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!
Fantastic! It was soooo delicious! YUM!
We love this soup too, so glad you enjoyed it.
For the Crock Pot Ham & Bean Soup is the estimated nutrition information referenced to values for a serving or per 100g or other ? Can you please clarify ?
Nutrition information on Spend With Pennies is per serving :)
Thanks Holly
Is serving size 1 cup? More? Less?
It would be about 1 cup.
I have a smaller family and I hate food going to waste and like easy things to reheat.. am I able to freeze this soup once it’s cooked?
It’s in the crockpot for tonight!
Absolutely, this soup freezes beautifully!
Oh and another thing, I soaked my beans overnight and they have been cooking on low for almost 7 hours a day still hard????
Did you add any acidic items before they were softened?
2 questions…. I added way to much garlic, anything big can do? How can I thicken it up?
If you’d like to thicken the soup, you can mash a few of the beans or cook it uncovered for a little while. As for the garlic, my only thought would be to add more broth which would make the recipe thinner. I hope it ended up ok for you!
My husband says this soup is outstanding!!!
I followed the recipe exactly! Thanks for publishing this great soup!
Yay! You’re so welcome!
Can you use the instant pot? I need recipes using it any ideas.
I haven’t yet made this in the instant pot although I do think it would work perfectly. I would suggest using the bean setting on your IP.
I use instant mashed potatoes to thicken bean soups. You can find envelopes in cheese, garlic, butter flavored, etc. Also, if just using a bag of northern beans, or plain beans you can add liquid smoke. Its in the store near the BBQ sauces
Great idea Sheila!
I have been making something like this for a couple of years. I add Rotel tomatoes, a can of diced green chiles and chorizo ( which s a spicy sausage). For the New Years meal, I make this with black-eyed peas only (a New Year’s tradition for the South) with something green, like coleslaw or fried cabbage and our family adds mashed potatoes to finish off the meal along with a large cast iron cornbread I love eating dried beans and am always looking for different ways to cook them.
Those sound like great additions Beverly!
I was only able to find the cajun beans/mix in my store. Can i follow these directions?
Yes, this recipe will work just fine. The seasoning is a little bit different but will still be delicious!
Made this recipe for dinner. We loved it but I used regular chicken broth by mistake and it was very salty. Enough left for a few lunches. I will definitely make again before the end of winter.
This soup is amazing for lunch too :). Glad to hear you loved the soup so much!
My daughter and I made this today and it was absolutely delicious! We love tomatoes so we used a can of the petite diced and added a can of whole tomatoes that I semi pureed. We used two eight ounce packages of Smithfield ham cubes. It was so good with some homemade cornbread. We will definitely make this again. Thanks for the incredible recipe Holly.
I’m so glad you loved it Tina!
Could this recipe be used in an instant pot?
While I haven’t yet made this particular recipe in the IP, it should work just fine. Dry beans should take about 45 minutes or so at high pressure with a natural release. You’ll want to ensure you do not go over the max line for liquids.
I have some navy beans in my cupboard. Would these work? I have the onions, minced garlic, 2 hamhocks. What other spices should I use?
This should work perfectly! Hurst recommends: bouillon cubes (whatever meat you prefer). You can also use an equal amount of chicken or beef stock instead of water. A great way to add flavor is to add your favorite herbs as well.
Sounds delicious….I’m going to make this really soon!!!!!
Enjoy Bonnie Ann, we love this soup!
Fixed this this today and had it for dinner with cornbread.
We really liked it. A very hearty and comforting soup.
Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you loved it Lynn, we love this one too!
What are ham flavored packets? I didn’t see it in the ingredients. Only in the directions.
It comes in the 15 Bean Soup package. :)
It will come in the bag of beans.
Nice Blog, Thank You
Thank you!
This looks delicious. Can I adapt this to use canned beans? I don’t have any dry beans right now. Any suggestions? Thank you!:)
I haven’t tried this with canned beans. Let us know how it works out if you try it!
You probably could it just won’t take as long to cook
I used this receipt with canned beans. It worked just fine. Make sure to rinse the beans well and add more liquid, due to the fact the canned beans thickens the soup.
Can this be made in a 5 quart slow cooker?
I use a 6 quart slow cooker for this recipe. You may find it takes longer to cook in a 5 quart slow cooker Brittany. Let us know if you try it.