Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Looking for a hearty weeknight dinner meal that you can set and forget? Try my Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup. Featuring a mixture of beans, smoked ham bone, and vegetables, it’s comfort food at its finest!
Now, I know I run this food blog, but I’m only human — there are some days when I want a really good dinner without a lot of fuss and work. On weeknights like those, out comes my trusty slow cooker! I love using it for recipes like my savory slow cooker pot roast, these flank roast street tacos, or (one of my personal favorites) slow cooker carnitas.
I was having one of those days when I came up with this crockpot ham and bean soup recipe. It was raining, and I knew that I had a ham bone in my freezer, so I decided that soup was on the menu. I’m thrilled with how it came together — it’s so hearty and satisfying! Plus, it makes quite a bit, enough for 12 servings or more. We ate it two nights in a row in my house, and it was so good that I froze the rest for another time.
My advice? Enjoy my ham and beans crockpot soup with some crusty sourdough bread or cornbread and a splash of Tabasco. Soups on!
INGREDIENT NOTES AND SUBSTITUTIONS
- Dry Bean Mix – I recommend that you use 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. You shouldn’t use more than 2 cups (while dry) in total. Make sure to soak for at least 8 hours before you get started. If you forgot, check out my post on what to do if you forgot to soak your beans.
- Ham Bone – You can pick up a ham bone at your local butcher or in the meat department of the supermarket. It adds a meaty and smoked flavor I just love.
- Bay Leaves – This dried leaf adds another layer to the flavor of your soup. It’s slightly floral and spicy.
- Onion – No soup would be complete without this ingredient! It adds more moisture without any excess liquid.
- Chicken Stock – Use this instead of water for more flavor. You can also use vegetable stock.
- Carrots – For more vegetable goodness.
- Celery – The celery pairs wonderfully with the beans, ham, and carrots!
- Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce – This ingredient is optional, but I personally love adding a bit of kick to my ham bean soup.
- Parsley – For a garnish.
HOW TO MAKE CROCKPOT HAM AND BEAN SOUP
- Prepare The Beans. Make sure to soak all of your dry beans overnight. They should be covered by an inch of cold water. The next day, rinse them and set them aside.
- Assemble The Ham Bean Soup. Add the ham bone, chopped onions, bay leaves, soaked beans, and chicken stock to your slow cooker. Cook on high for 6 hours.
- Add The Veggies. Place the chopped celery and carrots into the mixture at the 4-hour mark. If using, you can add 1 tablespoon of Tabasco Garlic Pepper sauce here too. Stir well and then cover. Let your crockpot ham and bean soup cook for 2 more hours.
- Chop The Ham. Once your ham and beans crockpot soup is finished cooking, remove the bay leaves and ham bone. Chop the ham meat, then discard the bone and the bay leaves. Add the chopped ham back into the slow cooker and mix well. Taste and season as needed.
- Garnish & Serve. Chop up some fresh parsley as a garnish and serve with your bread of choice! If you like cheese you can also add a bit on top of each bowl.
How Do You Thicken Homemade Ham Bean Soup?
If you’d like to thicken your crockpot ham and bean soup, there are several different thickening agents you can use: all-purpose flour, cornstarch, or even potato starch. One trick of the trade is to add whatever thickening agent you use to a hot cup of broth and then add it to the soup. Try it!
How Long Do You Soak Beans For Ham and Beans Soup?
You should soak your beans overnight for the best results. If you don’t have enough time to do that, they must soak for at least 8 hours. Make sure to rinse them under cold water and sift through them in case of small stones or bad beans.
Can You Put Canned Beans In A Slow Cooker?
You can use canned beans in a slow cooker, but I suggest that you use dry for this ham and beans crockpot recipe. The extra long cook time could leave you with really mushy results.
Subscribe to my Newsletter, follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and YouTube for all my latest recipes and videos.
This recipe post, originally published on Kevin Is Cooking October, 2016, has been updated with new content, photos and/or video in August, 2022.
Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup
Ingredients
- 2 cups dried Bean Mix (See Note 1)
- 2 lb smoked ham bone (See Note 2)
- 5 leaves bay
- 1 onion chopped
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 3 carrots chopped
- 4 celery stalks chopped
Adds
- 1 tbsp Tabasco Garlic Pepper Sauce
- chopped 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
- 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 or read my post if you Forgot to Soak Your Beans for a quick fix.
- I typically get my ham bones with meat on them from The Honey Baked store or ask your local butcher.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
This sounds like my kind of comfort food! We always save ham bones, too, and I think I’ve actually got one stashed away in the corner of the freezer right now. I need to pull that bad boy out and drop it into the slow cooker! This soup is pretty much perfection for a chilly weekend day…especially a chilly weekend day that you spent outside raking leaves!
I just love the smokey aspect it adds to the beans and barley. Plus the added benefit of the leftover ham meat!
Strange thought as I pictured you raking leaves and when ever I see them out here on the West Coast they use blowers. Silly things, it just moves them to another place (or other’s yard) and doesn’t solve the problem of removing them in the first place!
I can understand why you guys ate this two nights in a row, Kevin! Looks so comforting, hearty and tasty! We do a split pea soup with ham and dumplings around here and it’s a ‘stick to your ribs’ kinda soup. Perfect for this time of year. The slow cooker wins again! Love the addition of the Tabasco in there. I don’t think I’ve tried that flavour before. Pinned, of course. Happy Monday!
Dumplings! Love them and you’ve now set my mind thinking of them… Hmmm, dinner possibilities. 🙂
The flavors of Tabasco are all just so good. Hopefully you can find this one near you. Happy Monday indeed. It was light out at 5:45 am when I took the boys out for their park time. Perfect start to the day, though it will be dark earlier, it’s a nice change.
HI Kevin, I am a little confused about the ham bone cooking. I have leftover ham and ham bone and was wondering if I should not cook it for as long as the recipe states or if your smoked ham bone is essentially pre-cooked as well? Don’t want to over cook it and make it tough or anything. Thanks, this looks delicious!
Hello Laverne. I usually pick up a chunky ham bone from Honey Baked. They slow smoke each ham for up to 24 hours so these are already cooked. I have never used one otherwise (uncooked) and don’t feel like the resulting slow cooked ham meat is overly tough, just fall apart tender. Thanks for stopping by!
Yum!! I just bought a slow cooker the other day so may use this recipe as my first ever cooking experience with the cooker 🙂
Just one question Kevin, what sort of beans can I use if I can’t get hold of ten bean mix? Will any other beans do? Just want to make sure I get it right
Hello Joana and thanks for stopping by – perfect timing! Any bean mix or your favorites will do really. I mix and match all the time.
There s something magical that happens when split peas break down into a thick, creamy soup, especially when all the ingredients are just layered into a slow cooker.
I so agree and can’t believe I missed responding to you. Apologies and hope things are well Charles. It’s a rainy day here in San Diego and think might have to happen. Again. 🙂
i am making your soup today. Do I need to put the slow cooker on low or high?
Hi Karen, thanks for visiting the site and trying out the recipe. I would follow the manufacturers directions for your slow cooker. Mine has a 4, 6, 8 hour setting and there is no Low or High setting. I believe the Low would be for longer, 8 hour slow cooking and the High would be for the 4-6 hour range – BUT that is my guess, NOT an exact. Let me know how it turns out and have a great weekend.
I can’t find the ten bean mix anywhere except online. I need to make this in about 3 days and do not want to pay the extra ten dollars for shipping. So what type of bean do you think is best for this soup if I could only pick one? Or even two beans?
Sarah, feel free to use any beans you like as in Black beans, Lentils, Green Split Peas, Pinto Beans, Small White Beans, Red Lentils, Yellow Split Peas, Small Red Beans, Adzuki Beans and Pearl Barley. Small white and red beans would be my go to though if nothing else is available nearby. I get them at Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Sprouts. Some markets have them in the dried bean section in mixed bags. Let me know how it turns out and have a safe and Happy New Year!
Hello, this sound amazing and I hope to make this very soon, but I would like to know if it’s ok to freeze this with all the beans and veggie? or sorry what do you recommend when freeze homemade soup?
Thank you
Mary Ann
Thanks Mary Ann for stopping by the site. I always have leftovers and sometimes you need to freeze them. This one is just fine to freeze, have done it numerous times. I try not to keep things in the freezer longer than 2 months myself. Have a great day!
Nothing like a good hearty soup this time of year! Looks delicious!
Thanks for stopping by Annie! Your Roasted Squash recipe looks fantastic. Next time you stop by and comment, click the Comment Luv box and it will show YOUR most recent post, too!
I should have known better than to open up this post when I’m hungry! This soup looks amazing, Kevin…pretty much exactly what I want on a cold day. And that cornbread? I think I could eat an entire pan of it. Now I’ve got soup on the brain…so I think I might need a big bowl of this soup to magically appear in my kitchen in oh, maybe 5 minutes?
Thanks David. Wish I had the Star Trek transporter for you, but alas I do not! Stay warm out there.