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.
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