Easy Crockpot Ham and Bean Soup

Easy crockpot ham and bean soup, a hearty meal on cold days. 

Ham and Bean soup is creamy, delicious and is perfect for cold winter days. It is easy to make, especially if you have leftover ham or a holiday ham bone in your freezer. You don’t need to soak the beans and it’s made right in your crockpot. 

Good morning friends, I am up and at it early this morning because we have another storm coming and I want to get to the store to stock up.  We are supposed to get snow Friday, tonight ice and rain, so pretty much a repeat of last weekend. Hopefully we will get more snow than ice and rain. Whatever the case I will be staying put for the next few days with some comforting soup, a pile of books and my pups to keep me company.

Soup is an easy and economical meal to make all winter long and it is even easier when you use a crockpot or slow cooker. All you have to do is prepare the ingredients, add them to the slow cooker, set the timer and a few hours later your have a piping hot bowl of rich and delicious ham and bean soup.

Do I need to soak the beans?

No, you do not need to soak the beans. If you feel more comfortable soaking the beans you certainly can. To do that, you pick through the beans to get rid or rocks and debris then rinse with cold water. Place the beans in a bowl and add 5 quarts of water, let soak overnight. Then drain the beans and discard the soaking liquid.

5 Reasons You Will Love This Ham and Bean Soup

• It’s is simple to make.
• The beans do not need to be soaked and you can use your leftover ham, ham bones.
• It is inexpensive and economical.
• The slow-cooker/crockpot does most of the work.
• It’s comfort in a bowl.

Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup

Ingredients

1 pound great northern beans, rinsed and drained

4 carrots peeled and chopped

4 stalks of celery, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small yellow onion diced

1 large ham bone

7-8 cups of low-sodium chicken broth or water

2 bay leaves

2 sprigs of thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Place the dried beans in a colander, rinse with cold water and sort out any debris. Place the beans in your 6 quart slow cooker. Then add the carrots, celery, garlic, and onion. Nestle the ham bone into the center, add the bay leaves and the thyme. Cover the ingredients with the broth or water. Cook on high for 6-7 hours or until beans are tender. Remove the ham bone and pull off the meat, add the meat back to the pot and stir.

If your soup is thin you can use an immersion blender to blend a few of beans and make it thicker.

Note: You can also use 2 ham hocks if you do not have a ham bone, you can also add extra chopped ham if your bone was not very meaty. If you make the soup a day ahead of time it will be very think and you might need to add a little stock or water to thin it out.

Do you like soup? Do you like to make your own soup or do you prefer in from your favorite restaurant? Do you like to use canned bean or dried? Do you have a favorite soup recipe that you would share with us?

Have a great day friends, thank you for stopping by and spending part of your day with me.

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