Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup

Bowl of Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup with hands holding bowl and spoon

Course: Soup

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 8

Total Time: 8 8

Servings: people

Calories: 319kcal

Author: Platings and Pairings

Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup is the perfect comfort food for a cold day. Richly flavored with a ham bone and beans, this soup makes for an easy dinner that takes less than 10 minutes of hands-on time.

Print Recipe

Equipment

Slow Cooker

Ingredients

6 cups bone broth or low-sodium chicken broth
1 pound dried Great Northern beans rinsed
3 large carrots cut into 1/2-inch dice
2 stalks celery cut into 1/2-inch dice
1 small yellow onion minced
3 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 large meaty ham bone about 4 pounds
Salt and pepper to taste
Fresh parsley minced to garnish

Instructions

Add 6 cups bone broth , 1 pound dried Great Northern beans, 3 large carrots, 2 stalks celery, 1 small yellow onion, 3 cloves garlic, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper and 1 bay leaf to a slow cooker. Stir to combine. Add the 1 large meaty ham bone and submerge in broth. Cover and cook on HIGH until beans are tender, 6-8 hours.
Discard bay leaf. Remove ham bone and let sit until cool enough to handle. Once cool, dice any ham meat and stir it back into the soup.
Season soup with additional salt and pepper, to taste. Ladle into bowls and garnish with fresh parsley.

Video

Notes

How to store and reheat

You can store the leftover soup in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days, or the freezer for up to 3 months. It’s even better the next day! Reheat in the microwave or on the stove.

Recipe variations

Use leftover ham: If you have extra ham hanging around in the fridge, you can chop it and cook it in the soup instead of using a leftover ham bone. To get the extra ham flavor, you can cook the soup with a ham hock or ham shank instead of a ham bone.
Use different beans: Try swapping in another variety of dry beans like pinto beans, navy beans or white beans.
Use canned beans: If you don’t have dried beans, you can use canned beans instead. Cannellini beans and black beans work well.
Add kale or spinach: If you would like, add kale or spinach 20-30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Make your soup creamier: At the end of the cooking time, you can smash some of the beans against the side of the slow cooker insert to create a creamier soup. Or, use an immersion blender to puree the soup a bit.

Nutrition