A hearty soup is an easy meal and the perfect way to enjoy leftover ham.
This hearty homemade ham and bean soup recipe is easy to make – no soaking required! A mixture of beans, ham, onion, and broth simmer in the crockpot for a meal that is as easy as it is delicious!
Serve it with a piece of cornbread or a crusty loaf for dipping.
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I am excited to have partnered with Hurst’s HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP® to bring you this belly-warming bean soup recipe.
Hearty Homestyle Goodness
- A hearty family meal, this slow cooker Ham and Bean Soup recipe is easy to prepare.
- This simple soup requires few ingredients, starting with Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup®, onions, and ham – no soaking required.
- Budget-friendly, this soup can be made with leftover ham or a ham bone from Christmas or Easter dinner. You can also use smoked turkey or a ham hock.
- This soup freezes perfectly and reheats well.
Ingredients for Ham and Bean Soup
- Beans – This ham and bean soup starts with a blend of dried beans. I use Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup® as it has a great variety of beans including great northern beans, navy beans, and more. They are sold in the dry bean section of almost any grocery store or online.
- Seasoning – Hurst’s 15 Bean Soup includes a seasoning packet to flavor. If you don’t have the seasoning packet add a cube of bouillon (any flavor). You can also add dried herbs or bay leaves if you’d like. You can add a little bit of thyme or some minced cloves of garlic if you’d like.
- Ham – If you have a leftover ham bone from baked ham add it to the soup while it’s cooked for extra flavor. If you don’t have a ham bone, ask the butcher or deli for either ham bones (they’re usually inexpensive) or ham hocks. If you don’t have either, leftover chopped ham works beautifully in this recipe, too.
- Broth – As the ham adds a lot of salt, I prefer a reduced sodium broth in this recipe.
- Vegetables – Canned tomatoes are great in this recipe and can be replaced with canned tomatoes with chilis (like Rotel) to add a little bit of spice. Sliced celery or carrots can be added.
How to Make Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
- Rinse beans and add to the slow cooker with onions, ham, broth, and seasonings (per the recipe below).
- Cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 7-8) or until beans are tender.
- Stir in the remaining ingredients and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
Easy peasy! Serve warm with cornbread for dipping.
Important: Do not add acidic ingredients, like canned tomatoes, until the beans are soft.
Tips for Bean Soup
- Rinse the beans well and check for any debris. No soaking is needed when using a slow cooker.
- If you have already soaked the beans, you can reduce the liquid in the recipe by 1 cup.
- IMPORTANT: Add acidic ingredients (such as canned tomatoes or lemon juice) after the beans have softened (these ingredients can sometimes interfere with rehydration).
- For a thinner consistency, add one extra cup of broth or water to your slow cooker. For a thicker bean soup, remove a cup or so of the beans, blend them, and add them back into the soup.
Storing Leftovers
Fridge: Leftovers can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
Freezer: This ham and bean soup recipe makes a large batch and it freezes well. I divide it into individual portions so it’s easy to thaw as many portions as needed. Thaw in the fridge overnight and heat in the microwave or on the stovetop.
More Favorite Bean Soups
Did your family love this Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 package HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP® with seasoning packet
- 8 cups reduced sodium chicken broth or chicken stock
- 1 meaty ham bone or ham hocks, diced ham or 1 lb. cooked sausage
- 1 medium yellow onion diced
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon chili powder optional
- 15 ounces canned diced tomatoes with juices, 1 can
- 1 lemon juiced
- hot sauce or red pepper flakes to taste, optional
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and drain. Sort any unwanted debris and set seasoning packet aside.
- In a 6qt crockpot, add the beans, broth, ham bone (if using), onion, garlic, and chili powder in a 6qt slow cooker. Do not add lemon or tomatoes until the beans are softened.
- Cook on high for 5 hours (or low for 7-8) or until the beans are tender.
- Once the beans are tender, remove the ham bone (if using), chop any meat left on the bone, and add it back to the slow cooker.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes, ham seasoning packet, and lemon juice.
- Cook for an additional 30 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper to taste and garnish with fresh parsley if desired.
Video
Notes
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Pork, Slow Cooker, Soup
Cuisine American© SpendWithPennies.com. Content and photographs are copyright protected. Sharing of this recipe is both encouraged and appreciated. Copying and/or pasting full recipes to any social media is strictly prohibited. Please view my photo use policy here.
I am excited to have partnered with Hurst’s HamBeens® 15 BEAN SOUP® to bring you this belly-warming recipe. While I was compensated for this post, all thoughts and opinions are my own. Working with great brands I love allows me to keep bringing you the great recipes you love!
Could you please tell me how much cubed ham i would use for this recipe? Would it be just in package you can pick up at the grocery store? Thank you.
I would suggest about 2-3 cups. You may be able to find diced ham or a ham steak or a small ham piece.
How much water would i use for 2 bags of beans
Hi Randi, for this recipe we use one package of Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup®. If using two, you will want to double the recipe.
Love this recipe! I added raw celery and carrots at the beginning and soaked the beans for 5 hours! Best ham and bean soup I have made by far!
Hi. Do the beans need to be soaked overnight when making the crockpot version of this Ham and Bean Soup? Thanks.
As mentioned in the recipe post, no soaking required when making the soup in the Crockpot! Enjoy Chris!
This is my first time making the ham and bean soup. You say there are 12 servings. Can you tell me what size is the serving?
Thanks,
Gail
Approximately 1 cup.
Hello-
Hope to make this soup this weekend and was planning to use either cubed ham or smoked sausage. Would adding a bare ham bone or smoked ham hock for flavor
and texture be too much or unnecessary?
I think the ham bone would add lovely flavor to the broth.
Prior to seeing this recipe, I had never had ham bean soup and now I bake a ham just so I can make the soup with the leftovers, this is awesome. Followed the recipe and it turns out great every time!
You forgot bay leaf
Looking forward to making lots of soups
I messed up and started throwing everything in and put the tomatoes in hope it still turns out ok
Hi, I don’t have a slow cooker. How can I cook this on the stove top? Thanks!
You can find the stove top version of 15 Bean Soup here.
I dont have a crockpot. How can I do this on the stove top?I also have a pressure cooker. Please help!
Thank you for all the great recipes. I’m making your quiche right know.
You can find the Instant Pot instructions for this recipe here. I will be posting the stovetop instructions next week!
This may seem like a stupid question but do I put my frozen ham bone in the crock pot as us or do I have to thaw it out first?
Either would work, I usually leave it in the fridge overnight. If it is frozen, it can add extra cook time as the liquid will take longer to heat up.
This is the easiest thing you’ll ever cook and as an added bonus it’ll leave your kitchen smelling like your grandmother’s home on a winter day making you the seemingly most seasoned cook there ever was. You simply can not go wrong, it a set and forget delicious hearty meal.
I just made this and I followed the recipe exactly using ham steak I cut up but just for fun I sliced up some chorizo and threw that in there. You can find that where you find packages of pepperoni in the meat department. Just slice the chorizo and toss in with the ham. As directed I seasoned to taste with salt, pepper in the end but I also added about 4 tbs of butter to smooth out the bite from the tomato and lemon. The butter just hugged those flavors.
Turned out so delicious!!!
Thank you for sharing Donna Lee! That sounds amazing!
I made this today. After seven hours on low in the crockpot, I cut the ham off of the ham hocks, added the canned tomatoes, and the lemon juice with the seasoning packet. Then I tried the beans, and they still weren’t soft. I gave it another hour and checked them again. Still not soft. We went to plan B for dinner, and After 3 more hours in the crockpot on low, the beans are still not soft. I’m not sure what I could have done wrong.
I am cooking it on low overnight, and will check it again in the morning. It will make a nice Monday night meal instead.
I’m not sure what could have gone wrong Melody, usually our readers have great success with this recipe!
How old is your slow cooker? I had that problem with another recipe and it turned out I needed a new slow cooker. (I put the contents in a pan on the stove and with half an hour of simmering, it was perfect.) While my old one may not have been running optimally anymore, the newer ones run hotter, so recipes written in the last 5-10 years will have different cook times. You may need to invest in a new one or still soak things overnight.
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I love this bean soup. However, because of the current pandemic, I could only find the 15 bean Cajun style mix. Instead of the normal diced tomatoes, I instead used one can of diced tomatoes with habaneros. WOW!!! I’ve made this at least five times now, it’s really a very big hit.
Thanks you for the great no soak recipe.
Absolutely delicious! I made it with country sausage. Next time I’m gonna put kale and sweet potatoes in there—and add vegan “meat” instead of the sausage. Such a amazing flavor and very easy to make. Thanks for sharing this with all of us!
Question when making the crock pot Ham and bean Soup. I have a little diced ham and the cooked sausage. At what step do you add the cooked sausage? Thanks for the help!!
While I’ve never added sausage, you can add the cooked sausage at step 5 with the other ingredients. It may take a little more than 30 minutes to heat fully. Enjoy Tanisha!
Where can I buy the Hursts hambeen 15 bean soup?
Hi Jody, you can use the Hurst Store Locator to find a store closest to you!