Slow Cooker Ham & Bean Soup
We all love a good slow cooker soup recipe, right? Just set it and go. Comfort foods for those cold winter nights!
For this crockpot ham and bean soup, I prepped the veggies the night before, placed them in a storage container, and popped them in the fridge.
This soup recipe was a hit with my family. (And my weeknight cooking blues)
Why You”ll Love This Recipe
It makes a great family meal.
- It’s inexpensive and will feed a crowd.
- You can use leftover ham, ham bone, ham hock, diced ham, or chopped ham steak.
- It only takes a few minutes of prep time.
- It’s a hearty soup that’s also healthy and delicious!
- It also freezes well.
Ingredients
- Beans – We are using dried Northern Beans. There is no need to soak the beans.
- Seasonings – Unlike the dried 15-bean soup pack you find in most grocery stores, we will be using our own seasonings. This gives you control!
Tips
- I’m always looking for a different ham bone soup to use those bones sitting in my freezer.
- Choose either great northern beans or navy beans. And there is no need to soak the beans when slow cooking.
- Chicken broth – You can also use low sodium chicken broth and salt the soup according to your taste.
- To make the soup thicker remove the slow cooker lid for at least 1-2 hours before the end of the cooking time.
- You can switch from ham flavor and try making it with smoked turkey or leftover turkey.
How to Make Ham and Bean Soup
Placed the cleaned dried beans, ham hock, onions, carrots, celery, garlic, water, chicken broth, bay leaf, thyme, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker.
Cover and cook on high for 2 hours.
After 2 hours set to low and cook another 6 hours until the beans are tender.
To make this soup thicker, I removed the lid from the crock pot at about 6 1/2 to 7 hours of cooking time and let it keep cooking until we were ready to eat.
I would say that was about 2 hours later. If you don’t have time for that you could make a slurry or just mash some of the beans with a potato masher.
You can make this up to 3 days ahead.
Consider serving with one of our favorite bread recipes such as Cheddar Jalapeño Cornbread, No-Knead Skillet Bread, or Soft and Fluffy One Hour Dinner Rolls.
Store leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Allow the soup to cool completely, then freeze in an air-tight freezer-safe container for up to 2 months.
More Crock Pot Recipes
- Slow Cooker Lentil Soup Recipe
- Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Beef Stew
- Slow Cooker Red Beans and Rice
Slow Cooker Bean and Ham Soup Recipe
Ingredients
- 32 oz Dried Northern Beans
- 1 Ham bone or diced ham chunks
- 1 medium Onion diced
- 4 medium Carrots diced
- 4 stalks Celery diced
- 1 clove Garlic minced
- 4 cups Water
- 4 cups Chicken Broth
- 1 Bay Leaf
- 1 tsp Dried thyme
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Sort beans and remove any debris or rocks.
- Rinse beans under cold water.
- Add all ingredients to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 2 hours.
- Then cook on low for about 6 hours (until beans are tender)
- Remove bay leaf and serve.
Nutrition
Recipe adapted from raininghotcoupons