Leftover Ham and Bean Soup Recipe – Crock Pot & Stove Top Instructions

If you have leftover ham or ham bone from your holiday meal put it to good use and make this delicious ham and bean soup recipe. It is a classic winter time comfort food meal that is delicious, heart warming, and is a dish that will keep you feeling full for hours.

It is a simple and easy recipe that requires very little effort to make. In fact if you make it in your slow cooker you can have the soup cooking in under 15 minutes!

And after spending a lot of time over the holidays preparing a large meal to share with the family, I am sure you are ready for a little break away from the kitchen. However, if you prefer, you can also make the soup in a large pot on the stove.

Option: Freeze The Ham Bone

Although if the thought of soup doesn’t sound good right now, or if you simply have too many leftovers to eat over the next few days, you can freeze the ham bone.

Simply wrap the entire bone in aluminum foil. Then place it in an air-tight, resealable freezer bag or Food saver bag.

Then whenever you crave a thick and hearty soup, you will have it on hand and ready to use. Best of all, there is no thawing required.

Instead, you add the frozen bone directly in the the crock pot with the other ingredients and let the soup cook as instructed.

What Type Of Beans To Use For Leftover Ham And Bean Soup

Although there are many variations of this recipe, most often, some sort of white bean is used when making this soup. I prefer to use dried Great Northern Beans in my recipe.

However, sometimes I will substitute Navy or Cannellini beans instead. It really just depends on what I have in my pantry at the time. Although, all three varieties hold up well during the slow cooking process.

White beans are the preferred bean of choice because once cooked they have creamy texture with a mild, delicate flavor. This mild flavor pairs perfectly with the other ingredients in this recipe which makes them the preferred bean variety for this soup.

However, you can use just about any bean or bean mixture for this recipe. The texture may be sightly different and you may have to adjust the cook time, but the taste will still be delicious.

Whichever bean or bean mixture that you choose, be sure to rinse and sort through the dried beans. Look for any broken or discolored beans and discard them.

Then rinse them several times before adding them to your slow cooker or soup pot.

NOTE: For this recipe, the beans do not have to be soaked before adding them into the pot. However, if you are cooking the soup on the stove, soaked beans will take half of the time to cook.

What Vegetables To Add

Traditionally, ham and bean soup calls for a trio of classic soup vegetables: carrots, onions, and celery. However, many people will also add in additional vegetables, including peeled and diced potatoes.

Feel free to add in whatever leftover vegetables you have in your refrigerator. However, for best results, cut your vegetables in uniform sections for even cooking.

I like to use 1⁄2 inch as a guideline when preparing the vegetables. This way the vegetables are perfectly cut into bite size pieces and will cook evenly.

Whatever beans and vegetables you choose, I am sure this soup will become one of your favorite ways to use your leftover ham bone!

Crock Pot Leftover Ham and Bean Soup Recipe

*Stove Top Cooking Instructions are included at the bottom of this recipe.

*Complete recipe instructions including specific measurements, cook temperatures and times are located in a printable recipe card at the bottom of this article. However, be sure to keep reading for helpful tips and tricks when making this recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 pound dried Great Northern or Navy beans
• 2 large carrots
• 1 small yellow onion
• 3 celery stalks
• 6 cups chicken broth, unsalted
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 ham hock/leftover ham bone

INSTRUCTIONS:

As stated above, the first step in this recipe is to rinse the beans and remove and discard any debris or damaged beans. Continue to rinse the beans until the water that runs underneath the colander comes out clear.

Then drain the dried beans and add them into the slow cooker. Set the beans aside as you prepare the vegetables.

Start by cutting the carrots, onion, and celery stalks into ½ inch sections. Then add the cut vegetables to the crock pot with the rinsed and drained beans.

Now pour the broth into the pot and then add the thyme, salt, pepper, garlic, and bay leaf. Stir the mixture until the ingredients are evenly distributed.

Now dice any leftover ham and/or place the ham bone inside the crock pot with the beans and vegetables. Cover and cook on HIGH for approximately 6 hours or until the beans are tender.

Once the beans are soft and tender, carefully remove the ham bone and place it on a cutting board. When cool enough to handle remove any meat from the bone and dice the ham into small, bite size pieces.

Discard the bone and place the ham back into the crock pot. Stir and serve immediately. If you aren’t ready to serve the soup, place the slow cooker on the Keep Warm setting so that the beans and vegetables don’t get too mushy.

Stove Top Instructions

1. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil or butter in a 4-quart or larger pot over medium-high heat. Then add the carrots, onions, and celery and saute until tender.

2. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, approximately 1 minute. Add the ham hock, beans, broth, thyme, salt, pepper, and bay leaf.

3. Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 4 hours covered with a loose-fitting lid. *If using soaked beans, they will need 2 hours of simmering. Be sure to add more broth or water as needed to keep the liquid right above the beans.

4. When the beans are tender, carefully take the ham bone out of the pot and pull any pieces of ham off the bone. Dice the ham pieces and add them back into the pot.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. How Do I Get The Soup Thicker? – If you want a thicker soup, remove the lid during the last hour of the cooking process. At that time, remove 1 cup of the beans and smash them and return them to the pot.
2. Can I Use A Slow Cooker Bag Liner? – If you prefer, you can use a slow cooker bag liner for easier clean up later.
3. How Do I Store Crock Pot Ham & Bean Soup? – Store the soup in a covered container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just like with most soups, this one only gets better with time!
4. Can I Make This In The Instant Pot? – If you are looking to get the soup on the table even faster, you can use this pressure cooker recipe: Instant Pot Ham & Bean Soup.

Enjoy!

Mary and Jim

Jim and Mary Competti have been writing gardening, DIY and recipe articles and books for over 15 years from their 46 acre Ohio farm. The two are frequent speakers on all things gardening and love to travel in their spare time.

As always, feel free to email us at thefarm@owgarden.com with comments, questions, or to simply say hello! You can sign up for our free email list in the subscribe now box in the middle of this article. Follow us on Facebook here : OWG Facebook. This article may contain affiliate links.