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.
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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!"
📝 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.
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🫘 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.
Andie says
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!
Maria says
Hi. I plan on making this next week. I just want to know, how big is a serving?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Maria,
Welcome to the blog.
I have a honey-baked ham coming for Christmas, so I have plans for this for New Year's.
The volume and nutrition are a bit variable; You don't know how much meat, sodium, or fat cooks off the hambone. Having said that, I have done this recipe many times, and the serving size is usually 1 1/2 cup or a little more. So it is not a huge amount of soup like some other recipes.
I hope that helps. Enjoy some soup.
Dan
Christina says
My mom made this a lot when I was a kid. So excited to have come across this recipe as it’s exactly as I remember it. Lately, she started adding all kinds of uncommon leftovers like stuffing (I didn’t get to try it).
Alas, I am making this soup as I type and wondering if adding leftover turkey gravy at the end will thicken up the broth and still taste good!! I’ll keep you posted!!
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Christina,
Welcome to the blog.
I hope the soup works for you. A suspect that adding the gravy will thicken some. The thickening works by the starch (usually flour) absorbing liquid. I think the ham taste will dominate the taste so it will probably taste fine.
Dan
Christina says
Thank you Dan! The soup turned out wonderfully and I ended up in a hurry and forgot to add the gravy after all! Since so much was eaten, I decided to add to what was leftover. So the next day I added more ham (this time, country style), chicken broth, and orzo (cooked in the pot after the broth came to a boil). Also added some dried thyme and parsley which really enchanted the already wonderful flavor!!! Thanks for sharing your recipe!
Karen says
I keep my recipe for this soup pretty simple. I prefer to use navy beans, don’t use chicken stock, carrots or celery. I use water, white onion and lots of ground black pepper with a meaty ham bone studded with whole cloves. This was my mother’s way of making it and I find it very tasty.
Trudy K Spicer says
I like Navy beans and I use half chicken broth and water in my bean soup. It really gives the soup a great flavor
Sam says
Try a bowl with a squirt of ketchup. Got that idea as kid from a neighbor who was a cook on a battleship in WWII.
DrDan says
Hi Sam,
Welcome to the blog. Sorry for the delayed response, a bit of minor surgery.
I love old ideas like this. And it sounds tasty.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Carol says
In the crock pot now and thinking about adding spinach at the end of cooking time. Thoughts?
DrDan says
Hi Carol,
Welcome to the blog.
I see the spinach as a more "delicate" taste. I think the ham might just over power it. But it won't hurt to try.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Carol says
Thanks for the quick response. I tried a small handful in a sample bowl and just let the heat of the soup wilt it. Didn’t like the texture it added. I’ll leave well enough alone! Thanks for the great recipe.
Heather C says
Super excited to have found this recipe! We make a ham along with turkey for Friendsgiving and I found your recipe yesterday - I appreciated the simplicity of it. I soaked the beans and let it sit all day in the crockpot. I used the immersion blender to make it a bit creamier - seriously the best soup ever. We are hot sauce people so we added a few dashes at the end and poured the soup over cornbread. Thank you for the awesome recipe!!
DrDan says
Hi Heather,
Welcome to the blog.
Glad it worked so well for you.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Bill Conklin says
You can use instant mashed potatoes as a thickener. I also use my immersion blender.
Amy says
Just made this and it was amazing. I did add about 1/2 cup of left over mashed potatoes the last 30 minutes and it thickened up perfectly. Definitely making again.
Lynne says
What do you prefer to use : Northern beans or Navy beans- and why ? Love to hear everyone's responses as I am a new chef!
DrDan says
Hi Lynne,
Welcome to the blog.
Old habits die hard and if using dry, I tend to grab Navy beans. If precooked, I tend to buy Great Northern.
The obvious difference is the size. Navy is a bit smaller and the Great Northern is slightly bigger and slightly firmer.
I think I prefer the Great Northern a bit due to size. But when cooking dry, the smaller Navy bean will cook a little faster and I'm sure it is done.
So no big preference for me.
Dan
Jonette says
Used a honey baked ham bone, but the beans turned out too sweet. Any idea how to fix this?
DrDan says
Hi Jonette,
Welcome to the blog.
Most of mine are honey baked for the "Honey Baked Ham Store". A lot of running water to rinse off the sugar and if there is crust on it, take a knife to it. Some brands get the sugar down into the cuts on the meat and it will be hard to get them clean.
You are right, you need to get as much of the sugar gone as possible.
Dan
Ash the Homelyhappychef says
Hi Dr.Dan I have a ham bone from my family easter, I had removed almost all the meat, as much as possible anyway lol. It is mainly bone with a little bit of meat and not much fat on it from what I can tell. This is my first time making this soup, I remember it fondly from my early childhood. Would it still work with just the bone and some meat added?
DrDan says
Hi Ash,
You do need some "meat on the bone" so if you stripped it, you don't have much to work with. You could try it by adding some ham from elsewhere like a slice of ham from the meat department. I'm not sure how well that would work. Or just wait until next time.
Melissa says
I made this ham and bean soup for New Years Day. I made it with smoked ham hocks-it was absolutely fabulous. Super thick and tasty, effect for a winter day. I’m making it again tomorrow for my Community “Soup” Pot Luck. I’m sure it will be a major hit!! Thank you so much for such a GREAT recipe!! I’m now going to look at all of your other recipes as I believe they will be just as good.
DrDan says
Hi Melissa,
It is one of my favorite soups.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Michele Anderer says
Do you put any broth in this?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Michele,
Welcome to the blog.
I doubt that Melissa will see this, so I will jump in.
No broth is needed as long as you have a ham bone and it is used as directed. That will produce its own broth. I do discuss an option in the post in the Ham Bone section making this without the bone and suggest broth if you do that.
Dan
Deborah Watson says
I made this soup tonight with a good, meaty hambone that had been frozen from our Christmas ham. Ample bone and about 1 lb of meat. Instead of using 2 crockpots, I cooked the soup on high instead of low and added the hambone after about 1.5 hours of cooking. Total cooking time was 5.5 hours. I also did not soak the beans but picked through them, rinsed them andded them straight away. The meat gave the broth a great flavor and it needed only a small amount of salt at the end. My last alteration was removing 1/3 of the beans and 2 cups of broth to a medium sized, deep container and using an immersion blender to puree it smooth to add thickness and body to the finished product without using cream/ milk and flour or cornstarch. This is a definite make again! Excellent comfort food! It was served with fresh, hot cornbread.
DrDan says
Hi Deborah,
Thanks for sharing your experience. Your thickening method is probably the preferred. At this point, I don't think corn starch is a good idea due to the trouble with reheating. Other options would be some potato flakes, tapioca or arrow root.
Thanks for the note.
Dan
Lynne says
This soup is incredibly good. I soaked a pound of white peas to use and found 8 hrs on low to be perfect in my 6 qt. pot. It didn't need any more spice and the smokey flavour from my spiral ham gave it the right touch. After it was done I added about a tbsp. of potatoe starch to thicken it up a bit. My husband raved about it and I will definately be making this version again....thank so much
Terry says
Hi Doc, love your site. I'm making ham and bean soup as I type. My recipe is very similar except I use chicken broth instead of water (or 4 cps broth 2 cps water) and don't soak the beans (I don't get the gas). I also add a teaspoon of thyme and rosemary and about 1/8 cup of ketchup and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar. Give it a try. Like you say recipes are guidelines, and I'm always tweaking recipes to my liking. I also am impressed with your recipe calculator so much I made my own excel spreadsheet to mimic it, I bet many don't know it's even there. Thanks for that and having recipes for us that don't have children at home anymore (retired folks).. and hate wasting food, nice. Wonderful job keep it up.
DrDan says
Hi Terry,
Glad you are enjoying the site. It is a great hobby for me. I'm glad you saw the "guidelines" comment. That is something many people just don't understand about recipes. But I try to make them complete enough as written for most people.
You soup modifications sound great but watch the salt.
Thanks for the note.
Dan