestrone
Best Soup Anytime!
Since this makes a large pot, I freeze it into individual plastic containers and have it all year long.
I really look forward to Easter when we make our holiday ham dinner.
The bone is always the tastiest part of the ham to make this soup, I just throw it in a plastic bag after any holiday dinner and use it for another meal.
My Honey Glazed Baked Leftover Spiral Ham bone with cabbage and white beans makes a thick rich broth while cooking, it is an amazing pot of hearty deliciousness!
Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!
Ham, Cabbage and White Bean Soup
Yield: 12
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 20 M
This soup is perfect any time of the year. It's full of cabbage, meat, and some vegetables that make this a hearty delicious bowl of pure comfort food and so healthy for you.
Ingredients
- Leftover Ham with bone attached pull chunks off and add to the pot along with the bone.
- Note: You can also just buy pre-packaged ham cubes to add. Chicken breast, leftover pork roast bone (shoulder or butt) bacon, and smoked pork chops, bacon, pot roast, kielbasa, or whatever leftovers you have! (around 2 cups or more)
- 6 carrots cleaned and sliced or a few cups of fingerling carrots
- 6 potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 cups small navy beans freshly cooked or canned other cooked white beans (if canned rinse well) Note: you can also use any kinds of cooked beans you like
- 5 or 6 cut-up plum tomatoes fresh or canned
- 2 stalks of celery with leaves minced
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon granulated garlic
- 1 head regular or savoy curly cabbage, cut into quarters
- 16 oz can chicken broth or homemade that's what I use
- 1/2 cup white wine
- water
- 1/2 teaspoon each oregano, basil, garlic powder, thyme, parsley
- Salt and pepper to taste
- cayenne pepper (optional) just a pinch
- Note: if you do not like beans, substitute rice or orzo pasta
Instructions
- In a large pot, fill water half full, add broth, wine, all the vegetables, ham bone, and herbs.
- Sprinkle to taste with salt and pepper.
- Cook until all vegetables are tender.
- Add cooked beans, cook 1/2 hour more.
- If in need add more water or chicken broth.
- Remove ham off the bone and add back to the pot.
- Serve with crusty Italian bread broken up in the bowl... or just dunk it!
Calories
486.63Fat (grams)
17.73Sat. Fat (grams)
5.73Carbs (grams)
50.88Fiber (grams)
12.54Net carbs
38.34Sugar (grams)
8.06Protein (grams)
31.41Sodium (milligrams)
1361.21Cholesterol (grams)
76.88Don't Forget To Pin Me For Later
More Family Recipes:
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15 Easy Pasta Recipes
Disclosure: This recipe was originally shared in 2011. It was edited and re-published in 2021.