Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
19 Comments Jan 10, 2021
Updated Nov 15, 2025
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Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup is made with dry beans and flavored with a ham hock. Flavorful and makes a wonderful hearty dinner.
Black beans aren’t used enough in recipes! Whether you make this black bean soup, kielbasa black bean soup, or my refried black beans, your family will love it!
If you love ham and beans, you will love this easy black bean soup recipe. It’s not like chili; it has more of a soup consistency and is great on a cold winter or fall night.
This recipe is one of my oldest recipes, a recipe I received from a co-worker when I was a mail carrier. We often took turns bringing in a crockpot of food for a potluck.
How to make black bean soup:
- Dried Black Beans – No need to soak; see my full recipe in the recipe card for this info.
- Ham Hock – This flavors the soup with an AMAZING smoky flavor. Shred the meat off the bone at the end of the cooking time.
- Vegetables – Onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cilantro. Use an extra jalapeno if you want this spicy.
- Broth – Can use chicken broth or water with 3 small chicken bouillon cubes.
- Seasonings – Chili powder, onion powder, salt, and pepper.
How can I thicken black bean soup?
- After the cooking time is up, take about 1 cup of the beans out into a small bowl.
- Using a potato masher or fork, smash those beans in the bowl until smooth.
- Add back to the soup and stir, and your soup will be thicker.
What can I use instead of a ham hock?
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 cups diced kielbasa
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 package hot dogs, sliced
- 1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled.
- 1 pound crumbled or sliced chorizo
How can I make this vegan?
- Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
- Omit the ham hock.
- Add 1/4 tsp. of liquid smoke to add flavor.
How should I serve this black bean soup?
- Top with cheese and cilantro.
- Serve with tortillas and/or tortilla chips.
- Ladle over steamed white rice.
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Slow Cooker Black Bean Soup
How to Video
Ingredients
- 1 lb. dried black beans
- 6 cups chicken broth, (or use 6 cups water and 3 small chicken bouillon cubes)
- 14 oz. petite diced tomatoes, (or a 16-oz. jar of salsa)
- 1 large ham hock
- ½ cup white onion, diced
- 2 Tbsp. jalapeno, minced
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 2 tsp. chili powder
- ½ tsp. onion powder
- ¼ tsp. pepper
- ¼ cup cilantro , chopped (WAIT TO ADD) Serve on the side if anyone does not like cilantro.
- ¼ tsp. salt , to taste (WAIT TO ADD)
Serving suggestions:
- cheddar cheese
- steamed rice
- tortillas
- tortilla chips
Instructions
- Rinse the beans and add them to the slow cooker. No need to soak. If you want to soak the beans overnight, you can, but drain the beans before starting the recipe.
- Add the chicken broth, diced tomatoes, ham hock, onion, jalapeno, garlic, chili powder, onion powder, and pepper. WAIT TO ADD THE CILANTRO AND SALT.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 7 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- Remove the ham hock onto a plate, remove any meat you can find off the ham hock, shred and put into the beans. (note that sometimes there is no meat on a ham hock, do fret, your beans are fine without this).
- Add the cilantro, stir
- Taste for salt, adding the desired amount.
- Serve and enjoy!
Sarah’s Notes
- After the cooking time is up, take about 1 cup of the beans out into a small bowl.
- Using a potato masher or fork, smash those beans in the bowl until smooth.
- Add back to the soup and stir, and your soup will be thicker.
- 2 cups diced ham
- 2 cups diced kielbasa
- 1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts
- 1 package hot dogs, sliced
- 1 package bacon, cooked and crumbled
- Use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth
- Omit the ham hock.
- Add 1/4 tsp. of liquid smoke to add flavor.
Nutrition
Nutrition info is auto-generated. This information is an estimate; if you are on a special diet, please use your own calculations.
What other black bean recipes can I make in my slow cooker?
- Slow Cooker Kielbasa and Black Bean Soup
- Slow Cooker Refried Black Beans
- Slow Cooker Black Bean Chili – Recipe from Gimme Some Oven
As per usual, we’ve got another home run! Made minor adjustments, not because the recipe isn’t wonderful on its own, but because I had to use up some extra veg and meat. Honestly, this is a great base for getting creative, flavor wise, as long you keep the liquid, bean amount and cook time the same. Put this one in your roster; it’s very much worth it.
So happy to hear this!