Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup

This slow cooker ham and bean soup is incredibly flavorful and delicious! It is the perfect way to use up a leftover ham bone or ham hock.

You guys, this soup! It looks humble and unassuming, but it is definitely so much more than the sum of its parts and is one of the tastiest soups I’ve ever had! Perfect for using up that leftover ham bone from Easter dinner!

White bowl with handles with ham and bean soup.

To Soak or Not to Soak Dry Beans

This ham and bean soup uses dry white beans. They are inexpensive, easy to work with, and perfect for the long, slow cooking method.

Dry Beans Tip #1: If the dry beans you are using are too old, they may never soften and develop that delicious creamy texture, no matter how long you cook them for. So check the expiration on the package of dry beans. Contrary to popular belief, they won’t last forever and are usually best used within a year or so.

Dry Beans Tip #2: Soaking the dry beans in cool water overnight is important for this recipe. While you may find a lot of internet sites and advice that say you don’t need to soak dry beans prior to cooking, take my advice (and experience) after testing this soup with soaked and unsoaked beans. The beans that soaked overnight cooked faster, more evenly, and had a better texture.

White beans and water in black slow cooker.

How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in the Slow Cooker

Once the beans are done soaking, drain them thoroughly, and return them to the slow cooker.
Cook the veggies in a skillet with a little olive oil until the onions are translucent and scrape the mixture into the slow cooker.
Add broth and simple seasonings.
Nestle a meaty ham bone into the soup, cover, and cook until the beans are tender and creamy.
Remove the ham bone and large pieces of meat (the meat will be fall-apart tender). Shred the meat and return to the slow cooker.
OPTIONAL: for a thicker, creamier consistency, lightly mash the beans with a potato masher.

This soup definitely gets thicker the longer it rests. The leftovers are super thick and creamy (in a deliciously good way).

Slow cooker with dry white beans and veggies.

Lifting ham bones with tongs out of slow cooker with white beans, broth and veggies.

Ladle with white beans, carrots, celery, ham and broth.

Incredibly Flavorful Soup

I haven’t had a soup this delicious in a long time! The smoky flavors of the ham with the savory veggies and creamy beans is pure comfort food in a bowl.

Between this soup and this incredible leftover ham bone lentil soup, there is no need to ever question what to do with a leftover ham bone.

Like me, you may find yourself buying a ham just for the bone! I’m telling you, the insane cozy yumminess of this soup has a hold on me.

Can’t wait for you to try this one! It’s a keeper.

Top down view of ham and bean soup in white bowl with handles with spoon lifting bite of white beans, carrots and ham.

White bowl with handles with spoon lifting bite of white beans, carrots and ham.

Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup

Yield: 8 servings

Prep Time: 25 minutes

Cook Time: 10 hours

Soaking Time:: 8 hours

Total Time: 18 hours 25 minutes

1 pound dry Great Northern beans
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced carrots
½ cup diced celery
½ cup diced onions
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 bay leaves
8 cups low-sodium chicken broth (see note)
1 leftover ham bone (see note)
Additional chopped ham, optional (see note)

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Add beans to slow cooker. Add room temperature water to cover by 2 inches. Let the beans soak overnight (8 to 12 hours).
Drain the beans and return to the slow cooker.
Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the carrots, celery, onions and garlic. Cook, stirring often, until the onions are translucent, about 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape the mixture into the slow cooker.
Add bay leaves and chicken broth and give the mixture a stir.
Nestle the ham bone into the soup. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours or on high for 6 hours until the beans are soft. If you’re planning to add additional ham (really only necessary if the ham bone used wasn’t super meaty), add it a couple hours before cooking time ends.
Remove ham bone to a plate or dish (and any large ham pieces that may have fallen off during cooking). Shred ham into small pieces and return to the slow cooker.
If desired, use a potato masher to lightly mash the beans in the soup for a creamier consistency.
Taste and season with salt, if needed. Serve immediately or keep warm until ready to serve. This soup gets thicker the longer it rests. The leftovers are super thick and creamy (in a deliciously good way).

Broth: low-sodium broth is important – for us, this soup is salty enough using low-sodium broth and a hearty leftover ham bone. Different brands and types of ham will differ in saltiness. Full sodium broth might make the soup too salty. It’s better to add salt at the end, if needed.
Ham Bone: I prefer using a leftover ham bone from a spiral-sliced ham. In fact, I’ve made this soup several times without using the ham in another recipe first; I buy a ham just for this soup, cut off the meat and freeze it, and use the ham bone in the soup. I try and leave a good amount of meat on the bone so the soup has plenty of ham when it is finished cooking. Alternately, you can use 1 to 2 medium ham hocks in place of a large ham bone.
Additional Ham: if the ham bone or ham hock(s) you are using don’t have a lot of meat on them, you can add additional ham toward the end of cooking time (instructions included in the recipe).

Author: Mel

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Serving: 1 serving (about 1 1/2 cups), Calories: 301kcal, Carbohydrates: 38g, Protein: 21g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Cholesterol: 28mg, Sodium: 951mg, Fiber: 9g, Sugar: 3g

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