This recipe is sponsored by Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup® though all opinions are mine alone.
Leftover Ham? Look no further than this recipe for Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup with ham! This is a classic recipe with added kale to make it a complete meal! Add some garlic bread, and you are good to go!
This recipe uses some of that leftover ham from the holiday and turns it into a delicious soup along with Hurst’s Ham Beens 15 Bean Soup mix. The colors of this soup are beautiful, Christmas colors from the red tomatoes and the green kale. The soup turns out a bit creamy, with some of the beans breaking down into the broth after the long 6 hour cook time.
Suppose you have leftover turkey instead; head over to my Cajun 15 Bean Soup with Leftover Turkey recipe. Both of these soups transform the leftovers into something different flavor-wise and are both very comforting.
Ingredients
- 15 bean Soup Mix – This mix is found in the same section of the store as the other dried beans, if you are unsure that your store carries them you can look up locations here.
- Vegetables – Onions, carrots, celery and garlic flavor this 15 bean soup. Chopped Kale and diced tomatoes are added at the end of the cooking time.
- Seasonings – Bay leaf, dried thyme, dried basil and the included ham seasoning packet that comes with the beans.
- Lemon Juice – Lemon juice added at the end of the cooking time brightens up the flavor of the beans, try it!
Step-by-Step Directions
Step One – Rinse and sort beans, discarding any debris. Add the beans to the crockpot. Save the ham flavor packet for after the entire cooking time is up.
Step Two – Add ham, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, thyme, and water. Stir. Add the bay leaf on top of the soup.
Step Three- Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
Step Four -After the cooking time, I add lemon juice, Italian diced tomatoes, and a few cups of chopped kale. I love the added kale in this recipe. The kale takes about 20 minutes to soften at the end of the cooking time of this recipe.
Recipe FAQs
Yes! Use a lean ham in this recipe, and you have healthy soup. It is full of vegetables and even healthy kale.
Drain off part of the liquid, then take a cup of beans out and smash, add back into the soup.
Yes! 15 bean soup freezes very well. Add to airtight containers or freezer ziplock bags. Freeze for up to three months.
There is no need to soak the beans before cooking. Though, be sure to cook them on high to ensure they cook up nicely.
15 ham and bean soup is excellent with biscuits, garlic bread, or cornbread. It’s a very hearty complete meal.
Yes! Use one large ham bone (or two small) in place of the diced ham in this recipe. If you use a ham bone, you will want to degrease the beans after cooking. Degrease the beans by laying a paper towel over the beans in the slow cooker, soaking up the grease. Discard the paper towel and serve!
You can use chicken broth in place of water for extra flavor if desired. You can even use four chicken bouillon cubes with the water if desired.
Add two teaspoons of chili powder to this recipe at the beginning of cooking.
Yes! The cajun 15 Bean Soup mix works well with this recipe.
I hope you give this recipe a try now or after Christmas with your leftover ham. What a great meal this is to have simmering away the day after the Christmas festivities. Hurst’s Hambeens has many more recipes like this one on their site, and you can find them here. I hope you have a great holiday, and let me know if you try this recipe.
Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup Recipe
Ingredients:
- 20 oz. Hurst’sⓇ HamBeensⓇ 15 Bean Soup mix (save ham flavor packet to add a the end of cooking time)
- 2 cups diced ham (leftover ham works great!)
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 2 carrots, peeled and diced
- 2 celery ribs, peeled and diced
- 1 Tbsp. minced garlic
- 2 tsp. dried basil
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
- 8 cups water or chicken broth
- 1 bay leaf
Add these ingredients at the end:
- 14.5 oz. can Italian flavored diced tomatoes
- 3 cups chopped kale
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
Instructions:
- Rinse and sort beans, discarding any debris. Add the beans to the slow cooker. Save the ham flavor packet for after the entire cooking time is up.
- Add ham, onion, carrots, celery, garlic, basil, thyme and water. Stir. Add the bay leaf on top of the soup.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 6 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the six hour time is up remove the bay leaf. Add the lemon juice, diced tomatoes and chopped kale. Stir. Replace the lid and cook on HIGH for 20 minutes more.
- Add the ham flavor packet and stir once more. Serve and enjoy!
How to Video:
Sarah’s Notes:
Nutrition Information:
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
This recipe is sponsored by Hurst’s® HamBeens® Cajun 15 Bean Soup® though all opinions are mine alone.
Monique Young says
I cooked it this morning..we loved it !! Thx
KMorr says
Made this for dinner tonight. My husband and I really enjoyed it. The only thing different is we used Better than Bouillion ham base instead of the ham flavoring packet and it was great. Made cornbread to go with it and that just topped it off. Thanks for such a great recipe. It’s a keeper.
Vinnie says
I am getting ready to make this recipe in a couple days, I will be starting it before I leave for work. Can you do this same recipe expect cooking longer on Low? It will cook for about 9 hours before I get home.
Sarah Olson says
I would do 9-10 hours on low. It will be fine! Make sure not to add the tomatoes until the end.
Pj says
What does the lemon contribute to the soup?
Lindsey says
Do these beans not need to be soaked & rinsed before cooking?
Sarah Olson says
They need to be rinsed but do not need to be soaked unless you like to presoak. Cooking on high cooks these beans up perfectly, no presoak necessary 🙂
Julie says
I had trouble with the beans softening. I cooked it like you said, on high for 7 hours and then for another hour after I tested the. They were hard and chewy. Any idea what I did wrong? Thanks for your help.
Anonymous says
Add baking sofa when cooking beans if you live where the water is hard.
Dave Pucciarell says
Can I add leftover chicken broth
Sarah Olson says
Yes, that would work great. Even chicken bouillon cubes and water work great too.
sonia says
Would I be able to sub canned beans? If so how many and what types?
Roger Reed says
Why would you even think of using canned beans…you would need varying amounts of 15 different beans that would be very hard to come up with and much more expensive…..PLUS you would not have the flavor pack.
Use the package of dried beans–open one package or open 15 different cans; Create your own flavor mix using many different spices in odd amounts or open one envelope and dump it in. Hursts has done all the hard work for the soup, just make some cornbread.
Karen Harvey Hopple says
If I use ham broth instead of water, do you think it would be too “hammy”?
Sarah Olson says
I think it would work fine, you could taste it at the end of the cooking time before you add the ham flavor packet.
Xema Jacobson says
I used that once. It was delicious!
Steve says
Just put this into the crockpot, smells amazing. I know this is going to taste great when it’s finished. Thank you for the recipe.
Sarah Olson says
Awesome! Let me know how you like it!
papajimbo says
Made this today, and it was terrific! I may have gone a tad heavy on the ham and Kale.
Thanks for a keeper recipe!
Sarah Olson says
I’m so glad you tried it!!
Dorothy says
I have hard water and am interested in adding the baking soda. How much should I add. I want to make this tomorrow. It sounds delicious, cant wait
Noreen says
I want to use this recipe for my Daniel Fast without the meat, my question is does the flavor packet contain pork?
Sarah Olson says
no, it’s vegetarian.
Delmy Davy says
it’s pork flavored
D. says
So is it safe for vegetarians to eat it if its “flavored” like pork?