My earliest memories of Ham and Bean soup are of my dad making it every time we had leftover ham in the house. Most of the time that was after a holiday, as a way to repurpose the ham leftovers instead of just making another sandwich, and I’ll be honest, I didn’t care for it. Beans were the part of chili that I picked around, why would I want a whole bowl of them?! It’s even in the name, ham and BEAN soup!

But just like most things I didn’t like as a child, I grew into liking Bean Soup. The credit probably goes to my husband, who has always enjoyed foods that took me years to learn to like. So I really tried to impress him with this recipe. I probably get a little annoying, staring at him while he takes each bite. Just to see if he REALLY enjoys it, or is just being nice saying that he does. Let’s just say, with this recipe I didn’t have to annoy him. He genuinely loved it and kept telling me so! 🙂

The best thing about this soup is that you don’t have to soak the beans over night. The soup will be in the slow cooker all day, soaking, and then cooking the beans all in one easy step. Don’t be afraid of using your slow cooker, even though you may be an avid This Is Us fan like I am, Milo Ventimiglia said it was ‘ok’ himself!

The other great thing about this soup is that the flavor will change slightly based on how you cooked the ham you are using. Obviously, you can buy ham and just cut it up to use, but the unique flavor and warmth comes from using leftover ham. It doesn’t matter whether you roasted the ham in the oven with a nice glaze, or smoked it on a Green Mountain Pellet grill, like we did, it adds just a little extra flavor and comfort when using leftover ham. The smoked ham has such a depth of warm flavor, that really took this batch of soup to the next level.

So let’s get to it, the bowl of soup that you need on a cold winter day, Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup!

The Process:

First you need to sift through the dried beans. You are checking for any kind of debris that isn’t a bean; pebbles, husks, leaves, and ugly beans. You don’t have to look at the beans one by one, but just make sure you are paying attention and getting out any possible extras. Then, rinse thoroughly. Place beans in a strainer and run under the faucet, this will just wash away any possible dirt clinging to the beans.

Next is the easy part. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker, stir, and cook on low for 9 hours.

I use all chicken broth, because I want all of the flavor that it provides. However, you can easily substitute half or a quarter of the liquid with water. If you do substitute with some water use 1 tsp of salt, instead of 1/2 tsp.

Remove the Bay leaves, and enjoy! Preferably served with a nice warm piece of buttered cornbread.

Recipe