Make use of the bone from your holiday ham and cook up a batch of this Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup. It is the perfect post-holiday comfort food to enjoy with your family.
If you’ve never cooked beans from scratch I’m going to do my best to motivate you to do exactly that with this Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup recipe. This is one of my favorite recipes that makes use of the all-mighty ham bone and I’m sharing my tips and tricks to success when cooking with dry beans.
Whenever ham is on my Easter or Christmas menu, this soup is a must-make recipe in the days following the holiday. It’s not fast but it’s actually quite easy and the result will be fabulous if you don’t try to rush things.
This cozy soup is perfect when you have a day at home after the crazy, busy holiday and feel the need for a little wholesome comfort food. After all that holiday indulgence, this Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup will really hit the spot.
Table of contents
Ingredient Notes
- Dry beans: White beans are the best choice for this recipe. My favorites are Great Northern beans or navy beans.
- Vegetables: Diced white or yellow onion, peeled and chopped carrots, chopped celery, and minced garlic.
- Seasoning: Dried thyme, dry mustard, salt, freshly ground black pepper, and dried bay leaves. Trust me, the ham adds so much wonderful, smoky flavor you don’t want to add more than a minimal amount of seasoning.
- Ham bone: A leftover meaty ham bone, trimmed of excess fat and rinsed with cool water to remove any glaze.
- Broth: Low sodium chicken broth.
- Tomato sauce: A small can of tomato sauce is added at the end of the cooking time.
- Fresh herbs: Italian flat-leaf parsley.
Methods for Soaking Dry Beans
Overnight Soak Method: I prefer the overnight soak method when cooking beans from scratch because it is one of very few kitchen tasks that can be done while sleeping! Pour the contents of a 1 pound bag of dry great northern or navy beans into a large pot and add enough water to cover them by about 2-inches. Allow the beans to soak overnight.
Quick Soak Method: If you’d prefer to soak and cook your beans on the same day, use this method. Place the beans in a large pot and cover with 2- to 3-inches of cool water. Bring to a boil and keep at a high simmer for 5 minutes. Remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for one hour.
How to Make Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
- The next day, drain and rinse the soaked beans and transfer them to your slow cooker insert. They will have plumped up quite a bit and be ready for the cooking process.
- Add some chopped onion, celery, carrot, and minced garlic, and the seasoning to the slow cooker.
- Next, add the chicken broth, a couple of bay leaves, and your leftover meaty ham bone. Cover the slow cooker, set it to high, and let it cook for 1 hour. Then, reduce the temperature to low and let it cook an additional 5 to 6 hours or until the beans are tender.
- Remove the ham from the bone, cut it into small pieces, and set it aside. Add the tomato sauce and stir to combine. Transfer about one-third of the soup mixture to a blender or food processor and process for a minute or two. Return the puréed soup to the slow cooker, cover, and continue to cook for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
- Remove and discard the bay leaves and add the chopped ham to the soup. Stir in some chopped fresh parsley and you are ready to serve this hearty, absolutely wonderful made-from-scratch ham and bean soup!
Texture Tip
Puréeing a portion of the soup is an optional step but I like the velvety texture it adds. If you’d prefer a more broth-like consistency, you can skip it.
Tips for Making Ham and Bean Soup in a Slow Cooker
Check the expiration date: Always start with fresh beans. Dry beans will last for up to a year if stored in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. Discard any older beans as they will not cook properly and may never become soft.
Dried Herbs vs. Fresh Herbs: Dried herbs have more highly concentrated flavor and hold up far better in slow cooker recipes than fresh herbs. Fresh herbs can be added at the end of the cooking time so they’ll retain their flavor and add freshness to the recipe.
Adding acid-based ingredients: When cooking dry beans, don’t add acid based items like tomato sauce or vinegar until after the beans have had their initial cooking time and have become tender. If added at the beginning, acid-based ingredients can prevent the beans from softening properly.
Testing for doneness: To determine when beans have cooked enough try biting into one or mashing it against the side of the slow cooker with a spoon. Properly cooked beans should be tender to the bite but still somewhat firm.
Storage and Reheating Tips
- Refrigerate: Transfer the cooled soup to an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 to 4 days.
- Freeze: Cooked beans freeze very well and this soup will keep well for several months if packaged properly. I like to ladle the soup into freezer-safe plastic storage bags, press out as much air as possible and seal the bag. You can do this is smaller bags for portion size servings, if desired. Just lay the bags flat in the freezer until frozen solid, then they can be stacked to save freezer space. Thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating.
- Reheating: The soup will thicken quite a bit when refrigerated so thin it out with a bit of water or chicken broth when reheating on the stove or in the microwave.
More Leftover Ham Recipes You’ll Love
- Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup
- White Bean and Ham Soup (quick method)
- Baked Beans from Scratch
- Ham Fried Rice
- Instant Pot 15 Bean Soup
- Ham Salad
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Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 1 pound dry Great Northern beans or navy beans
- water, enough to cover dry beans by 2-inches for overnight soak
- 1 cup diced white or yellow onion
- 2 to 3 carrots, peeled and chopped
- 3 ribs celery, chopped
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon dry mustard
- 1 teaspoon salt, plus additional if desired (taste and season after cooking)
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 meaty ham bone, (trimmed of excess fat and rinsed of any glaze)
- 5 to 6 cups low sodium chicken broth, as needed
- 2 bay leaves
- 8 ounces tomato sauce
- fresh Italian flat-leaf parsley, for garnish (optional)
Instructions
- The evening before you want to cook the soup, rinse the beans in colander, remove any debris, and place them in a large pot. Cover with water by at least 2-inches and soak them overnight. They will more than double in size so choose your pot accordingly. See alternate quick soak method in notes below.
- The next day, drain and thoroughly rinse the soaked beans and transfer to a 6-quart slow cooker.
- Layer the remaining ingredients through the ham bone in the slow cooker in the order listed. Add about 5 cups of chicken broth, or just enough to cover the beans and veggies. Reserve any remaining chicken broth for later. Tuck the bay leaves into the mixture, cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour.
- Reduce heat to LOW and continue to cook for an additional 5 to 6 hours. Stir occasionally during cooking time. When the beans are tender, remove the ham bone to a cutting board and remove and discard the bay leaves. Add the tomato sauce, stirring to combine. If you'd like a creamier texture, transfer about ⅓ of the soup to a blender or food processor and process until smooth. Return the puréed soup to the slow cooker, adding more broth, only if needed, to reach the desired consistency. Cover and continue to cook for an additional 20 to 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, pull the ham off the bone. discard the bone, and chop the ham into small pieces. Return the chopped ham to the slow cooker. Stir in the chopped parsley and taste and season with additional salt and pepper, as needed.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
Definitely add this one to my cook again recipes. Turned out really good!
I followed the recipe for the crockpot after soaking the beans overnight. Had never used dry mustard or thyme, but the flavor was delicious. Added 2 T. Of tomato paste and one drained can of stewed tomatoes near the end. Some of the best I’ve ever made!
This recipe is amazing! I’ve made it many times, I always use 2 big smoked ham hocks. Turns out perfect!
Excellent flavor! I added a bit of instant mashed potatoes to thicken the soup, as I was looking for something a bit thicker. Bean came out fine. Otherwise I followed the recipe to the letter and had great results. Plenty of leftovers after my family of 6 ate dinner. Made with corn bread and cheddar biscuits. Thank you!
Go with the recipe above except do it in your InstaPot under pressure for 30 minutes plus slow release, and I guarantee you are going to end up in the same place but save about 6 hrs. of time. Btw, I always cook 2 lbs of beans.
Tried to make today, in my slow cooker. The beans were still hard, even after soaking overnight.?????
Transferring to stovetop method. Beans are only 1 month over. Followed recipe and directions to a T. Hopefully it does better. Maybe need a new slow cooker.):
I made these tonight and had the same issue. After one hour on high, 6 hours on low, the beans and veggies were still tough. I had time, so turned it back up to high and left it on for another 2 hours. It’s softening up. Probably another hour or two and they will be done. So perhaps just go for a full 6 hours on high from the get go.
I have always been told not to add salt until after the beans are cooked or they wont soften.
I’ve never had a problem with pre-soaked beans softening but feel free to omit the salt and add it all at the end if you’d like.
Hi Valerie, I’m new to your site and would like to save many of your recipe’s to the recipe box..If you have this would you be so kind to guide me through the process..
Thanks,
Barb
HI. What are the measurements for celery, carrots, onion and minced garlic.
All of the measurements are listed on the recipe card at the end of the post.
What do you mean by fresh beans? I have had lots of problems with beans bought at the supermarket that turn out to stale. They are still hard after many hours of cooking.
Hi Jackie. Always check the bag for an expiration date. I’ve found many expired bags of beans still on the shelves over the years and yes, if you use beans that are past the expire date you can definitely run into problems with them cooking up well.
Recipe is so good. I left out tomato sauce. To thicken, I cooked potato in Crock-Pot w ham n beans. Easiest way to thicken soup.
I use a can or two of drained canned beans, mash them with a fork or pastry blender and add them to my soup if I want to thicken it. Just a suggestion.
Glad I found your recipe for Ham and Bean Soup. I had already soaked my beans overnight and when I read that older beans may not soften I checked the package for the date. Surprise! 2014 was the “best by” date, so now I’m cooking the to see if they will soften. I’m pretty sure I’ve had the package less than two years, probably less than one, so am wondering if the store found a box of beans – or one package – lying around somewhere and put them out for sale. I’m hoping for soup tonight so hope the beans are good! I have a question: would the skins coming off the beans be because they are old?
Hi Kathy. I think this happens frequently and people never realize the reason. It’s always a good idea to check for the expiration date on the bag at the store. I can’t say for sure if the issue with skins coming off is due to the expired beans but you definitely want to start with a fresh batch.