Slow Cooker Ham and Beans
152 Comments Dec 17, 2019
Updated Jun 03, 2024
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This recipe is sponsored by Hurst’s HamBeens though all opinions are mine alone.
This recipe for the best Slow Cooker Ham and Beans is creamy and delicious. Great for leftover ham, just add veggies broth and seasonings.
Bean soups are one of the best things to make in the crockpot, when we have leftover ham we make ham and beans, 15 bean soup or black-eyed peas.
Table of Contents
Are you a Ham and Bean soup fan? My family sure is. There is a little diner we go to that has Ham and Beans on the menu daily and I have to get it every time we go. You won’t believe how easy it is to make restaurant-quality ham and beans at home easily by throwing everything in your slow cooker and WITHOUT soaking the beans.
I use Hurst’s HamBeens Great Northern Beans with Ham Flavor. These beans are great quality, you can see that in my video below. The beans cook up big and tender.
This package of Great Northern Beans and many other bean mixes from Hurst’s Hambeens come with a ham flavor packet. It’s a little powdery mix that tastes like smokey ham.
One thing I have not mentioned yet on the blog about this little flavor packet is that it is vegetarian, so if you are not wanting real ham in your soups but want the flavor, you can get it! You can find where to buy these bean mixes here. I have found the most variety at Walmart in my area.
How to make Slow Cooker Ham and Beans:
You will need these ingredients:
- 1 bag Hurst’s Hambeen’s Great Northern Beans with Ham Flavor
- Diced Ham
- Carrots
- Celery
- Onion
- Dried thyme
- Chicken broth
- Pepper
- Salt to taste
Directions:
- Sort through the beans and discard any debris. Place the beans in a colander and rinse in cold water. Add the beans to a 6-quart or larger slow cooker.
- Add the diced ham, carrots, onion, celery, dried thyme and pepper with the beans in the slow cooker. Pour over the chicken broth. Wait to add the ham flavor packet.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- After the cooking time is up add the ham flavor packet, stir. Add salt if desired. Serve and enjoy!
Do I need to soak the beans?
No! this recipe works great without soaking. Be sure to cook on HIGH, and keep the lid on the entire time.
Can I use a ham hock?
- Yes! You can use 1-2 ham hocks or shanks instead of diced ham.
- Remove the ham hock after cooked and remove any meat, add to the slow cooker.
- Degrease the soup by laying a paper towel over it and removing.
Can I use chicken bouillon cubes instead of chicken broth?
- Yes! I use 4-5 chicken bouillon cubes when I forget to buy chicken broth.
- Just unwrap and throw them in with water (8 cups), they will dissolve and dissipate in the soup.
How can I make this into a freezer meal?
- Place raw veggies, diced ham, dried thyme and pepper into a ziplock bag. Don’t add the beans or chicken broth, leave those in your pantry until you are ready to use your frozen meal.
- Freeze the veggies, ham and seasonings for up to a month.
- When ready to cook, add the contents of the freezer bag, beans, and pour in 8 cups of chicken broth into the slow cooker. Wait to add the ham packet.
- Cook as the normal recipe states, add ham flavor packet at end of cooking time.
More dried bean recipes here on The Magical Slow Cooker:
- Slow Cooker Cajun 15 bean Soup with Leftover Turkey
- Slow Cooker 15 Bean Soup with Ham
- Slow Cooker Lima Beans
- Slow Cooker Pinto Beans and Ham
- Slow Cooker 15 Bean Buffalo Chicken Soup
- Slow Cooker Chicken Chili
- Slow Cooker Pinto Beans and Bacon
Christmas is just around the corner and I know a lot of us will have leftover ham and this recipe is perfect for that. Be sure to save this recipe for later and enjoy a big pot of Ham and Bean Soup with your family. If you love this recipe you can find more like it over at Hurst’s HamBeens.
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Slow Cooker Ham and Beans
Ingredients
- 20 oz. pkg. Hurst’s Hambeens Great Northern Beans with Ham flavoring, (save the ham flavor packet for the end of the cooking time)
- 2 cups diced ham, leftover ham works great
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 carrots, peeled and diced
- 3 celery ribs, diced
- 2 tsp. dried thyme
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 8 cups chicken broth
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Place the beans in a colander and sort out any debris, rinse beans in cold water and add to the slow cooker.
- Add the ham, onion, carrots, celery, thyme, pepper and chicken broth, stir. Wait to add the ham flavor packet.
- Cover and cook on HIGH for 6-7 hours without opening the lid during the cooking time.
- When the cooking time is done, add the ham flavor packet and stir. Add salt to taste. Serve and enjoy!
How to Video
Sarah’s Notes
- Yes! Use 1-2 ham hocks or shanks instead of diced ham.
- Shred the meat at the end of the cooking time, add to the soup.
- Degrease the soup by laying a paper towel over the soup and lifting quickly.
- Yes! Use 4-5 chicken bouillon cubes instead of chicken broth (and 8 cups of water).
- Unwrap and throw in, they will dissolve and dissipate on their own.
- Place raw veggies, diced ham, dried thyme and pepper into a ziplock bag. Don’t add the beans or chicken broth, leave those in your pantry until ready to use. Freeze the veggies, ham and seasonings for up to a month.
- When ready to cook, add the contents of the freezer bag, beans, and pour in 8 cups of chicken broth into the slow cooker. Wait to add the ham packet.
- Cook as the normal recipe states, add ham flavor packet at end of cooking time.
Nutrition
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 though all opinions are mine alone.
I have made this several times and it is delicious. I can not find the brand of beans that comes with a flavor packet, so I just add a chicken bullion cube for added flavor. The recipe makes way more food than I can eat up before it would go bad, so I was wondering if this can be stored in the freezer in serving size portions, or other suggestions on storing leftovers?
Unless you want your belly to bloat, soak those beans! Then, pour off the water they soaked in and start the recipe with clean water. Followed this recipe as written and I (and everyone around me) was in misery from the gas.
This was absolutely fabulous. Used a ham shank. Added a couple of extra cups of broth at the end. Sublime
Can I use canned Northern Beans instead? If so, how many?
Hard to say without testing the recipe again, sorry I don’t have that information.
1/2 c dried beans = 1 15oz canned beans. So for 20o z of dried beans you would need 5 cans
You can definitely use canned beans. I use 3 16 oz cans drained. I have used ham, pork shank and smoked bacon all of which works. For the broth, I used 1 tsp of chicken Better Than Boullion.
Sometimes I use a combination of Great Northern and Pinto Beans and it turns out good.
Service with hot cornbread.
Very good bean soup I highly recommend it
I cut the ham and use the ham juice and everything for my stock
Although the store locator said they had this brand, they only had the 15-bean variety. The only other store listed was Wal-mart and I refuse to shop there. I used the 15-bean and it was fine. I added a bay leaf and a little dried basil as I didn’t have thyme and others said they didn’t like the flavor.
That said, I felt the amount of carrots, celery, and onion was too much. I would cut back to two carrots, two celery ribs, and 1/2 to 3/4 of a yellow onion (or a small onion). It was so thick with vegetables that there wasn’t much broth. I had to add chicken broth to thin it out a little. It was also almost too much for my 6-quart crock pot (biggest I have), so at the end I transferred to a soup pot to finish the cooking. This was before adding additional chicken broth. I will try it again in the crockpot with the smaller amount of veggies and maybe a little more broth.
It really did turn out quite good and my husband loved it too!
AMAZON , BUY “20 oz. pkg. Hurst’s Hambeens Great Northern Beans with Ham flavoring “
I always use about three different recipes to make my own version. Hopefully won’t mess anything up ha ha. Different ideas are great I think. I like lots of stuff in mine so this will be my base recipe and I will add other ideas to it. Thank you so much.
My Great Northern beans did not come with “ham seasoning“! What to do⁉️
If you have chicken bouillon that adds great flavor. Or more salt at the end.
How about using better than bouillon ham base. A different recipe used that if necessary for flavor.
That is a great idea. I need to pick some of that up myself.