Crockpot Bean Soup with Ham Bone

I originally came up with this recipe after we finished off my Crockpot Christmas ham, and I wanted to use my leftover ham bone. A bean and ham bone soup isn't necessarily "new" but I made this one work with ingredients that are readily available and inexpensive.

Using a leftover ham bone and ham meat to flavor a soup or chowder has been popular for many years. And why not? Beans were ‘invented’ to absorb any flavor they are cooked in. Adding a ham bone and ham meat to the bean soup creates such a bold porcine essence just makes this a wonderful, flavorful bean soup.

So, roll up your sleeves, put on your kitchen apron, and let’s prepare this remarkable crockpot bean soup with ham bone.

Why You Will Love this Bean Soup with Ham Bone Recipe

• This crockpot bean soup with ham bone recipe has great flavor – The ham bone plus the additional ham meat blended with the beans and vegetables, slow-cooked together for hours, produces an flavorful and creamy culinary delight.

• And it’s very easy to make – This bean soup is exceptionally easy to prepare. There are just a few simple steps: sauté, chop, put in the crockpot, cook, and serve. When you get home from work or school, dinner is ready!

• And it makes a ton of soup – The base of the soup is beans, vegetables, and ham, which swell as they cook in the crockpot. As you lift off the crockpot lid when the soup is finished cooking, you will be amazed at how much soup there is to enjoy. It will feed a small army!

Notes for Cooking this Bean Soup with Ham Bone Recipe

• Using a ham bone or ham hock – In this recipe, we suggest you use a ham bone left over from your Crockpot Christmas ham. If you don’t have a leftover ham bone, you can cook this recipe any time by simply using a store-bought smoked ham hock. Most grocery stores carry smoked ham hocks (and smoked ham shanks) at a very reasonable price, or they are available online.

• Why use baking soda when soaking the beans – Adding baking soda to the water to soak the beans overnight creates softer and smoother beans. The baking soda adds alkaline that breaks down the pectin in the beans, making a creamer finish for the soup.

• Speaking of beans - If you don't want to use dry beans, that's okay. Substitute the dry beans with 3 to 4 15oz. cans of beans. Try to stick with a white bean like cannellini beans, great northern beans, or pinto beans.

• Use chicken broth as your cooking liquid – Many soup recipes use water as the base to cook the beans, vegetables, and ham meat. Water is bland! This simply is not the way to go! Chicken broth or chicken stock adds so much more flavor to the finished soup. It is economical, very easy to find at your local grocery store, and adds so much more luscious gusto to your finished soup.

• Freeze any leftover soup – As mentioned above, this recipe for crockpot bean soup with ham bone makes a large portion. After feeding your hungry youngsters, freeze the remainder in a plastic container, and break it out of the freezer to remind them how delicious this was at Christmas time.

• Cooking for a smaller group? If you don't want a bunch of soup left over, you can adjust the printable recipe (below) for the amount of servings you'd like. The ingredient amounts will then update accordingly.

Ingredient List

Ham and beans

• 1 leftover ham bone from your Christmas ham, or 1 smoked ham hock
• 2 cups ham meat, chopped
• 1 pound dry Navy beans (or 3-4 15oz cans of beans)

Base

• 4 cups of water
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 cups chicken broth
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste

Vegetables

• 2 cups carrots, chopped
• 2 cups celery, chopped
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 cup tomato, chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• ½ cup green onion, chopped
• ½ cup parsley, chopped

Herbs and spices

• 2 Bay leaves
• 4 Thyme sprigs
• 2 tablespoons onion powder
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions on Making Bean Soup with Ham Bone

1. Soak the beans overnight – Rinse the beans in a large sieve. Place the beans in a large bowl and add 4 cups of water to cover the beans. Stir in two teaspoons of baking soda and soak the beans overnight. Pour the beans into a large sieve and rinse.

2) Sauté the onion and garlic – In a medium skillet, sauté the onions and garlic until lightly golden brown. Pour into your crockpot.

3) Add all the vegetables, ham, and beans – Place all the chopped vegetables, ham, and beans into the crockpot. With a large spoon, stir all the ingredients together until well mixed.

4) Add the ham bone, chicken broth, and tomato paste – Nesle the ham bone into the vegetable mixture and pour the chicken broth into the crockpot. Stir in the tomato paste.

5) Cooking time in the crockpot – Cook the bean soup with ham bone in the crockpot for 6 hours on low, or 8 hours on high.

6) Cut the meat off the ham bone – With a pair of tongs, carefully remove the ham bone from the crockpot and let it cool slightly. With a kitchen knife, cut off any remaining ham meat from the bone and add it back to the crockpot. Stir to combine all the ingredients.

Now You Are Ready to Serve!

7) Bowl up the soup. Add some of the ham you just took off the bone to the top of the soup. Garnish with a sprig of Thyme

Tips and Suggestions for Your Own Bean Soup with Ham Bone

• Types of beans that can be used for this recipe – There are obviously many bean types you can choose from. For this bean soup with ham bone recipe, I used Navy beans, which are a “white” bean. Other types of white beans that are readily available and that can be substituted for Navy beans are cannellini beans, great northern beans, and pinto beans. To sample a very Southern version of this recipe, try using black-eyed peas.

• Is your soup too runny? – When it’s time to remove the lid and check out your soup; are the beans cooked through, but the soup is too watery? Simply continue to cook the soup for roughly another half-hour with the lid off. The excess liquid will cook out, helping to create a denser soup.

• Mash some of the beans – Along thesame line as above, to make a more smooth and creamy soup, mash some of the beans. With a slotted spoon, remove a few portions of beans to a bowl, and with a hand-held potato masher, mash the beans. Add the mashed beans back to the crockpot and mix thoroughly. Do this as many times as you wish to create the soup consistency that you enjoy.

• Add salt and pepper at the very end and to your taste – It’s very likely that salt in the ham and other ingredients will sufficiently flavor your soup as it cooks. So let the soup cook without adding any salt. At the very end, taste the finished soup and add as much salt and pepper as you desire to suit your own tastes.

• Flavorful toppings to add to your bean soup with ham bone – This may seem like “gilding the lily” as the bean soup is plenty delicious just as it is, but adding a few extra topping to you finish off your soup, will take it right over the top. Try adding a dollop of sour cream, diced green onions, cilantro, chives, sun-dried tomatoes, fried onions, or even salsa or hot sauce. Be sure and have some buttered crusty French bread or cornbread on the side to dip into your creamy bean soup with ham bone.

Related Ham and Soup Recipes

The best crockpot Christmas ham (this is the ham bone I used for this recipe)

Slow cooker 15-bean soup and ham

Brown sugar and pineapple ham (another option for a ham bone that you can use here)