Have you ever seen those bags of 16 bean soup mix in the dry bean aisle at the grocery store? Well, they’re kinda like the ramen of the bean world. They come with their own packet of “flavoring” that you’re supposed to boil with the beans to yield a delicious hearty soup. I like to flavor my soups with my own mix of vegetables, herbs, and spices, so here’s my own version of Ham and Bean Soup.
Something special happens when you boil meat, bones and all of the connective tissue into a broth. It might seem frightening at first and it certainly doesn’t look very appetizing but I promise you that every soup you’ve eaten that has that certain “je ne sais quois” has this magic broth. From homemade chicken noodle soup to Vietnamese pho, they’ve all got the boiled bones and slow-cooked gelatinized tissues. So, please over look the unsightly ham hocks and believe me when I tell you they *make* this soup. You can use smoked turkey wings instead if you’d like. They’ll still give you great flavor and they have less fat but they’re also more expensive.
Also, if you don’t have a slow cooker, you cane make this on the stove top in a pot. Just let it simmer with a lid in place until the beans are soft (2-4 hours).
Slow Cooker Ham and Bean Soup
Servings 8Ingredients
- 1 med yellow onion ($0.50)
- 3 stalks celery ($0.46)
- 4 med carrots ($0.49)
- 4 cloves garlic ($0.23)
- 2 med smoked ham hocks ($1.99)
- 1 lb. dry 16 bean mix ($2.19)
- 2 whole bay leaves ($0.10)
- 1 tsp dried thyme ($0.05)
- 1 tsp dried oregano ($0.05)
- 1 1/2 Tbsp chicken base or bouillon ($0.45)
- to taste salt and pepper ($0.05)
Instructions
- The night before, rise the beans, pick through and remove any stones or debris. Place in a large container, cover with 2x the amount of water and refrigerate over night.
- Dice the onion, carrot, and celery. Mince the garlic. Place all four in the bottom of the slow cooker. Nestle two ham hocks down into the vegetables.
- Pour the soaking water off of the beans and rinse again. Pour the drained beans into the slow cooker on top of the vegetables and ham hocks. Add the seasoning (2 bay leaves, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp oregano, 1.5 Tbsp chicken base and a few cranks of black pepper). Add 6 cups of water, give everything a light stir to distribute the seasoning a bit but don’t disturb the vegetables or ham hocks.
- Secure the lid on top of the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours or until the beans are soft and have absorbed most of the water.
- Stir the soup and remove the ham hocks. Pick any meat off of the ham hocks and return it to the soup. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning to your liking (salt, pepper, hot sauce, Tony Chachere’s, smoked paprika? Anything you want). Serve hot with any garnishes you like (sour cream, cheese, green onions, crusty bread… get creative!)
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Step By Step Photos
This is the dry bean soup mix I was talking about. Sometimes it’s called 16 bean soup mix and sometimes you can even find it in the bulk bins which is nice if you want to make a half batch. Rinse the beans and soak over night in the refrigerator with two times the amount of water (they’ll expand).
Dice the onion, carrots and celery. Mince the garlic. Place all of them in the bottom of your slow cooker. I used celery that I had cleaned, cut and frozen previously… so that’s frost on there, not mold.
Here is the package of ham hocks that I bought. I used two and froze the third. I’ll probably use the third one the next time I make collard greens. They looks scary but taste fantastic. Promise. And they’re much less gross than chicken carcasses, IMHO.
Nestle the ham hocks down into the vegetables.
Pour off the soaking water from the beans and give them another rinse.
Pour the beans on top of the veggies and ham hock and then add the seasoning (bay leaves, thyme, oregano, chicken base, pepper).
Pour on 6 cups of water and give it a gentle stir just to distribute the seasoning. Secure the lid on the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-6 hours.
You’ll know it’s done because the beans will be big, swollen, soft and it will look like most of the water has absorbed. Plus, it will be filling your house with an amazing, smokey ham scent. Yum.
Remove the ham hocks, pick any meat off of the bone and then stir it back into the soup. Give it a good taste and adjust the seasoning with whatever you want. Chances are you won’t need salt because of the ham hocks and chicken base but you may want to add hot sauce, smoked paprika or maybe nothing at all! Also, check out your fridge and garnish with whatever might be left in there. Sour cream? Cheese? Green onions? Maybe make some rice and top the bowl with a scoop? Lots of possibilities here.
Can cooked ham be used in place of ham hocks? If so, how much should I chop?
You can, although it might taste slightly different (ham hocks are very smoky compared to cooked ham). I’d probably dice about a cup of ham.
Do you think 30 minutes in the Instant Pot would be enough to get the same smoky ham flavor that you’d get with 6 hours in the slow cooker–or is the slow cooker time essential to really get those flavors infused throughout? I already know it’s enough to soften the beans, so that’s not a problem.
Yep, I think that would work if you also do the natural pressure release (another 15 minutes or so). As I’ve been experimenting with my Instant Pot I find that it actually extracts MORE flavor than my slow cooker did! I love this thing.
To follow up on my last comment, the Instant Pot worked spectacularly. 30 minutes on high pressure with natural release, followed up with some saute time to evaporate excess liquid (while I picked meat from bones). I also sauteed the veggies a bit beforehand, and I think that added to the flavor depth.
I used pre-cooked beans, which didn’t seem to harm anything. I also used 1.5 lbs smoked pork necks at $1.99/lb because it’s what the store had. It’s still delicious (and there is a LOT of meat still on those necks), but I do occasionally have to eat around a tiny bone or some cartilage that I missed when picking off the meat. So if you use necks, eat cautiously. (I have the same problem when I use turkey necks.)
Oh I was also able to re-use the neck bones and cartilage for pork broth!
Nice! Thanks for the follow up. :)
Can i just use 6 cups chicken broth and not soak the beans first and cook it 8 to 10 hours on low?
You might need closer to about 8 cups broth, but that method should work if the bean mix doesn’t have any kidney or cannellini beans in it. Those beans need to reach a full boil to break down a natural toxin they contain that can cause severe gastric distress.
I’m confused in the last post you said you could use broth and didn’t mention anything about gastric distress. I’m pretty sure I made this before and loved it… Is soaking the beans mandatory I’m pretty sure I didn’t do that and must have cooked it for 8 to 10 hours.
Soaking the beans isn’t always necessary, but boiling is. If you have any kidney beans or cannellini beans in your bean mix they really need to be boiled (not just simmered) for at least ten minutes to break down that natural toxin.
Planning to make this tomorrow. Is it possible to substitute chicken broth for the bouillon/ chicken base? Thanks.
Yes, you can do three cups broth and three cups water (that’s about equal to what I did because the bouillon is quite salty), or you can just do six cups broth if it’s not a very salty broth.
Thanks for your advice and speedy response. I used 6 cups low sodium chicken broth and needed to add a bit of salt at the end. Also, I steamed a whole bunch of kale, chopped it and added it in at the end as well. Served with cornbread. Yummmm! Wonderful meal, enjoyed by adults and kids alike. Already bought beans to make this again. Thank you for a great recipe.
This is juuuuust about ready in my slow cooker right now, and after tasting it, I’d say this is a winner! It has a distinct flavor that I think may be largely due to the bay leaves, but I’m not a knowledgeable enough cook to say for sure…haha.
I looked up a recipe to make this morning, so needless to say, it was too late to buy and soak the beans overnight. I crossed my fingers and hoped that a large can of great white northern beans, drained (I think it was a two-pound can) would work. It seems to have done just fine, although next time I’ll try it with the dry beans (which will require a special trip to another store, as my Giant in northern Virginia doesn’t carry this mix). Oh–and I only used 4 cups of water, rather than 6, because of the canned bean substitution.
Oh–one more change. My grocery store was out of ham hocks, so I asked the butcher to help me find a replacement. When I told him what I was making, he went straight for the fist-sized package of “ham chips,” which I’d never heard of before, but he said he’s made bean and ham soup with this lots of times and actually prefers it over ham hocks, which he used to use. I made this substitution out of necessity, but it seems like the substitution was a pretty good one. I just thought I’d share in case someone else wants or needs to make a similar substitution!
You can use pretty much any dried beans to make this soup – doesn’t have to be the bean mix (which is typically overpriced per pound, anyways). I know the mixture adds to the visual / texture appeal, so you could always make your own bean assortments.
While it’s not the same as ham parts, bacon can also add that smoked pork flavor – I like to saute the bacon, remove it, and saute the onion and celery in the bacon grease (garlic burns quickly, so add it after the celery and onion have had time to soften). If there’s not enough bacon grease in the pan to saute, add extra oil. Then dump the whole thing in the crock pot, or saute right in the soup pot if you’re doing the stovetop method. Cut up bacon and add it back in, and proceed with the recipe.
I just made something similar to this tonight, and I used about a quarter pound of bacon to half a pound of beans . I used homemade chicken broth (no salt added) – and there was enough salt in the bacon that I didn’t have to add any to the soup at all. Bacon may be saltier than ham hocks – I don’t have any experience with the latter.
It’s a year and a half after this first comment of mine. About a month ago I re-discovered this recipe and made it with a small three-pound hunk of cooked ham (because my grocery store was out of ham hocks), but this time, with the pre-soaked bean mixture. So delicious! And today, I’ve got it going in the slow cooker as we speak, but this time will all of the recipe’s ingredients…finally! :) My favorite add-in: some shredded parmesan!
Were you able to find chicken base without msg?!
I found the recipe exceptional, with in budget, prep was easy, it also lends itself to personal
taste. Prepared on top of stove or crock-pot,
cooking time can also be adjusted.
When serving the dish, different garnishes
Can be used, such as sour cream, cheese, chives,
Hot sauce, Add hot crusty bread to serve along side the soup.
Do you think I could reduce the water and add evaporated milk to turn it into ham and bean chowder? I had a really good one a few years ago and have been trying to copy it ever since.
Also, I don’t have ham hocks, but I do have some broth and scraps from the last small ham I invested in. The broth is very strong: the bone and rind were boiled long enough that the chilled liquid is thicker than Jello. What percentage of the soup base should it make up?
Hmm, I’m not sure about the evaporated milk because I’ve never tried that technique. As for the hame broth you have (YUM!!), I’d use four cups of that and two cups of water. The base I used made approximately four cups of broth, but I used six cups water total, so that’s like four cups broth and two cups of water.
Ok, thanks for the broth advice! I’ve done the evaporated milk thing with cream of mushroom soup, so it might work well. You start with a very thick clear soup and end up with a slightly thinner cream based soup for a lot less fat than usual.
I define a ham, roast, or turkey as an investment because it costs more initially than a small package of meat but it pays off. You get more servings per dollar, and the bones give you broth for future meals if you just put a little effort in. I’m getting 12 entrees and two or three soups’ worth of broth out of a meat recipe that cost me about $17 to make.
So I didn’t follow it closely. My review might not be a reliable measurement of the original recipe, but it shows how you can be inspired by and change a dish without ruining it. I used this one as a starting point for something that turned out wonderfully.
I sauteed the suggested veggies. When they were soft, I mixed in a few cups each of “ham jello” (the really thick broth I mentioned earlier) and water. I used canned great northern beans (lazy, I know, but I forgot to presoak the dried ones I had and it’s an absolute must at this altitude). Since I had the broth already made, I chopped up a chunk of the ham it came from to go into the soup instead of picking the meat off. Seasonings were as suggested.
Oh, Beth, in case you were curious, adding a can of evaporated milk worked very well for turning it into a chowder. Just reduce the clear liquid (I used 4.5 cups total) and add a pinch of salt to make up for the milk’s sweetness.
Awesome, thanks for the update! :)
Last freezing question today, I swear!
Is this recipe adjustable to be frozen then dumped in the crock pot? I know the beans would make it tricky…could I freeze them after soaking overnight, or would that turn them to mush?
Honestly, I’ve never tried to freeze beans that have been soaked but not cooked. If the beans do break down, I think that would be okay. It would make the soup nice and thick. :)
The Ham and Bean Soup is absolutely DELICIOUS!! Instead of using water, I used chicken broth, and cooked the soup in a slow cooker for six hours. My apartment smelled HEAVENLY!! I served the soup with corn bread, and have plenty of leftovers for dinner. Thank you for this awesome recipe, Beth!! :-)
The Ham and Bean Soup is making my mouth water! I’m looking forward to making it!! :-)
Is it possible that I could use chicken or beef broth for more flavor, instead of water? Thanks, Beth!! :-)
Yes, absolutely. Just remember to adjust the added salt accordingly. Some broths are pretty heavy on the salt.
All right. Thanks!! :-)
My only problem with this soup is that after 6 hours there was still a lot of water left even though the beans were soft. Other than that it was really good.
Maybe I’ll try reducing the amount of water next time to 4 cups.
Have you made this again recently?? I have been to Walmart and Rouse’s this week grocery shopping and can’t find a bean mix like this in any of the dried sections. :( My husband was the one at Rouse’s so maybe he just missed it though….
No, I haven’t made it recently. I think I’ve seen bean mixes at Whole Foods before, too? In the bulk bins?
I just stumbled upon this on Pinterest. This is my favorite meal after we eat ham. I use the ham bone and the ham that is left over. I always eat mine with Collard Greens and Cornbread. My fiancé says it’s the only meal I can feed him that doesn’t have meat. Lol!
10 minutes of prep last night and I came home to the most spectacular smell! I played the “freezer defrost surprise” game a few days ago and won a Honeybaked Ham bone leftover from Easter at the in-laws! :) It worked perfectly in this soup, along side a 1lb. random assortment of dried beans I’ve accumulated over the last few month (black beans, black-eyed peas, red beans, & lentils). This soup was AMAZING! Thanks so much for the recipe (found on Pinterest). I will be a regular follower now!