Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup

For my Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup mixed beans, lentils, peas and barley are slow cooked with a smoked ham bone, vegetables and spices, making a hearty dinner that feeds a crowd. Don’t forget to spice it up with a bit of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce, too. Purely optional, but highly recommended. 🙂

It’s slow cooker season over here at Chez Aladin and with a sprinkling of some rain and the fact I had a ham bone in my freezer, decided soup was on the menu last week. Bust out some crusty french bread and the Tabasco, it’s time to eat some Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup!

This is one hearty and satisfying soup. It makes quite a bit, enough for twelve servings or more. We ate it two nights in a row it was so good, and then I froze the balance for another time.

Somedays I am feeling like I just want a really good dinner without a lot of fuss and work. Out comes the trusty slow cooker from the cabinet and in a bowl of water go the beans to soak over night. Simply cover your beans with cold water by 2 inches and allow to soak overnight to rehydrate. Don’t add any salt, the smoked ham does that for you. In the morning drain the beans, rinse and drain again.

If you didn’t think ahead and forgot to  soak the beans overnight, you can always do my quick soak method as described on a post in Tips & Tricks.

The bean mix I used here are white and red beans with green split peas and barley. Feel free to use black beans, lentils, Green split peas, pinto beans, small white, red lentils, yellow split peas, adzuki beans and pearl barley. I get my ham bone from my local grocer’s meat department. Ham bones are meaty and the smoked flavor is just amazing.

Into the slow cooker went a chopped onion, the smoked ham bone, bay leaves and beans and I added chicken stock to cover by an inch. I tried to keep the spices to a minimum and used a couple bay leaves. The star is the amazingly smoky ham bone with plenty of flavor and meat on it. Place the lid on and start your slow cooker for 6 hours. Forget about it and go on with your day!

I started my 6-quart slow cooker and after 4 hours added a good heaping tablespoon of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce for that kiss of tasty, garlic enhanced heat and the chopped the carrots and celery. Stir as best you can to mix in and cover again. Continue cooking in slow cooker for remaining 2 hours. I like to add the vegetables later so they are still al dente, with a little texture, not mushy. BUT if you like feel free to put in all at once with the bean and ham bone and keep it simple.

I had the pleasure of attending the Tabasco Tastemakers event down on Avery Island, Louisiana, home of Tabasco. That was an incredible experience and I was gifted with so many different flavors of Tabasco upon my return home. I think the Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce works wonderfully in this Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup.

If you’d like to read about that trip, you can read all about it and where I used their Tabasco Sweet & Spicy Pepper Sauce in my Cold Lentil Salad with Butternut Squash and Asparagus, their Tabasco Habanero Sauce in my No Churn Mango Ice Cream. and the incredible Tabasco Green Pepper Sauce in my Shrimp Posole Verde.

After the the ham and beans have cooked I gently remove the ham bone and allow to cool. I remove the meat easily and discard the bone. Rough chop the ham meat and place it back in the slow cooker and mix to incorporate completely with the beans and vegetables.

This amazing soup fills your home with a wonderful aroma and satisfies your hunger with some good, rib sticking, hearty soup. The flavors are wonderful, the vegetables and barley perfectly cooked. The peas and some beans break down to thicken the soup and the smoky ham adds the special salty goodness that only ham can do.

Serve with some more Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce for extra seasoning and garnish with chopped parsley. I love that Tabasco sauces don’t cover up, but enhance, whatever they get dashed on. Enjoy!

Disclosure: I am proud to be a part of #TabascoTastemakers and am sharing this post in partnership with Tabasco. All content and opinions are my own. I am happy for the opportunity to share brands with you that I believe in, and I hope you enjoy my recipe. Thanks for supporting the companies that continue to make Kevin Is Cooking possible.

Print

Review

4.45 from 18 votes

Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup

For my Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup mixed beans, lentils, peas and barley are slow cooked with a smoked ham bone, vegetables and spices, making a hearty dinner that feeds a crowd. Don't forget to spice it up with a bit of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce, too. Purely optional, but highly recommended.

Prep Time8 hrs

Cook Time6 hrs

Total Time14 hrs

Course: Dinner, Main

Cuisine: American, Western

Servings: 12

Calories: 209kcal

Author: Kevin

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bean Mix (See Note 1)
• 2 lb smoked ham bone
• 5 leaves bay
• 1 onion chopped
• 8 cups chicken stock
• 3 carrots chopped
• 4 celery stalks chopped
• 1 tbsp Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce
• Parsley for garnish

Instructions

• Soak the beans overnight in cold water, covered by an inch. Rinse the next day and set aside.
• In a slow cooker add the ham bone, chopped onion and bay leaves. Add the soaked beans and cover with chicken stock.
• Cook for 6 hours on HIGH. At the 4 hour mark I like to add the chopped celery, carrots and one tablespoon of Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce. Stir as best you can to mix in and cover again. Continue cooking in slow cooker for remainder of time.
• Remove bay leaves and ham bone. Discard the bay leaves and bone. Chop ham meat and add back to the slow cooker. Mix to incorporate and season if needed.
• Garnish with chopped parsley and serve with fresh cornbread.

Notes

***If you're converting meat from a slow cooker to an Instant Pot, follow this rule: if the meat dish cooks in eight hours on low or four hours on high in the slow cooker, it will cook in 25-30 minutes in the Instant Pot. Make sure the Instant Pot setting reads "sealing" and not "venting" to ensure it's cooked properly.

1. Feel free to use all or a mixture of Black beans, Lentils, Green Split Peas, Pinto Beans, Small White Beans, Red Lentils, Yellow Split Peas, Small Red Beans, Adzuki Beans and Pearl Barley as long as they are 2 cups dry total. Soak for at least 8 hours and drain.

Nutrition Facts

Slow Cooker Ham Bone Bean Soup

Amount Per Serving

Calories 209 Calories from Fat 86

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 9.5g 15%

Saturated Fat 2.9g 15%

Trans Fat 0.1g

Polyunsaturated Fat 1.4g

Monounsaturated Fat 4.2g

Cholesterol 50.9mg 17%

Sodium 899.3mg 37%

Total Carbohydrates 10g 3%

Dietary Fiber 1.3g 5%

Sugars 4.5g

Protein 21g 42%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.