This Leftover Ham and Macaroni Soup is a delicious, economical, and healthy way to use up ham leftovers. Made with pantry ingredients like kidney beans, macaroni, and other ingredients you'd have on hand, it's quick and easy to make.
Ham Macaroni soup is popular after big holiday dinners such as Easter, Christmas and Thanksgiving, but perfect for any time you have leftover ham! This recipe was inspired by my Healthy Minestrone soup and pairs well with this Onion and Olive Bread Machine Recipe (dipped in olive oil and balsamic vinegar)!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Hearty. This soup is great as a side, but is still hearty and filling enough for a meal! It makes a great lunch or dinner.
- Healthy! This soup is healthy, light and WW friendly!
- Reinvents leftovers. This soup is a great way to reinvent ham leftovers in a lighter dish, especially after a big holiday ham dinner!
- Uses a little ham. You don't need a lot of ham so it's great for using leftovers (only a cup). You could use more than a cup, but you don't need to!
- Pantry Ingredients. This recipe uses ingredients you'd typically have on hand.
And if you're looking for even more ham leftovers, try these Healthy Leftover Ham Recipes!
🥘Ingredients
You'll need the following ingredients for this leftover ham soup recipe:
- Leftover ham. Ham is the star of the show! It works well in soups because it adds a rich, smokey flavor, as well as protein. *You can even use defrosted previously frozen ham. I did with this recipe and you'd never know it!
- Carrots. Carrots are tasty, add texture, and when cooked, release carotenoids that convert to Vitamin A, a crucial nutrient supporting eye health.
- Garlic cloves. Garlic gives soup a sweet complex flavor.
- White Onion. Onions are rich in antioxidant compounds and white onions have a stronger, spicier, and more pungent flavor than yellow and that works well in this soup. They also add texture.
- Beef broth. Beef broth is the best choice for this recipe because it has a bolder, heartier, and richer flavor than chicken broth and works well with the other flavors in this soup.
- Canned kidney beans. Add fiber and texture to the soup.
- Canned diced tomatoes (photo missing). Canned tomatoes are convenient and healthy and add texture.
- Tomato paste. Serves as a thickener and adds a rich dense tomato flavor.
- Brown sugar. Balances and neutralizes the sour/acidic taste of the tomatoes and balsamic vinegar
- Italian seasoning. It's a blend of seasonings such as oregano, rosemary, basil, and more so it adds a big punch of flavor!
- Balsamic vinegar. It's both tangy and sweet so it's ideal for balancing the flavors in soups. Kirkland balsamic vinegar (from Costco) is the best tasting!
- Bay leaf. Adds subtle flavor.
- Parmesan cheese. The parmesan cheese adds depth of flavor.
- Uncooked elbow macaroni. The macaroni tastes best if it can simmer in the flavors of the soup, as opposed to boiling it separately. Plus why dirty another pot if you don't need to?! I use elbow macaroni because I always have it on hand.
- Garnish -fresh parsley (optional- not shown) The parsley adds a welcome fresh flavor and color to the soup.
See recipe card for quantities.
📖Variations & Substitutions
- Ham- you can use any type of cooked leftover ham you prefer. I even use defrosted frozen ham.
- Onion- you could use yellow or red onion instead of white onion.
- Elbow Macaroni - you could use another type of pasta, such as fusilli or penne pasta. Or you can use whole wheat macaroni or smart pasta (see top tip) .
- Spicy - add chili pepper flakes while cooking or add sriracha sauce.
- Parsley - you can garnish with dried parsley if you don't have fresh!
🔪How to make Leftover Ham Macaroni Soup
- Step 1: Add everything (except macaroni, parmesan cheese and parsley) to a large soup pot. Bring to a boil, then turn down to med-low and simmer for 15 minutes.
- Step 2: Add pasta and cook for another 20 -30 minutes or until pasta is tender, stirring frequently.
In the last 5 minutes of cooking, stir in parmesan cheese. Remove bay leaf and discard.
Ladle into serving bowls, garnish with fresh parsley, and serve with grated Parmesan cheese, as desired.
Top tip- which pasta should I use?
Then there’s the question of which pasta to use. Whole wheat pasta is healthy but takes a long time to cook and personally, I find it a bit too dense. I prefer to use Catelli “smart pasta” because it cooks faster than whole wheat but you still get 4X as much fiber than if you ate white pasta.
Although it’s not quite as healthy as whole wheat, you are still getting that fiber. And if you’re not a fan of whole wheat, it’s a good alternative.
You can read more about healthy pasta HERE. And if you are following the WW program, there are also WW friendlier pasta alternatives you can use instead. Check out this WW pasta cheat sheet!
🥗 Pairing
Aside from my Bread Machine Onion and Olive bread (shown below with soup) and my Strawberry Pecan Spinach Salad, these are my favorite sides to serve with this Leftover Ham Bean Soup:
🌡️Storage
Wait for the soup to cool completely before refrigerating it. If you refrigerate soup while it is still hot direct temperature changes will cause oxidation and acidification of the soup and can make it taste sour.
Store for up to 5 days in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can freeze this soup for up to 3 months in a sealed container. However, the noodles tend to get a bit mushy when the soup if reheated. Therefore, if you know you're making it in advance and going to freeze it, it's best to either undercook the macaroni a little or add it (step 3 ) just prior to serving. *You can also cook the macaroni separately. Personally, I'm not a big fan of this because it dirties another pot that I have to wash!
👪 Serving Size
This recipe makes 8 servings @ about 2 cups each. However, you can half, double or triple the recipe by clicking on the serving number and selecting the number of servings you'd like. The ingredient quantities will automatically adjust.
🔢WW Points
This Macaroni Ham Soup recipe is Weight Watchers friendly @ 4 WW points per 2 cup serving, using light Parmesan cheese, regular elbow macaroni and leftover cooked lean ham.
This will also depend on the type of ham you use (check it with your app to be sure) You can bring down the points even further (to 3 ww points) by using a fat-free parmesan cheese and whole wheat macaroni.
❔ Frequently Asked Questions
You can, but it's not necessary.
You can use cornstarch mixed with cold water (start with a tablespoon cornstarch and make paste with the water and add it to the soup) or you can add potato flakes (start with ¼ cup).
Comments & Reviews
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If you have any kind of ham leftovers and are looking for a healthy and easy way to reinvent it into something delicious, give this Leftover Ham Macaroni Soup a try!
📋Leftover Ham and Macaroni Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup leftover ham diced *fresh or previously frozen
- 2 whole carrots chopped chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 med onion chopped
- 14 cups beef broth
- 28 oz - can of diced tomatoes *I use low-salt
- 19 oz -can of kidney beans *drained and rinsed
- 5 oz - can of tomato paste
- 3 tsp brown sugar
- ¾ tablespoon dried Italian seasoning
- 1 ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar *I use Kirkland brand
- 1 bay leaf
- ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese *I use light parmesan cheese
- 1 cup uncooked macaroni * I use regular elbow macaroni
Garnish
- 1-2 tablespoon fresh parsley
- additional grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Instructions
NOTE: The instruction images will NOT print by default. If you want them to print, you'll need to check the box beside "images" on the print page
- Add everything (except macaroni, Parmesan cheese and parsley) to a large pot . Bring to a boil, then turn down to med- low and simmer for 15 minutes.1 cup leftover ham, 2 whole carrots chopped, 4 cloves garlic, 1 med onion, 14 cups beef broth, 28 oz - can of diced tomatoes, 19 oz -can of kidney beans, 5 oz - can of tomato paste, 3 teaspoon brown sugar, ¾ tablespoon dried Italian seasoning, 1 ½ tablespoon balsamic vinegar, 1 bay leaf
- Add pasta and cook for another 20 -30 minutes, or until pasta is tender (al dente) stirring regularly.Stir in the Parmesan cheese in the last 5 minutes of cooking. Remove bay leaf and discard.1 cup uncooked macaroni, ⅓ cup Parmesan cheese
- Garnish with fresh parsley and serve with additional grated Parmesan cheese.1-2 tablespoon fresh parsley, additional grated Parmesan cheese for serving
Terri Gilson
My family loved this soup! My son, who has become a very picky teenager, said "WOW. This is really delicious! " and my husband agreed (he is also very particular when it comes to soup). I love it not only because it tastes amazing, but this soup is easy, budget-friendly and calls for ingredients I already have on hand! Trust me, you're going to want to make this the next time you have leftover ham!