Use that leftover holiday ham bone to make this hearty, old-fashioned Crock Pot ham and bean soup. This classic slow cooker recipe cooks all day with dry or canned white beans, a meaty ham bone (or some diced ham), and veggies. Perfect slow cooker comfort food after the holidays.
Jump To (scroll for more)
Featured Comment by Andie:
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
"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!"
📝 TL;DR — Recipe Summary
What: An old-fashioned crock pot ham and bean soup made with a ham bone, white beans, and simple vegetables.
Why: The ham bone builds a rich broth for an easy, hearty comfort-food soup.
How: Use canned beans for the easiest preparation, or soak dry beans first, then cook everything on low until tender.
🐷 Ingredients for Crock Pot Ham and Bean Soup
- 🐖 Ham Bone – Use a ham bone with some meat remaining. Or use diced ham if you don't have a bone.
- 🫘 White Beans – Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini. Use soaked dry beans or drained and rinsed canned beans.
- 🥕 Vegetables – Onion, carrot, and celery. Carrots and celery are optional but recommended.
- 🧂 Seasoning – Garlic powder, black pepper, and an optional bay leaf. Hold the salt until the end.
- 💧 Liquid – Water to cover, or low-sodium broth if you're not using a ham bone.
👨🍳 How to Make Ham and Bean Soup in a Crock Pot
1. Rinse a meaty ham bone under running water and scrape off any surface fat or coating.
2. Dice the carrots, celery, and onion. If using dry beans, soak them properly before cooking—see the bean section below.
3. Add the beans, ham bone, and remaining ingredients to the crock pot. Cover with water (about 6–8 cups) and cook on low for 8 hours with canned beans or 10 hours with soaked dry beans.
✅ Pro Tip: A slow cooker works best when no more than about ¾ full. Remove a little liquid if needed.
4. During the last 1–2 hours, remove the ham bone. Remove the meat from the bone and return it to the soup.
5. Finish cooking, then adjust the seasoning and thickness if needed. Serve hot, or refrigerate overnight to skim off the fat before reheating.
👇 Scroll to the recipe card for complete step-by-step photo instructions, or keep reading for pro tips, FAQs, and serving ideas.
😊 Tips for Crock Pot Success
- Don’t overdo the liquid: Add just enough water to cover everything—usually about 6 cups and no more than 8. If the ham bone sticks out too far, trim it down.
- Broth: Use low-sodium chicken broth instead of some or all of the water for more flavor, with or without a ham bone.
- Hold the salt: The ham and broth may already provide plenty of salt, so wait until the end to add any.
- Vegetables are flexible: Add potatoes, green beans, or other vegetables you like. Add delicate vegetables later so they don't overcook.
- Bad ham = bad soup: If your ham lacked flavor to begin with, it won’t magically improve in the crock pot. The texture won’t get better either. If the soup tastes flat, try a little ham bouillon or ham soup base to boost the flavor.
- Make it today, eat it tomorrow: The soup is great day one, but chilling overnight lets you skim the fat and brings the flavors together even better.
🐖 Ham Bone Options
A ham bone with some meat left on it gives the soup the best ham flavor.
Remove extra fat and any glaze: Trim off any thick fat. If your leftover ham came from a sweet glazed spiral ham, rinse well and scrape off the glaze—it can make the soup too sweet.
Not much meat on the bone? Add 1–2 cups of diced ham.
No ham bone? Use 2–4 cups of diced ham. Since you won't get as much flavor from the bone, use low-sodium chicken broth instead of water. A little ham bouillon or ham soup base can also boost the flavor, but add carefully because they can be salty.
Save this recipe!
Enter your email address and we'll send the link straight to your inbox!
🫘 Beans—Types, Prep, and Tips
White beans: Navy beans are traditional, but Great Northern or Cannellini beans also work well.
15-bean soup mix: You can substitute a 15-bean mix, but discard the seasoning packet and soak the beans according to the package directions.
Dry or canned: Dry beans need to be soaked before cooking. Drain and rinse canned beans before adding them directly to the crock pot.
Quick soak: Cover the beans with water, boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, cover, and let stand for 1 hour. Drain and rinse before using. Quicker and more effective than an overnight soak.
Classic overnight soak: Cover dry beans with plenty of water and soak for 8–12 hours. Drain and rinse before adding them to the crock pot.
🍽️ How to Serve
This hearty soup is great with something to mop up the bowl:
❄️ Leftovers and Storage
Refrigerate in an airtight container for 3–4 days, or freeze for 3–4 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator before reheating.
To reduce the fat: Chill the soup overnight, then skim off the solidified fat before reheating.
📖 More Ham Bone Recipes
- Ham and Vegetable Soup — A lighter ham bone soup packed with vegetables.
- Puerto Rican Chuletón Soup AKA Xmas Ham Bone Soup — Our Christmas tradition and a delicious change from traditional ham soups.
❓ FAQs
Mash or blend about a cup of the cooked beans and stir them back into the soup, or stir in ¼ to ½ cup of potato flakes near the end. I don't recommend cornstarch because it can gel when cooled and change the texture.
Soaking improves texture and helps remove some of the indigestible carbohydrates that can cause gas or GI upset. You can use a traditional overnight soak, but the quick soak is faster and more effective.
📖The Recipe Card
Crock Pot Ham and Bean Soup (With Ham Bone)
Video Slideshow
Ingredients
- 1 ham bone - meaty
- 48 ounces Canned Navy, Great Northern, or Cannellini beans—drained and rinsed - (may use 1 pound dry beans, properly prepared)
- 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 to 8 cups water or low-sodium chicken broth - enough to cover ingredients
Step-by-Step Instructions
Prepare the beans, ham bone, and veggies
- If using canned beans, drain and rinse 48 oz. (about 3 cans).
- If using dry beans, rinse 1 pound of beans. Cover with plenty of water, boil for 2 minutes, remove from the heat, cover, and let sit for 1 hour. Drain and rinse.
- Rinse a meaty ham bone under running water to remove any coating or glaze. Scrape off excess surface fat.
- Dice two medium carrots, two celery ribs, and one medium onion. Carrots and celery are options, but recommended.
Load the crock pot and cook
- Add the beans, ham bone, diced vegetables, garlic powder, pepper, and bay leaf to a large crock pot. Add just enough water or broth to cover the ingredients—usually about 6 to 8 cups. Cook on low for 8 hours (canned beans) or 10 hours (dry beans).
Strip the ham bone
- About 2 hours before the end of cooking, remove the ham bone to a cutting board and let it cool 5–10 minutes. Remove the meat, discard the bone, fat, and other waste
Finish and serve
- Return the meat to the crock pot and finish cooking. Taste and add salt only if needed.
- Serve hot, or refrigerate overnight and skim the fat off the top before reheating.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- Use a 6-quart or larger crock pot.
- Ham bones and hams vary, so amounts are guidelines.
- For glazed ham, rinse well and scrape off the glaze.
- Ham is salty. Use low-sodium broth and canned beans, and add salt only at the end if needed.
- For easier fat removal, refrigerate overnight and skim off the solidified fat.
- No ham bone? Use 2–4 cups diced ham and low-sodium broth; add ham bouillon or soup base if needed.
- Refrigerate for 3–4 days or freeze for 3–4 months.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Editor's Note: Originally Published December 13, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and improved organization for easier navigation.
Cherie says
What size crock pot would you recommend? I have a 5 quarter crock and I don't think I could have fit all of this in it.
DrDan says
At least 6 qt due to the ham size.
Dan
Maxine G says
I followed your recipe but added a can of stewed tomatoes The seasoning in the tomatoes gives the soup a nice flavor. I also put a few cups of the cooked soup in the blender and added it back into the crockpot to thicken it up a bit and give it a nice consistency. Great recipe and so easy to use the crock pot!
Monica says
Wonderful recipe! Thanks!
Ida says
My husbands beloved Aunt always made great ham and bean soup. This is my second try and it looks delicious. My question is can I add potatoes to this or will it ruin it? I am making it tomorrow. Thank you!
DrDan says
The potato should be fine. Put it in with the carrots. I think two medium diced would be about right but just guessing there.
DrDan
Barry says
The recipe is great with onion, celery, and carrots. One more thing my mother always put in
was diced potatoes.
Theresa says
Do you set the crock pot on low price high?
Theresa says
Sorry, I meant low OR high.
DrDan says
Low and I just edited to make it more apparent. Thanks for the note.
Dan
Joan Holschuh says
Ina, I have never made ham an bean soup before. I have this great ham bone an decided to look at you site for a recipe. My husband's mom always made soup with the ham bone an he thought it was a great idea. I will try it in the next day or two. Thanks Joan
Carole Milligan says
My husband asked me to make ham bone and bean soup today. I found this post for your recipe, and it looks like an ideal recipe for the crockpot. I'll add spices at the end, as you and others suggest. Thanks!
Carole Milligan says
I made this yesterday, and it turned out very well. At the end, I added garlic powder and fresh ground pepper, as well as more ham. Delicious! Thank you for this easy recipe.
Gigi Schultz says
Dr. Dan
I've made a similar soup like this ages ago and couldn't remember the ingredients. Thank you for reminding me! This soup is simple and wonderful. For a little more flavor I add about a cup of V8-juice or tomato juice and a shake or two of Tabasco sauce at about the 8th hour of cooking. Now on to my fabulous ham bone I have thawing on the counter next to my soaking beans and ready to get cooking!
Dawn says
Made this today! I've never made a bean soup like this before. It only took me 8 total hours to cook. It really needs to be seasoned at the end. I added garlic, salt, pepper, and Cayenne Pepper. Very good!
DrDan says
Hi Dawn,
Yep this is a bland soup and seasoning to taste at the end is a good idea. The salt especially should wait to the end since many ham's have lots of salt already.
Thanks for the note.
DrDan
Dustin says
Dr. Dan,
Just finished prepping this recipe. It is now cooking on low in the crockpot. In substitution of the six cups of water, I used the four cups of remaining juices that cooked off the spiral ham I cooked two days ago for Thanksgiving. Then I added another four cups of water. Looking forward to trying this rendition of a childhood favorite with the added carrots, celery, and onion. Will let you know how it turns out.
DrDan says
Given those choice... none would be my choice. Don't add any sugar of any type. And ham usually has too much salt to begin with. None of the other spices or veggies do much for me.
Hopefully you have some pepper. It will be nice without the veggies and other spices. If you like spicy then a pinch of the crushed red pepper since it is a bit bland anyways.
DrDan
Naya says
I need some help with spics to put in my great northern beans. The only veggies I have are cucumbers and green bell peppers. I have two of each. The spices I have are Cajun seasoning, kosher salt, table salt, sugar, paprika, oregano leaf, crushed red pepper, smoked paprika, ground cumin, tarragon leaves, thyme leaves, and chili powder. I usually use brown sugar but was not able to get it this time around. Please help as soon as you are able. Thank you so much. I appreciate it.
Lorrie says
Great recipe, I add smoked ham hocks and the ham bone. My mom always used the smoked ham hocks.
Elane says
Hi Dr. Dan,
Just found your site while I was looking for a healthier carrot cake. So I have been scrolling through your recipes and admiring your wonderful dogs. I saw this recipe and I thought I would let you know that I like using smoked turkey parts to make the soup when a ham bone is unavailable. It works out great! Oh yeah, can't wait to try your carrot cake!!! I like your site, thank you and love your dogs.
plantcrone says
Great take on the typical "Senate Bean Soup" that my mom and grand mother made. I liked the emphasis on low sodium and, like the author, have decided to use dried beans rather than more expensive (and highly processed) canned beans.
I used several healthy twists of ground black pepper, a tsp of chili pepper flakes and a shake of hot chili powder to spice it up a bit..I thought it was a tad too bland for my spice loving family.
I'd always used chicken or vegetable broth in my ham bone soup before but this time I let the ham bone and ham do the flavoring of the 6 C of water and didn't notice the difference.
Appreciate your easy crock pot version of this American Staple.
DrDan says
Thanks for the note. It is a bit bland like most ham/bean soups so your additions are a good idea if you want a little more spice. To me, that bland ham and bean taste is childhood...
In one of my previous ham bone soups, a commenter suggested that the broth was not needed. I now agree.
Again thanks for the comment and rating.
DrDan