Crockpot Ham and Bean soup is easy to make with leftover ham bones, dry white beans, and vegetables. It is old-fashioned comfort food at its best—delicious and hearty—and is a simple and economical recipe for ham and beans in the crock pot.
🐖Ingredients
Ham bone—meaty
Beans—Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini. Use dried or pre-cooked.
Vegetables—carrots, celery, and onion
Seasoning—black pepper, garlic powder, and bay leaf
Water—to make broth with the ham bone
Jump To (scroll for more)
- 🐖Ingredients
- 👨🍳How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in a Crock Pot—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
- 👍Make it right every time
- 🐖 Ham bones, and do I have to use one
- 🫘The Beans—usage and variations
- 🥣Why and how to soak dried beans
- 📖 Other Crock Pot Ham Bone Soup recipes
- 🍽️How to serve
- ❄️How to store leftovers
- ❓FAQs
- 📖 Recipe
Featured Comment by Andie:
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"I am making this for the third time today! This is my go to for ham bone bean soup. I follow the recipe and use dry beans. Perfect every time! So tasty! Thank you!"
There is nothing much more traditional than this old-fashioned ham bone soup with white beans, a personal favorite of mine. This is the perfect ham bone recipe for Easter, Thanksgiving, or Christmas dinner leftovers.
I have adapted it for a crock pot, added options for dried or precooked beans, and a skip the ham bone option. While you can use broth, I suggest allowing the ham bone and water to make the broth as the soup cooks.
For other great soup recipes, check out my Broccoli Cheese Soup and Crock Pot French Onion Soup.
👨🍳How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in a Crock Pot—Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
1. Use 48 oz. of drained and rinsed precooked white beans. If using dry beans, do a "quick soak" as described in the section below.
2. Under running water, rinse a meaty ham bone to remove any coating. Scrape off any surface fat, then add it to a larger crock pot.
3. Dice carrots, celery, and an onion.
4. Add the beans, carrots, celery, onion, and seasoning to the crock pot.
5. Add water to cover the ingredients, and cook covered on low for 8 hours for precooked beans or 10 hours for dried beans.
6. Two hours before the end of cooking, remove the ham bone. Remove all meat from the bone, discarding bone, fat, and waste.
7. Place meat back into the cooker, stir well, and finish cooking. This is a good point to taste test for adding salt if needed.
8. Serve hot or cool overnight in the refrigerator and skim off fat the following day.
For more details, keep reading. See the Recipe Card below for complete instructions and to print.
👍Make it right every time
Add the amount of water you need to cover the ingredients. If the ham bone sticks out too much, don't be afraid to cut it back a bit. Six cups is about right, but don't exceed eight cups.
If you decide to use broth, use sodium-free or low-sodium chicken broth in the same amount as the water.
The vegetables may be adjusted up or down for your taste. I usually add more.
If you had a "bad" ham with little taste. It will make bad soup, too.
You can make this without a ham bone (see the ham discussion) and vary the beans if you wish.
While it is excellent the day it is cooked, you can scrape the fat off the top after overnight refrigeration, and the flavor comes together for an even better taste and healthier soup.
🐖 Ham bones, and do I have to use one
The ham in any ham bone soup recipe is highly variable. I suggest using a meaty ham bone—try to leave a little more meat on it if you're making soup. You can also use two ham hawks to replace the ham bone.
Often, a honey coat and trimmable fat need to be removed as much as possible. These problems could ruin your soup, so ham preparation is critical. Use running water to remove surface sugar. Scrape and trim off any fat that you reasonably can.
All hams contain considerable salt, so please add salt only near the end if needed. If you decide to use broth instead of letting the ham bone and water make it, use salt-free broth.
What if I don't have a ham bone or it is skimpy on meat?
This recipe is designed around the ham bone, which we use for the meat and to create a broth for the soup. However, it is relatively easy to make it without a ham bone or if the ham bone doesn't have much meat.
If your ham bone is skimpy, add about a cup of diced ham—the bone can still make the broth. If you don't have a ham bone, use about 2 cups of diced ham, and instead of water, use low-sodium chicken broth.
🫘The Beans—usage and variations
The beans are usually white beans, like Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini. Navy beans are smaller and more traditional for this soup. They are so common that it is frequently called "Ham and Navy Bean Soup."
I like Navy beans for this soup—a traditionalist to the end. Great Northern beans are bigger and will give a similar taste and texture. Cannellini beans, known as white kidney beans, will have a firmer texture than others.
Mixtures of various beans are sold like 15 bean mix to make 15 Bean Soup and an excellent substitute. Or use the beans you like.
Precooked vs. Dry beans
Either dry or precooked beans will work fine in this recipe. Precooked beans will decrease the cooking time by a few hours compared to dry beans.
If you use precooked beans, you will need about 48 ounces (3 cans). Drain the beans and rinse them well to decrease any added salt. Of course, use low-sodium products.
One pound of dry beans equals approximately three cans or one 48-oz jar of pre-cooked beans. Always check the beans for rocks or foreign bodies. They need to be pre-soaked before use.
🥣Why and how to soak dried beans
You should not just add dry beans and cook, although you will find recipes that don't soak. But it is not the wisest answer in my experience.
Beans have a non-absorbed carbohydrate. Since it is not absorbed or digested, it sits in the GI tract, where the normal bacteria break it down, producing gas and sometimes enough acid to cause diarrhea.
In the "good old days," dry beans were soaked overnight before cooking. This method mostly worked. We now use a more proven and effective method, the "quick-soak," but the overnight soak will still work.
Bring the beans to a boil for 3 minutes in a pot with lots of water, remove them from heat, cover them, and allow them to rest for an hour. Rinse them before using.
📖 Other Crock Pot Ham Bone Soup recipes
If you have a ham bone, check out ham bone soup recipes, such as Ham Bone Vegetable Soup and Puerto Rican Chuletón Soup AKA Xmas Ham Bone Soup.
For other leftover ham recipes, try my Scalloped Potatoes and Ham, or check out What to Do With Leftover Ham.
Old Fashioned Scalloped Potatoes and Ham
Scalloped Potatoes and Ham is a classic old-fashioned comfort food with creamy sauce, melted cheese, and slices of tender ham and potatoes—perfect for leftover ham.
🍽️How to serve
I love Cornbread Biscuits or Old Fashioned Cornbread with this soup. Or a crusty bread is also nice.
❄️How to store leftovers
Good refrigerated for 3-4 days. Good in the freezer for 3-4 months.
❓FAQs
The best way is to add a finely diced potato halfway through cooking. You can also add ¼ to ½ cup of potato flakes near the end of cooking.
The second method is to remove about a cup of beans, run them through a blender, and mix them back into the soup.
You can also create a roux with flour and butter and add the last hour of cooking.
I do not suggest corn starch since it may gel with cooling and change the texture later.
None other than the onion in the traditional soup. I suggest carrot and celery since they made it more interesting taste-wise.
A diced potato added halfway through cooking will help thicken the mixture. You can also add half or a full cup of mashed potatoes near the end to thicken the mixture.
All ham soups have a lot of animal fats. By refrigerating, the fat will come to the top and be solid. It can be removed, and your soup will be healthier.
📖 Recipe
Crock Pot Ham and Bean Soup
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Ingredients
- 1 pound dry Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini beans - or 48 oz. of precooked beans
- 1 ham bone - meaty
- 2 carrots - medium - diced - optional
- 2 ribs celery - - diced - optional
- 1 onion - medium - diced
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 bay leaf - optional
- 6 cups water
Instructions
- You may use one pound of dry beans or 48 oz. of pre-cooked beans—drained and rinsed.
- If using dry beans, rinse 1 pound of Navy or Great Northern dry beans. Pick through the beans for stones or pebbles. Boil in a large amount of water for 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cover. Let it sit for 1 hour, and then rinse before using.
- Under running water, rinse a meaty ham bone to remove any coating. Scrape off any surface fat. Add to a larger crock pot.
- Dice two medium carrots, two celery ribs, and one medium onion. Carrots and celery are options, but they are recommended.
- Add the beans, carrots, celery, and onion to the crock pot. Add ½ teaspoon garlic powder, ½ teaspoon pepper, and one bay leaf. Add enough water to cover the ingredients (6 to 8 cups).
- Cook on low for 8 hours for precooked beans and 10 hours for dry beans. Two hours before the end of cooking, remove the ham bone to a cutting board. Allow the bone to cool for 5-10 minutes. Then, remove all meat from the bone. Discard the bone, any fat, and any waste.
- Place meat back into the cooker and finish cooking. This is a good point to taste test for adding salt if needed.
- If you have time, refrigerate overnight and scrape the fat off the top the next day before reheating.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use a large crock pot of 6 quarts or above.
- Ham bones (and hams) vary a lot. So, this is like many recipes; these are guidelines and not rules.
- If yours is heavily honey-coated or spiced, you need to rinse off as much of it as possible and scrape off surface fat.
- Most hams have LOTS of salt. Don't add any until you're sure you need it, and use low-sodium products if possible.
- You can use pre-cooked Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini beans. You will need 48 oz. of beans, which you should drain and rinse. Low-sodium beans are also possible.
- Dried beans are soaked to decrease gas production. The instructions and post discuss a "quick-soak" method.
- It is a good idea to cool this soup in the refrigerator and remove any fat from the top when it is cold.
- If you don't have a ham bone, you can still make this soup with about two cups of diced ham and use low-sodium chicken broth for the water.
- The total cooking time for the dry bean version is 10 hours, and 8 hours using pre-cooked beans.
- Stores well refrigerated for 3-4 days. It will freeze well for 3-4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You may adjust the number of servings in this recipe card under servings. This does the math for the ingredients for you. BUT it does NOT adjust the text of the instructions. So you need to do that yourself.
Nutrition Estimate
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Editor's Note: Originally Published December 13, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Laura says
This was an excellent base recipe. I made a few seasoning modifications to suit our tastes and used a few more carrots, celery and onion. Delicious. Thank you. I didn't know where to start and this was perfect.
DrDan says
Hi Laura,
Recipes are always just "guidelines" anyway. Great modifications.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Shelia says
this is close to the recipe I always use, but I add a can of tomatoes (and sometimes potato to thicken it some). I'm making this this weekend using my New Years Day hambone. Yum.
DrDan says
Hi Shelia,
Thanks for the note. I have done this with the can of tomatoes and it adds a nice touch.
I think I need to keep some instant potatoes around for crockpot thickening emergencies.
Dan
Sarah says
My crock pot isn't large enough, how would I adapt it to the stovetop?
DrDan says
I haven't done a stovetop version for about 20 years so I'm not much help. I would say a stovetop version will probably cook much faster since low simmer on a stovetop is high plus a little in a crock pot. I would look at some other recipes.
Good luck,
Dan
Brittany says
Wanted to give this 5/5 rating, could not find the place to eye it! Excellent recipe!
DrDan says
Thanks Brittany,
The rating is by clicking a star in the recipe card area.
Dan
Susan Downey says
Hi!
I found your recipe yesterday when I looked up recipes for ham and navy beans soups. I used a smoked pork hock and added 1 TBSP hand crushed Newfoundland Savory to the recipe.
It turned out Awesome! Not too salty and it had a great balance of flavours. I did not need to add any extra water as I have a crock pot with a lock down lid.
My husband enjoyed every bite!
DrDan says
Hi Susan,
This is one of those recipes that just works and adapts to individual taste changes.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Jennifer says
On the soak or not-to-soak issue.
Soaking reduces the phytic acid content of the beans. Phytic acid is not denatured by cooking, only by water soak. I always soak oats and beans for this reason. You can look up the problems caused by too much phytic acid - but here is my personal story. We had oats (unsoaked) for breakfast almost every morning to save money one year. My otherwise healthy children (no sodas, no sugar in the house, very health conscious family) had 5 cavities and a ton of precavities by the end of the year. I figured out it was the oatmeal. Or rather, the phytic acid in the oatmeal. We stopped eating it so often, and when we do, I soak it overnight or use it in refrigerator oats with yogurt. My children have had zero cavities in the 4 years since that.
DrDan says
The doctor in me says that you had calcium issues due to a large amount of chronic phytic acid intake. The occasional intake would not be much of an issue, but the ongoing phosphorous intake could well be the cause of a lot of calcium issues. You did excellent in figuring that one out. I have read more recipes recently suggesting not to soak but still I would. The old ways are the best ways some times.
Thanks for the note and reminding me of biochemistry from 40 yrs ago.
DrDan
Erica says
Can't figure out why you would rinse off any honey coating or spices. The sweetness makes ham and bean soup good.
DrDan says
To me, there is way too much sugar on many hams and anything you can do to get the salt decreased here is a good thing.
Dan
Goose says
Here's my take: We like BIG beans in our soups, so I used a pound of dried Limas in your recipe. However, by the time that all the ham cooks off the bones (and I used TWO), much of those original dry beans cook down into gravy, so I add a can or two of prepared Great Northerns at the end. I also left out the carrots this time.
Also, by the time the soup has finished, I have added nearly double the cups of liquid, as it cooks down and concentrates. I started with 4 cups water and 1 cup chicken broth, and probably ended up with 4 cups of each, for a nicely savory and concentrated soup.
I pack the extra finished soup into freezer cartons, as there are just the two of us (as the blog is so titled!), so we can enjoy it later. What soup I keep fresh, and what I thaw out later, will be cut with more chicken broth (or perhaps vegetable broth … to avoid losing that great ham flavor!) and perhaps another can of prepared beans, as needed, since the finished soup is well-concentrated.
I agree with you that salt must be added exceedingly sparingly, only as required … and I did end up adding it again and again … as it was bland at first, as you mentioned … right up until the end. The salt was added only ¼ tsp at a time. I used both large crystal kosher-type salt, and also Lawry’s Seasoned Salt. This really did the trick, without wildly missing the mark, and going overly salty.
I also added Liquid Smoke, ⅛ tsp at a time, until the combination of the added salt and Liquid Smoke began to make the near-finished soup savory. I perhaps ended up using ½ tsp total. But, work up to it! The dry beans being cooked down into gravy also adds to the soup’s savory-ness.
Based on my result, I give your recipe a solid 5 out of 5! But, one’s got to have the patience to cook down those ham bones and those dry beans, sparingly adding flavor along the way! Mine easily cooked for 10 hours, and probably more than 12, until the ham was cooked completely off the bone.
DrDan says
Hi Goose
Thanks for the comments. As you well know, recipes are just "guidelines" and should be modified according to taste and things like ham bones. Your hard work has paid off with a ton of great soup.
And thanks for the rating.
Dan
Hope says
Does cooking it on high make a difference? I didn't have 10 hours to wait only 8. It's on hour 5 right now
DrDan says
I suspect high is ok for a shorter time of course. Make sure the beans are done.
DrDan
Hope says
My soup is turning out very watery. Any advice?
DrDan says
Hi Hope,
You're right this can be a bit watery so here are some options. 1) less water.... A lot of recipes use 10 cups and I only do 6. Plus you need to cover the ham mostly. 2) More beans... A fairly good solution and use a potato masher a little near the end of cooking...Just a little. 3) add potatoes diced at the beginning as one other commenter suggests. The starch will help thick some. 4) Along the same line as #3 add some mashed potato flacks near the end. 5) something like tapioca can be used.
Notice I did not include flour. I have never had any luck thicken in a crock pot with flour even when cooked on high. Flour needs a higher temp to thicken and I believe none of my three crock pots run that hot. I will say that arrowroot and cornstarch are not my favorite choices above because on reheating they do not do very well.
So numbers 2,3 or 4
DrDan
Shelia says
try instant potato flakes.
Keith C says
Just made recipie as is but also added some fresh oregano I had lying around. Fantastic! Finally a great outlet for all that left over ham!
Leslie says
Followed your recipe, only I used pinto beans (that's all I had at home), tasted great and not bland. Thankyou
Leslie says
I plan on making your lunch lady rolls in my new kitchen aid mixer and this soup, however the only dried bean I have is pinto, can I use them is this recipe? Thank you
DrDan says
I believe pinto will be similar to the navy beans but I'm not positive.
Dan
Pauk says
I already knew how to make this soup but I did not have a hambone planning of him though so I came here looking for ideas on how to thicken it up one of the other people left the comment that they took some of the ham and beans and put in a blender to help thicken it that is a good idea
Marion says
Bean soup is one of my favorites! To use smoked turkey necks in a crock pot,if I mix all the ingredients at the start, will the turkey necks get done when the rest of the soup does ?
DrDan says
Since I have never seen or hear of a "smoked turkey neck" I will guess. Almost anything will be cooked by 8-10 hours in a crock pot. I assume they are smoked to preserve them so they are not raw meat but even raw turkey should be cooked in the 8-10 hours.
How is that for an uninformed answer?
If you do it, come back and report.
DrDan
RossC says
Just made slow cooker navy beans w/ham hock last week, pretty much the same as your recipe..
Navy beans and ham hock was a staple growing up in our family.. My grandmother made a big batch on the stove top once a week.. I too make it in the slow cooker now-a-days and its pretty close to hers..
When I was a kid (back in the 40's) my grandfather taught me to mash the beans and ham together and add a splash of ketchup and mix it all together... Still do it to this day and my wife still rolls her eyes when I do so...
DrDan says
You know if my wife saw me do that she would slap me up not just roll the eyes. I loved ham soup as a child. I think I even asked for it for my birthday once. In this recipe I even did the dried beans but I don't find any rocks in them like old times.
Again thanks for the note and rating
Dan