This is a Ham Bone Soup made using the slow cooker which is the most effortless way to cook leftover ham bone. Set, forget, fall apart meat, flavour infused soup!
You’ll love the creamy broth (but no cream!), and how the tender beans absorb the flavour. Leave some of the ham tender and juicy, pan fry some to make it crispy. It’s the best of both worlds!
Leftover Ham Bone Soup!
Ham bones are highly coveted in my circle . Each year, I gather as many as I can and stash them in my deep freezer.
The Christmas just gone, I went one step further and gifted several Glazed Hams under the guise of being a thoughtful friend.
In truth, those gifts came with the condition that I get the ham bone!! 😂 I’m completely shameless.
So hopefully, some of you stashed away your leftover ham bone in the freezer, just waiting for the right time to use it. For those that didn’t, don’t worry – this can be made with a store bought ham bone! 😇 (Here’s a photo comparison of store bought and leftover ham)
Not your usual ham bone soup
You’re probably used to seeing ham bone soups with a clear broth or sometimes, a tomato based broth. I really tried to get excited about those versions (and maybe it’s something that comes with maturity? 🤷🏻♀️) but I just wanted something more.
Something different.
This creamy (yet cream-less) Ham Bone Soup with crispy golden ham bits is my idea of different. 🙂
The leftover ham bone
Here’s one of the ham bones that boomeranged back to me after gifting it. My friend was kind enough to leave plenty of ham on it. It weighed 1.1 kg / 2.2lb.
But if yours has been picked clean, don’t worry! You’ll still extract plenty of flavour from the bone and non-edible parts of the ham. Just purchase some extra ham meat to toss into the soup – or bulk up on more veggies instead!
How to make this creamy Ham Bone Soup
This Ham Bone Soup has a few more steps than those “chuck it all in the slow cooker” soups – but the extra steps are worth it:
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Slow cook dried beans with aromatics and the ham bone – the ham bone flavours the water to create the soup broth, the ham meat becomes “fall apart tender” and the beans cook;
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Pan fry shredded ham until golden. This little extra step you don’t usually see is 100% worth it because golden crispiness = more flavour and texture!
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Make soup thickening base in the same pan by mixing milk with cornflour/cornstarch. This step also gets all that flavour from frying the ham bits stuck on the bottom of the skillet into the soup broth = even more flavour.
See? I promised this ham bone soup was a step above the usual! More and more incredible flavour in every step!!
Slow cook ham bone with dried beans
The carrot and celery that was used to flavour the ham broth is pretty soft after 8 hours of slow cooking but in the spirit of this leftover recipe, I like to chop it up and throw it back into the soup.
Make soup thickening base & add vegetables
This is the step where we make a cornflour thickened “sludge” which is used to make the ham bone broth nice and creamy. I also like to get more vegetables into the soup by starting off by sautéing onion, carrots and celery.
And here’s what you end up with:
✅ Rich, creamy broth, fully loaded with incredible depth of flavour – and we’ve used no cream!
✅ Crispy ham bits – the crowning glory
✅ Creamy soft beans that have absorbed incredible flavour while slow cooking
✅ Plenty of vegetables so this is a great well rounded one-bowl meal
Now, I know beans are a starch so adding a side of bread for dunking might be considered carb overkill…. but who ever says no to soup dunkers??
Soup Dunkers
The nice thing about this recipe is that you can make it in stages. I made it a few times after Christmas 2018 and kept getting distracted mid-cook by important things like meeting friends at the beach, urgent Yum Cha outings etc.
So other than stopping midway through the slow cooking of the ham bone, you can pretty much stop at any point in this recipe, then take it up again when it suits.
End result was always just as good!! ~ Nagi x
PS The other truly great use of leftover ham bone – Chinese Ham Bone Congee. 3 Ingredient magic!
Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup
Watch How to Make It
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Slow Cooker Ham Bone Soup with Beans
Ingredients
Homemade Ham Broth:
- 1.2kg / 2.4lb leftover ham bone OR store bought ham hock / meaty bone (Note 1)
- 2 carrots , peeled cut into 3 chunks
- 1 celery stalk , cut into chunks
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 sprigs thyme or 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 1.5 - 2 cups dried white beans , no need to soak (Note 2)
- 2 litres / 2 quarts water (8 cups)
Ham Bone Soup:
- 2 tbsp (30g) butter or oil
- 1 onion , chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 3 celery ribs , chopped
- 2 carrots , chopped
- 2 cups milk , any fat %
- 2 tsp Vegeta or other stock powder (Note 3)
- 60 g / 2 oz baby spinach (Note 4)
Thickening
- 1/2 cup extra milk , any fat %
- 1/3 cup cornflour / cornstarch
Instructions
Ham Broth:
- Place the Ham Broth ingredients in the slow cooker. Slow cook for 8 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
- Remove ham bone. Shred meat and discard bone. Return half the ham to the slow cooker (remainder is pan fried).
- Discard thyme sprig.
- Remove then chop carrot and celery, return to slow cooker.
Crispy Ham:
- Melt 1 tbsp butter in a skillet over medium high heat. Add half the ham and cook until golden and crispy.
- Transfer most to slow cooker - hold back a few for garnish.
Soup Broth:
- In the same skillet, melt remaining butter. Add onion and garlic, cook 1 minute.
- Add celery and carrot, cook for 3 minutes until soft.
- Add 2 cups milk, stir.
Soup Thickener:
- Mix cornflour and extra Milk. While stirring, pour into skillet. Mixture will thicken quickly.
- Once very thick and paste-like, scrape into slow cooker.
Finish Soup:
- Add Vegeta into slow cooker. Stir to dissolve paste.
- Add spinach, push down into liquid.
- Slow cook 30 minutes on low or 20 minutes on high until spinach is wilted and broth is heated and slightly thickened.
- Serve garnished with crispy ham and a sprinkle of parsley, if desired!
Recipe Notes:
- Soup colour will differ depending on your ham bone. More skin (leathery brown stuff) = browner broth (and more flavour) = off white soup. Less skin = whiter soup.
- Soup is not intended to be a really thick soup as I find it makes it too heavy (it's quite rich). But if you want a thicker broth, simply add more cornflour/cornstarch mixed with equal amount of water/milk - add a bit at a time, as soup heats it will thicken. 6. Storage - store in fridge for 3 to 4 days. If you freeze, cornflour will lose it's thickening power so you'll need to add more when reheating to re-thicken soup (see Note 5). Works perfectly, I tried it. 7. Nutrition is a guide only. It's virtually impossible for a non-scientist to calculate the nutrition in the ham bone broth, I've done my best!
Nutrition Information:
More bean recipes
No boring beans around here!
And more creamy cream-less soups
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Homemade Cream of Chicken Soup – bid Heinz goodbye!
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Browse all Soups
Life of Dozer
This morning. Life life to the max!!
J says
This soup looks good N! I just used my ham bone to make pea soup! I made it with whole yellow peas, like I always do, on the stove in my Staub pot.
Now I can get out my oval crock pot and make your soup, but 1st I need a ham bone! My family hides their ham bone too!😂
The pic with Dozer and his friends looks like you took a pic of him in slow motion at first! 😂 What were they all looking at?
Nagi says
Mmm Ham Pea Soup!! YUM!!
VintageVet says
What is “Extra Milk?” I am sure there is an American equivalent around. I’m guessing it is our “half and half.”
Nagi says
Just separating it from the other quantity of milk in the recipe! N xx
david blake says
I also spent time trying to figure out what “extra” milk was: full fat, half & half, condensed? Best to clarify in instructions. It would be enough to say “, any fat” after “extra milk” as you did in the previous line. Also, don’t capitalize any of the letters; that makes it look like a Thing.
Lyn says
This looks divine…how does it freeze?
Nagi says
In the notes lyn! N x
Musette says
Now I’m hungry – again!!! I grew up on this and still make it – and right now, in IL (USA) it’s 20F and dropping. You KNOW we are in Bean Soup Land! We (my family) do not use milk or veg thickeners (not a criticism of your recipe) – we just let the beans thicken the broth. Great Northerns are best imo – and I love those little pink ‘tongues’ 😉
Nagi says
Bean Soup Land… BA HA HA!!! N x Love the idea of using the beans to thicken the soup 🙂
Victoria Elder says
Excellent version of NAVY Bean Soup. You must use dried navy beans for the most flavor! And, no, you cannot skip the bone and just use ham. No bone, NO soup. You can skip the thickening step by simply smashing some of those softened beans right in the pot until you reach your desired degree of thickness. Please toss a couple of bay leaves in. Hot tip for you non-yankees: If you get a visitor from the U.S., make them bring you THE best navy bean soup ingredient, a Honey Baked Ham bone. You can go to one of their stores and ask to buy a bone which will have as little or as much ham still on it. You will not believe what precious OMG YUM!! is delivered by this bone. And the ham is killer – a very in demand holiday family purchase here. We fight over who gets the bone!
Nagi says
No bone, no soup… LOVE IT! Amen! N x
Marjory says
Looks delicious. I have the ham bone but no slow cooker. Will this be a problem? How would I adapt the recipe just cook longer? Enjoy all your recipes
Nagi says
About 2 hours on a low simmer! N x
Carolyn Preston says
Well, guess what I have in the fridge? A lovely applewood-smoked spiral ham just waiting to be cooked this coming weekend. And it has a bone! It is winter in Canada and we LOVE soup for dinner. This is perfect. Thank you, Nagi! P.S. I was in Sydney for a week just two months ago. And I own two retrievers myself. So I really appreciate all of your lovely doggie photos 😻
Nagi says
You were here!!! Aww! Hope you enjoyed your time here! N x
Dorothy Dunton says
Hi Nagi! Perfect timing as I have a very meaty ham bone in the frig just waiting to take a nice long bath in soup! I call the cornstarch mixture a “slurry”, but I like sludge!
Nagi says
SLUDGE. So much classier, right? 😂 Say hi to G for me please! N x
CindyG says
Yeah, great timing!!! Ham and Bean soup is on the menu for tomorrow. I love the addition of vegetables. Thank you Nagi
Nagi says
You’re so welcome Cindy! N x
Brenda C. says
This looks and sounds delicious! I absolutely love bean & ham soup, it’s the best comfort food during the winter. I am definitely going to try your version, very intrigued by the crispy ham bits and the “sludge!” I also make mine using dried beans, but to thicken the soup and make it creamy, near the end of the cooking time, I puree an additional can (or two) of beans (and the liquid) in my blender and add it to the broth. I have a ham bone in my freezer from Christmas dinner just waiting!
Nagi says
I want to try that method of pureeing the beans!! Thanks for the idea Brenda! N x
Marci says
Looks delicious! I love making home bone soups, thanks for the creamy idea, I haven’t tried that but I sure will! Great tip to crisp some of the ham too!
Nagi says
Crispy ham is so similar to crispy bacon!!
Gerry Holmes says
Hi Nagi,
Love this recipe (as I do all of your recipes!). Question: Can I substitute smoked pork hock for the ham bone?
Nagi says
YES YES YES!! Just grab some extra ham if you want ham bits if the pork hock isn’t that meaty 🙂 N x
David says
I cooked something like this last Saturday for sixteen people. The main difference was that I did not add milk or a thickener. Nice touch for me to try.. Also, for the beans I used a pale yellow variety of pinto beans that goes by the names of mayocoba, canary, and Peruvian beans. Pinto varieties tend to be very creamy and they have a wonderful flavor.
Nagi says
Yummy! Any soup made with ham bone is delicious in my books! N x
Donna Pfeiffer says
I love the extra veggies and creaminess of the broth. Can’t wait to make it!
I’m not ashamed to ask for ham bones either !
The step by step pictures of making it are a great addition to your recipes. So thank you!! I hope you have pictures for all future recipes.
Nagi says
So glad you’re in the Shameless Ham Bone Camp with me – N x 😂
Anna W. says
Nagi, First let me say I love following you and Dozer!. I have made many of your recipes and I am sure this is next. I have some mixed dried beans I am planning to use.
Thank-you !
Nagi says
Mixed Beans will be perfect in this Anna! Hope you do get a chance to try this! N x