Description
This hearty Ham and Bean Soup is a comforting slow-cooker recipe featuring tender navy beans and flavorful ham bone. Perfect for chilly days, it combines simple ingredients like onion, celery, garlic, and thyme, slow-cooked until creamy and delicious. Whether using soaked or unsoaked beans, the soup delivers rich flavor and wholesome nourishment with minimal hands-on time.
Ingredients
Scale
Soup Base
- 1 (16-oz bag) Dried Navy Beans (about 2 ½ cups), sorted and rinsed
- 1 Ham Bone, or ham hock, ham steak, or leftover ham
- ½ large Onion, diced (1 cup)
- 1 large Celery Rib, diced (1 cup)
- 5 cloves Garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon Fresh Thyme, or ¼ teaspoon dried
- 1 teaspoon Sea Salt (adjust if using salted broth)
- ½ teaspoon Black Pepper, or to taste
- 6 cups Water or broth
Vegetables
- 1 large Carrot, diced (1 cup)
Instructions
- Optional Bean Soak: Soak the navy beans overnight in 8 cups of water, then drain and discard the soaking liquid. This reduces cooking time but is optional; unsoaked beans will just need longer cooking.
- Combine Ingredients in Slow Cooker: Add the navy beans, ham bone, diced onion, celery, garlic, thyme, salt, and black pepper to a 5-quart slow cooker. Pour in enough water or broth to cover the beans by about 1 inch. Remember, you can add more liquid during cooking if necessary.
- Slow Cook: Set the slow cooker to LOW. Cook for 6 hours if you soaked the beans, or 9 hours if using unsoaked beans. This slow simmer allows flavors to meld and beans to soften fully.
- Add Carrots: During the last hour of cooking, stir in the diced carrots, then continue cooking until both carrots and beans are tender.
- Remove Ham Bone: Once the beans are cooked through, carefully remove the ham bone or any bones and gristle from the soup.
- Optional Thickening: For a creamier soup, mash some of the beans directly in the pot using a potato masher to thicken the broth.
- Add Leftover Ham: Shred or dice any leftover ham and stir it back into the soup. Heat through, then serve.
- Storage: Cool leftovers to room temperature, then refrigerate in airtight containers for up to 5 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Notes
- White Bean Variety: Use navy, cannellini, or great northern beans. Smaller beans like navy cook faster but timing depends on bean age and soaking.
- Water vs. Broth: Use water if cooking with a ham bone as it imparts flavor. Without a ham bone, use chicken broth or turkey stock and adjust salt accordingly.
- No Ham Bone: If only leftover ham is available, use broth instead of water and add ham in the last 30 minutes to keep it tender.
- Final Cook Time: Times vary depending on bean age and soaking. Test beans near the end and adjust cooking if needed.
- Thicker Soup: Mash beans to thicken or pulse with an immersion blender.
- Canned Beans: Use 4 (15-ounce) cans of drained white beans, adding during the last hour of slow cooking or last 30 minutes on stovetop.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 220
- Sugar: 3g
- Sodium: 550mg
- Fat: 4g
- Saturated Fat: 1.5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 30g
- Fiber: 8g
- Protein: 15g
- Cholesterol: 30mg
