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Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup

Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup brings tender navy beans and a smoky ham bone together with tomato, herbs, and a hint of molasses for a hearty bowl that balances savory depth with subtle sweetness. Aromatics and spices build warm layers of flavor, and small shell pasta adds comforting texture—perfect for chilly evenings or a family-style weekend meal.

  • Prep10 mins
  • Cook1 hr 25 mins
  • Serves12
  • DifficultyMedium
Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup

easyChef Pro health score

Calculated from USDA-referenced nutrient data for the ingredients in Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup, not estimated by an AI model. The same recipe returns the same score every time.

45 Health Score
Glycemic ImpactPoor
38 / 100
Carb quality, not quantity. Higher is better.
Nutritional DensityPoor
11 / 100
Nutrients per calorie. Higher is better.
Energy DensityGood
92 / 100
Calories by weight. Higher means more food for fewer calories.
NOVA Processed Culinary Ingredients
2 / 4
Processing level, 1 (whole) to 4 (ultra-processed). Lower is better.

How it scores for each health goal

The same recipe scores differently against different goals, because the goal changes the calculation rather than filtering a list. Set your goal in easyChef Pro and every recipe is scored against it.

20
Heart Health
30
Metabolic
33
Digestive
26
Inflammatory
58
Performance
43
General Wellness
  1. 1

    Put the dry beans in a saucepan and add enough water to cover them by one inch. Bring to a boil, then take off the heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse the beans.

  2. 2

    Pour 3 cups of fresh water into a large pressure cooker. Add the drained beans and the ham bone, then mix in the parsley, onion flakes, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, dry mustard, chili powder, and paprika. Seal the pressure cooker and bring it to 15 pounds per square inch. Cook under pressure for 7 minutes; add 1 minute for every 1,000 feet above sea level. Remove from the heat and let the pressure drop naturally.

  3. 3

    Once the pressure has gone down, open the lid. Stir in 5 cups water, tomato purée, celery, ketchup, chicken soup base, molasses, olive oil, brown sugar, and cracked black pepper. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to low. Simmer until the beans are tender, about 45 minutes. Stir in the shell pasta and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes more.

About This Recipe

Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup is an American dinner recipe made with 20 ingredients. It takes about 1 hr 35 mins, serves 12, and is rated medium. Key ingredients include Black Pepper, Bone In Ham, Brown Sugar, and Celery. Each serving provides about 835.36 kcal, and is a good source of protein.

Recipe Questions

What is Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup?
It is an American soup recipe made with 20 ingredients, usually served for dinner or lunch or soup.
What is Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup made of?
The main ingredients are Black Pepper, Bone-In Ham, Brown Sugar, Celery, Chicken Base. The full list of 20 is above.
What goes well with Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup?
Explore these American side-dish recipes.
How long does it take to make Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup?
About 1 hr 35 mins in total: 10 mins to prepare and 1 hr 25 mins to cook.
How many calories are in one serving?
One serving provides about 835.36 kcal. The full nutrition breakdown is above.
Is Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup easy to make?
This recipe is rated medium, with 20 ingredients and 3 steps.
Is Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup healthy?
Mom's Best Ham and Bean Soup has an easyChef Pro health score of 45/100. Per serving, it provides 835.36 calories and 118.23 g of protein, or 236% of the Daily Value. It is a good source of iron and potassium. Worth noting per serving: sodium at 9287.28 mg (404% of the Daily Value), saturated fat at 9.38 g (47% of the Daily Value) and added sugars at 4.69 g (9% of the Daily Value). It contains Wheat, Gluten, Mustard, Celery, Tomatoes, Garlic and Onions, so it may not be suitable for people with those allergies or dietary restrictions. Whether it fits your goals depends on your complete meal plan and nutritional needs. Remix it in easyChef Pro to adjust the ingredients and generate fresh nutrition and scores.

How easyChef Pro scores recipes and products

easyChef Pro analyzes up to 41 nutrients using data sourced from USDA and other verified food databases. Its scoring method uses the nutrients relevant to nutrition quality, calorie density, processing level, and your selected health goal. Recipes and food products get a health score from 0 to 100, calculated using consistent rules instead of being estimated by AI. The same nutrition data, serving size and health goal will produce the same result.

The calculation evaluates nutrients, calorie density, processing level, and how well the food supports your selected health goal. Protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other beneficial nutrients can strengthen the score. High amounts of sodium, saturated fat, added sugar and other nutrients may lower it.

Your health goal also matters. easyChef Pro evaluates recipes and products across six health areas and adjusts their importance for your selected goal. This means the same food may be a better fit for one health goal than another.

For recipes, changing an ingredient, quantity or serving size changes the nutrition and may change the score. Remix the recipe in easyChef Pro to calculate fresh nutrition and scores for the version you actually make. Product scores are based on the nutrition and serving information associated with that specific product.

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