Slow Cooker Ham And Bean Soup

I love to use my slow cooker to make soup recipes. Some of our favorites include chicken tortilla soup and chicken tortellini soup. This ham and bean soup takes just minutes to put together, then you can come home later in the day to dinner ready and waiting for you!

Slow Cooker Ham And Bean Soup Ingredients

To make this ham and bean soup recipe, you will need a bag of dried bean soup mix, onion, carrot, celery, garlic, fresh thyme, ham, chicken broth, diced tomatoes, salt, black pepper and fresh parsley. Try this soup with baguette slices, cheesy pull apart bread or homemade dinner rolls!

How Do You Make Ham And Bean Soup?

When you make slow cooker ham and bean soup, first rinse the beans and set aside the bean seasoning packet for later use. Place the beans, vegetables, ham, thyme, bay leaf and chicken broth in a slow cooker. Cook until the beans are tender, then stir in the tomatoes, seasoning packet and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for an additional 20 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Tips For The Perfect Soup

This recipe calls for carrots, onion and celery to be cooked in with the beans. The veggies will get quite soft from the extended cooking time. If you prefer firmer vegetables, you can add them in halfway through the cooking time, or cut your vegetables into larger pieces so that they don’t cook as quickly. Look for a bag of beans that is labeled bean soup mix. It typically contains a variety of beans, as well as a seasoning packet. If your beans don’t come with a seasoning packet, just omit that step of the recipe and it will still work well! Serve your soup with honey cornbread or garlic knots for a complete meal. I add a few sprigs of fresh thyme to this soup, the leaves fall off the branches as the soup cooks and then you can just extract the twigs before serving. If you don’t have fresh thyme, dried will also work nicely. Try adding a ham hock or leftover ham bone or ham shank for even more flavor! Make this recipe to enjoy your leftover holiday ham from Christmas or Easter! Looking for more great ways to use leftover ham? Check out my comprehensive list of leftover ham recipes!

Flavor Variations

While this soup is delicious as-is, you can easily customize the flavors to suit your tastes.

Protein: Swap out the ham for smoked turkey, diced chicken or cooked beef stew meat. Beans: While I like all the different flavors and textures of a bean variety mix, you can also use a single type of dried bean. Some great options include cannellini beans, great northern beans, navy beans, pinto beans, white beans, red beans or even chickpeas. Spicy: For a soup with some kick, try adding a little cayenne pepper or chili powder. Vegetables: Feel free to add other veggies such as sweet potatoes, butternut squash, spinach, mushrooms or green beans.

Ham and bean soup is so hearty and full of great flavors. I love the combination of beans here, all of the different colors and textures make this soup something special. Whether you’re looking to use up leftover ham or simply searching for a family friendly crock pot soup, this recipe is sure to be a hit!