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:
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;
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!
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:
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Life of Dozer
This morning. Life life to the max!!
Can a smoked turkey leg substitute for the ham bone?
Wendy that sounds great – I’m sure it would be just as good!
Morning Nagi:
This sounds so delicious!
I just happen to have some nice stock left over from the Christmas ham. So good and flavour full. No bone unfortunately but just another excuse to go buy a ham! :~D
Thanks so much for the recipe!
Happy New Year
Awesome Charlie, I hope you try it and love it!
Hi, Nagi! There is a word you can use instead of “sludge” when describing a cornstarch/corn flour and liquid mixture: “slurry.” All the high-falutin’ cook books and websites use that term! As for me, when I make bean soup, I like to take some of the beans and liquid out of the soup, puree them, and add them back to the soup to thicken it.
I use that term for just water and cornstarch! I just thought given the vast quantity here it wasn’t right – maybe it is!!?? N x
Always great getting news and photo ops of master DOZER🎊🐕
NAGI THE HAM BON E SOUP IS YUMMY THANKS FOR THE RECIPE
Master Dozer… 😂😂😂
Even though the temperatures are soaring at the moment this soup sounds gorgeous. Didn’t get your how-to video 🙁. This will go on the ‘reminder list’ for when the weather cools. Thanks for another great recipe.
Good to see Dozer is back to his old happy self.
Temps souring in NZ…?? 😂
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?
Mmm Ham Pea Soup!! YUM!!
What is “Extra Milk?” I am sure there is an American equivalent around. I’m guessing it is our “half and half.”
Just separating it from the other quantity of milk in the recipe! N xx
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.
This looks divine…how does it freeze?
In the notes lyn! N x
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’ 😉
Bean Soup Land… BA HA HA!!! N x Love the idea of using the beans to thicken the soup 🙂
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!
No bone, no soup… LOVE IT! Amen! N x
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
About 2 hours on a low simmer! N x
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 😻
You were here!!! Aww! Hope you enjoyed your time here! N x
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!
SLUDGE. So much classier, right? 😂 Say hi to G for me please! N x
Yeah, great timing!!! Ham and Bean soup is on the menu for tomorrow. I love the addition of vegetables. Thank you Nagi
You’re so welcome Cindy! N x
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!
I want to try that method of pureeing the beans!! Thanks for the idea Brenda! N x
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!
Crispy ham is so similar to crispy bacon!!
Hi Nagi,
Love this recipe (as I do all of your recipes!). Question: Can I substitute smoked pork hock for the ham bone?
YES YES YES!! Just grab some extra ham if you want ham bits if the pork hock isn’t that meaty 🙂 N x
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.
Yummy! Any soup made with ham bone is delicious in my books! N x
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.
So glad you’re in the Shameless Ham Bone Camp with me – N x 😂
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 !
Mixed Beans will be perfect in this Anna! Hope you do get a chance to try this! N x