This slow-cooker ham bone soup is a great way to use up any leftover ham from Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any time! The meat and veggie combo offers a main course loaded with nutrition, too!
Ham is a traditional meat served at many holidays. It’s also great for any family dinner, especially when you have a guests — so several mouths to feed!
We really like to have our Slow Cooker Apple Cider Ham every now and then. It is delicious and can be served with so many sides, like our Crock Pot Mac and Cheese or Crock Pot Green Bean Casserole. Plus, it leaves everyone at the table feeling satisfied.
I especially like it when leftovers from dinner lend themselves to a new recipe. We usually have a bit of ham leftover when I serve it, so it’s easy to make this slow cooker ham bone soup to serve for the next few lunches or dinners.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 hours
Serves: 16
Ingredients
- 1 meaty ham bone
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 2 cups carrots, sliced
- 2 small onions, diced
- 2 (15 oz) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
- 8 cups chicken broth or water
- 2 bay leaves
- ½ tsp garlic powder
- ½ tsp thyme leaves
- ½ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large slow cooker.
- Stir everything around the ham bone to combine.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 9-10 hours or cook on the high setting for 4-6 hours.
- Before serving, remove the ham bone and bay leaves. Remove the meat from the bone, cut the meat into bite size pieces, and return to the soup.
Variations
As with most soups and stews of this nature, you can add/remove/substitute any ingredient you like. The ingredients I have listed here work well for my family but you can adjust to suit you and yours however you like. Some popular items to add include pasta (bow-tie would work well here), kale or collard greens, cabbage, corn (frozen corn kernels), or rice. Most of these additions can go into the pot with 30 minutes left but check up on them regularly to ensure you don’t overcook them.
FAQs
This 7-quart oval Crock-Pot is my favorite.
Yep. In a large pot, saute the vegetables for several minutes, then add everything else. Bring it to a boil then turn it down and let simmer for a couple of hours. That’s basically it. For the finer details, adapt the steps from the recipe above.
You can mash a couple of potatoes and add it to the soup. Rice will work similarly. You can also puree some vegetables and add to the soup. You can also add cornstarch (mix it with cold water first) or mix flour (2 tbsp), melted butter (2 tbsp), and 1 cup of the soup broth together, then add it to the pot.
How To Store Slow-Cooker Ham Bone Soup
Cool the cooked soup and place in freezer safe bags or airtight containers for up to 3 months. To prepare from the freezer: For best results, thaw the soup in the refrigerator overnight. Warm in a stockpot over medium heat on the stovetop or in the microwave.
Slow-Cooker Ham Bone Soup
Equipment
- slow cooker
Ingredients
- 1 meaty ham bone
- 3 potatoes, diced
- 2 c carrots, sliced
- 2 small onions, diced
- 2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (15 ounce cans)
- 8 c chicken broth or water
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp thyme leaves
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large slow cooker. Stir everything around the hambone to combine.
- Place the lid on the slow cooker and cook on low for 9 to 10 hours or cook on the high setting for 4 to 6 hours.
- Before serving, remove the hambone and bay leaves. Remove the meat from the bone, cut the meat into bite size pieces, and return to the soup.
Notes
Nutrition
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