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
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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!
Hi Holly, I see what looks like some fresh parsley in the finished soup but don’t find that ingredient noted anywhere? I guess it’s possible it’s in the seasoning packet? Thanks in advance for your reply~
I just used fresh parsley as a garnish. :)
This looks yummy. Is there is nutritional information available?
What a great site! Thanks
Can i make this 2 days ahead? Or will it be mush?
You can definitely make this ahead of time, it reheats beautifully!
What is a ham flavor packet?
Hi Debbi,
This packet comes in the bean package. However you can use bouillon instead. Hope that helps.
This looks delicious as well as the other two you recommended at the end of the post. I’ll have to be making these soon! Glad I found your site. :)
Thank you! Let us know when you make one of our recipes!
I’m very anxious to try this soup, but I’m having a difficult time finding the HamBeen’s 15 Bean soup package. I was, however, able to find another brand with a 15 Bean soup, but with no flavor packet. Can you give my any suggestions? It sounds as if you really need the flavor packet for the recipe. Thanks.
If you don’t have the flavor packet, you can substitute bouillon cubes (any flavor).
Hi Holly just seen your recipe and imam making this with great northern beans. So instead of the ham packets I’ll be using the bouillion cubes you suggested would I still be using the additional broth with those?
Hi Mary, I would judge by the taste. If it tastes super flavorful you could add additional water in place of the extra broth for a thinner soup.
I thawed a ham bone with large chunks of ham we had for Thanksgiving. I understand about adding the bone in the beginning, but by adding the larger pieces of ham in the beginning, doesn’t that make the ham pieces dry? I have some really nice size ham pieces and I’d hate to ruin them by over cooking and having them come out dry. Please help!! Thank you.
My ham doesn’t come out dry in this recipe. You could certainly add them along with the tomatoes if you prefer since they just need to be heated.
Am I happy about this snowstorm in March? No. Am I glad that I have a reason to make another round of delicious soups all week? Heck yes. This looks SO good, and so perfect for these cold nights. Saved!
I’m with you Karly, if I’m going to have cool weather the silver lining is having comfort foods like this soup!
sounds great thank you!!!!!
Awesome soup 15 bean soup. Yummyyyyyy
Loved it. Nutrishous and delicious.
could i do this on the stove as opposed to the crock pot? would the beans need to be soaked first?
i meant slow cooker not crock pot!
I have tried to print it off but it won’t work. I guess I will have to write it down myself. What am I doing wrong??
What is the seasoning packet.RECIPE looks good but can’t figure out seasoning packet.Or just use all season.
It comes with this brand of beans. You can also get this in a packet in the dry mix section of most grocery stores. I hope this helps!
I’m making this right now! Looks good! I will tell you all how it goes.
Please do!
I put this together in my crockpot before I left for work, 7 hours ago. It smells heavenly& I’m having a cup of it right now. Some of the beans are still alive dente. How much longer should I cook it to make sure all the beans are cooked through.
I would say another hour or two (opening the lid to the slow cooker increases cook time by quite a bit). Did you add any of the acidic ingredients when you put it on?
Our family really enjoys this soup. I mistakenly bought the 15 beans soup with Cajun seasoning, so I left that out and added a tablespoon of chicken demi glace. So good!
Yum! The demi glace would add delicious flavor to this recipe!
In the works for tomorrow. The perfect recipe for our Alaska weather!!
Let us know how it turns out! :)
I made this recipe today in my crockpot. Crockpot is newer model and runs well. Cooked as suggested on low for 7 hours and beans are not soft at all. Bumped cooker up to high and cooked additional hour. Beans are still too hard. Haven’t added tomatoes and lemon yet. Contemplating dumping soup into my Dutch oven to boil on cooktop. SOAK the BEANS first!
I’m sorry your beans took longer to cook. I haven’t had an issue with them not cooking in the slow cooker.
Hi soup was really good thank you!! But I also had to cook almost 2 hours longer for beans to be soft
If you keep dry beans, until they get OLD they won’t get soft. Not saying yours are old..
Yum! Made this last night but added cut up baby carrots and chopped spinach. Didn’t add the tomato chunks as I ran out of room in my crockpot but did add a small can of tomato paste that gave it a nice consistency. I added a little salt too but really shouldn’t have. Overall very good and easy meal!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing your version of the recipe.
Can you tell me the nutritional values of your crock pot ham and bean soup?it sounds delicious but I’m trying to watch calories so I’m curious as what it entails thank you