Cooking Ham and Beans in your slow cooker is oh so easy. Creamy Great Northern Beans, smoky salty chunks of ham, sweet corn bread and you’ve got a winning flavor combination. Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup is pure old-fashioned comfort food.
About This Recipe and Why It Works
Old Fashioned Ham and beans soup, a meal that my mom served a lot when I was growing up. It wasn’t something that just appeared after Christmas to use up that holiday ham bone. She made it often, made it year round, and used ham shank or chopped ham.
It wasn’t always accompanied with corn bread, but as with every single meal she served, you can rest assured there was bread on the table. “Eat your bread, you have to support the Wheat Farmers,” she’d order. Which is exactly how our family made its living.
The flavor combination for this ham and beans recipe are simply outstanding.
It starts with a base of mirepoix. What is mirepoix? Simple. It’s a mixture of 2 parts onions to 1 part carrots and 1 part celery. Then sauteed to create a flavor base for many soup recipes.
My ham and beans recipes calls for a couple tablespoons of my soup seasoning mix. A combination of spices that elevates the flavor of any bean soup.
Creamy great northern white beans soak up the flavor from that sweet salty ham shank. And the rest is culinary history.
It’s easy to make ham and beans in the slow cooker. Let’s take a look.
Ingredients to make slow cooker ham and beans
The ingredients to make ham and beans are simple and straight forward:
- Chicken Broth: Any brand will do. The recipe calls for 6 cups and that’s why you see a 14.5 ounce can and a 32 ounce carton. Those two containers came close enough to that amount.
- White Beans: Great Northern White beans are my choice. Large, plump and perfect for ham and beans.
- Ham Shank: A nice big meaty ham shank is preferred for this recipe. I like to buy ham shanks from Whole Foods. Seasoned, uncured and excellent in flavor. The meat that comes off this ham shank is superior in quality. A reputable butcher shop is another resource for a nice meaty ham shank.
- Soup Seasoning Mix: I keep a supply of homemade soup seasoning mix in my pantry to use all Winter long. It’s a mix of many spices and it turns any bean soup into a flavor extravaganza.
- Mirepoix: Mirepoix is a very common vegetable mixture for many soups. If you’re in culinary school, the ratio is important. Two parts onion to one part each celery and carrots. For this recipe, I used one cup of each. Practice you knife skills and try to get even small cubes for each vegetable. Flavor and texture will be more consistent if you do.
Recipe Ingredient Swaps
- Navy Beans: What’s the difference between Navy Beans and Great Northern White Beans? Navy beans are smaller, and have thicker skins. The flavors are similar. Substitute the smaller Navy Beans if you have them, the only difference it will make to the soup will be the size of the bean.
- Ham Hock: Ham hocks tend to be bonier and have less meat. That’s because they come from the “ankle” part of the leg. Ham shank on the other hand is meatier because it comes from the leg area just below the shoulder and hip. You can substitute ham hocks, they’ll bring that smoky ham flavor to the soup, but with much less meat.
- Ham Bone: And by all means, this is a perfect recipe to use that leftover Christmas or Easter ham bone. Slow cooker ham and bean soup is the first thing I make during the holidays, once that ham as been devoured.
- Seasonings: If you don’t have a supply of my Bean Soup Seasoning, you can season ham and beans by simply adding a couple of bay leaves and a good pinch of dried thyme.
How to make easy ham and beans soup.
- Step 1: Rinse 1 pound dried Great Northern White Beans and sort for misfits. Cover with two inches of water and soak overnight. No need to refrigerate while soaking beans. I use my crockpot insert for this.
- OR For the 2-2-2 hot water soaking method, in a sauce pan on the stove, cover beans with water. Water should be 2 inches above the bean level. Bring to a rolling boil and cook them 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let the beans stand in the water 2 hours before cooking. Drain beans and proceed.
- Step 2: Saute the celery, onions and carrots. Add a couple of tablespoons of oil to a hot pan stovetop. Saute the vegetables until just getting tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the drained Great Northern Beans, vegetables, ham shank and seasonings to the slow cooker.
- Step 3: Add the chicken broth and you’re ready to cook. Set the crockpot on low and cook for 7-ish hours. Depending on how fresh your dried beans are, the soup could be ready in 6 hours or perhaps as long as 8 hours. Also, beans that have been soaked overnight will cook faster.
- To Finish: To finish the soup. Once the beans are tender, remove the ham shank. When the ham shank is cool enough to handle, using two forks, shred the meat from the bone. Add the shredded pork back into the soup.
FAQ’s And Tips
You don’t have to soak dried beans overnight. But here’s the benefit of doing so. Soaking dried beans overnight will simply reduce the time it takes them to cook them to a tender state. Soaking beans overnight will also improve their texture.
If you forgot to soak dried beans the night before, never fear, you can always use the heat soaking method. Cover the beans with water, the water level should be two inches above the beans. Bring them to a boil stove-top and cook for two minutes. Turn off the heat, let them soak for two hours and then start the cooking process.
I must admit, that I’ve added rinsed and sorted dried beans directly to my crockpot and cooked them on low until tender. No soaking at all. It works fine because you’re using a slow cooking method to gently bring those beans into tender goodness. A scoop of lard always adds to their silky texture.
Yes and No. There are several theories about this. The science behind draining the soaking water and adding new liquid dictates that you’re removing some of the sugar components that cause gassiness. On the other hand cooking the beans in the same water they soaked, can also create a thicker broth. For this recipe, you’re using chicken broth to cook the beans, so yes, you’ll drain the water.
If you want to soak the beans in chicken broth, you’ll need to place the container in the refrigerator overnight. I usually don’t have that sort of room in the fridge. No need to drain the broth and add new broth to cook the beans.
Recipe for Crock Pot Ham and Beans
I think serving ham and beans with cornbread should be a law. 🙂 A spoon filled with a chunk of that sweet cornbread and a scoop of beans, is a wonderful flavor combination. And a sprinkle of raw sweet onions on top of the finished soup is always a nice addition.
And if you’ve been toying with the idea of making homemade cornbread, take a look at my recipe. It’s one of the most popular recipes on my site.
I hope you give this recipe for Slow Cooker Ham and Beans soup a try and if you do, please come back and give the recipe a star rating and leave a comment about your experience with the recipe.
And if you have a favorite soup recipe using dried beans, please let me know, I’d love to give it a try.
More Dried Beans Soup Recipes
- Lemony Potato Soup with Mayocoba Beans
- Bolita Beef and Bean Soup
- Great Northern White Bean Soup with Bacon
And if you’re a soup fanatic like we are here on the ranch, you won’t want to miss my Soup Category. You’ll find lots of delicious soup recipes. Including the most popular on my site, Anthony Bourdain’s New Mexico Beef Chili Recipe.
Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
Equipment
- Crockpot, Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 1 pound Great Northern White Beans sorted for misfits and rinsed. Or you can use Navy beans
- enough water to cover beans by 2 inches
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup carrots diced
- 1 cup celery diced
- 1 cup sweet onion diced
- 6 cups chicken broth or water
- 1 ham shank or ham bone
- 1 Tablespoon Soup Seasoning Mix or 2 bay leaves and 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- corn bread for serving
Instructions
- Rinse beans and sort for misfits.
- Cover the beans with water. The water level should be 2 inches above the beans. Soak the beans overnight. No need to refrigerate while soaking. The next morning, drain the water.
- Heat a fry an over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the celery, onions and carrots. Saute until until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Add the beans, the cooked vegetables, the ham shank, chicken broth and Soup Seasoning Mix to the crock pot.
- Let cook on low for 6 – 7 hours on low or until beans are tender.
- Remove ham hock and when it’s cool enough to handle, shred meat and return the meat to the crock of beans
- Season with salt and pepper.
- To serve, place a square of cornbread in a soup bowl. Ladle a couple of scoops of ham and beans beside the corn bread and sprinkle with chopped raw onion.
Notes
Nutrition
Slow Cooker Ham and Beans …It’s what’s for Dinner.
Ham shanks for me, please. Love all that meat. 🙂 Ham and beans is a wonderful dish, and the slow cooker is a great way to prepare it. Really nice — thanks.
Hi John! Thanks for your note. Yes, ham shanks or a meaty hame bone = perfect.
Can’t go wrong with ham and beans! I sometimes take my photos the next day (better light) and find that it doesn’t always look quite as good as it did the night before, oh well. It’s all about the food and not the photos!
Looks so good! I am going to have to make this again soon.
Such good news about Honey Baked Ham and those bones. I’ll be making it soon again also. Wish my photo would have been as good as yours.
Bwahahaha. Guess who has a pack of pork neck bones in his fridge for smoking tomorrow? Guess what he’s going to do with them. You got it!
Guess who wishes you were their next door neighbor! 🙂
This comment is meant purely to make you feel better. You think me a baker right? I wish I could attach a photo with this comment. A photo of the Jiffy Corn Bread in my pantry. Boxes of it. So they’ve combined the dry ingredients for us; I have no problem with that convenience! I will make my own cornbread from scratch for Thanksgiving but for a quick meal…well I just spilled the beans didn’t I? Which is somehow very appropriate for this post! By the way…I use Bisquick too. 🙂
My big, huge, amazing find just recently was discovering that Honey Baked Hams sells ham bones. I love using the bone for soups more than I love having a whole ham so this really was huge. Karen recently made White Beans with Ham that I coveted, wished HBH sold bones with meat on them, decided to give them a call…and was delighted to discover they do. So that makes three of us on this bent…and a happy one it was. You make me want to do it again. Like today!
Barb, I recently just found out about HBH also. I was going to mention it in the post and forgot. Yes, great news. And so glad to hear you’ve got that stash of Jiffy. Every time I’m in your pantry, it’s to fetch Abby a treat. Not paying much attention to hidden secrets! 🙂
I guess I’m really a separatist! I’ve never made ham and beans together nor bathed corn bread in either but this sounds so good I’d love to try.
Like I said, my corn bread will never teeter again. 🙂
MMM ham and beans take me back to childhood, too. Love that your mother was an advocate for the wheat farmers! I eat my cornbread separately, but will try some in the beans if you say it’s better that way. Dana sure thinks so. Also going to add jalapenos to my cornbread next time – that sounds right up my alley. And I, too, love that spoon. I collect mismatched silver and like the way it photographs.
Well, I really liked the corn bread covered in those beans. You should try it. I ate mine so fast that the corn bread never got soggy. 🙂 i have several mis-matched pieces of silver. There’s only one fork server that I take the time to polish. I always look for them in antique stores.
A fine southern dinner served at homes around the south when I was growing up. So glad you didn’t put a lot of sugar in the cornbread.
Sam
I’m surprised that I didn’t put sugar in that cornbread. 🙂 I’ve tried putting honey in it before and I just wasn’t impressed. I think I was trying to recreate Marie Calendars version.
Oh, that is a dish for my husband’s taste buds! I wish the beans would agree with me a little better. I really like them.
Okay, next get together will be at my house and we will be baking corn bread from scratch, agreed? 🙂
You’ve got a deal! Too funny. I knew you’d cringe! 🙂
I’ve got a ham hock in the freezer – definitely making this when I’m back from my trip!
That ham hock definitely wants to be made into this when you get back from your trip! 🙂 Have a great time Michele.
Oh you are a cook after my own heart. This is definitely food for the soul. Personally, I prefer my beans the next day after cooking. This looks just perfect to me. By the way, love that spoon.
So glad you enjoyed The Help. You made me want to go and watch it again.
I’ve got several mismatched pieces of silver. When I saw Toni using them, I said to myself…”why aren’t you using them?” 🙂 Karen, I’m going to watch it again this morning before it gets sent back to Netflix. Just a fabulous movie, and there better be some academy awards given out for that one.
ham and beans is a huge favorite of mine!
I don’t know why I don’t make it more often.
You must like yours a lot drier than me, was my first thought when I saw your pic. You don’t have to be a baker to make cornbread from scratch as it’s nearly as simple as the mix. Thanks for the kind words.
Well, I was just snapping away when I noticed how dry they were. Trust me, they were “souped up”. As far as “scratch” goes, Larry you have to remember, I’m the one that ruined the Rhoades frozen rolls at Thanksgiving. :/