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:
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Life of Dozer
This morning. Life life to the max!!
Yum! Had ham hocks in the freezer. Haven’t cooked with them a lot and was disappointed because they dissolved into a million bones mixed with the beans and hardly any meat at all. Ugh. It wasn’t your fault though. I’m sure I just had a poor pair of hocks:) Strained beans from bones. Ended opening a can of ham and using that to fry up a bit before adding to the soup. Worked fine. Forgot I had used all my spinach in a salad the night prior. However, remembered I had put up some kale (freeze dried it) last summer and used that. In the end, it was really delicious. I’ll be making again and using a ham bone.
Oh my goodness! The absolute best ham bone soup ever! Picky hubby loved it too. Thank you for amazing recipe. 🤗
Woops should be I am not I. My bad.
Thanks for all your efforts. I new at cooking…. slow starter. Q. Do I take the skin off the ham hock before putting it in the crock pot?
Thanks. Sorry if I missed seeing this.
This is the most delicious soup.
Thank You Nagi. You’ve done it once again. ☺️
This is the best ham bone recipe! Everyone loved it the first time I made it and asked for it again! That’s a win. I did change making the ham crunchies with bacon fat instead of butter and added more mixed vegetables
Super yummy, however consider this as a warning, don’t for the love of a beautiful looking soup, think you’ll just use up those kidney beans that have been sitting in the back of the pantry since the dawn of time…….
We are about to tuck into pink soup, insipid pink, flesh pink, whatever you want to call it…
I have decided tonight we shall heighten our senses by eating dinner blind folded…..
Hi Nagi
Any ideas how to make this gluten free? The average white bean has a may contain and we have a coeliac daughter.
Thank you!
Beans do not contain gluten, and beans have protein, fibre and resistant starch.
Anyone have any ideas what to replace the ham bone with? I’m in the UK and can’t find ham hock on the bone or any bone in pork apart from pork ribs. Butchers are like hen’s teeth here too! what about using smoked bacon?
Wow!!! Made this last night and it is amazing!!!!! Deleting all other bean soup recipes from my files 😊
I made this following the directions exactly as written. I may have used more ham, but other than that I followed the recipe for a first try. Very rich, very flavorful. Perfect for the first really cold night of the season, and complemented with some good corn bread, too. After sampling a bowl I made my only change to your recipe– I added a good bit of crushed red pepper for a little heat. Perfect!
Thanks for calling Vegeta to my attention. It was hard to find around here, but worth the search.
This is a nice bowl of soup!
Thanks John!! N x
Happy new year, Nagi.
I made this soup using the leftover Christmas ham bone. I added cubed potato in addition to the carrots, celery and spinach. So hearty and delicious!!
This is delicious! I didn’t have bouillon, but the flavor was fantastic regardless. My husband remarked he could taste all the individual flavors from the broth alone. Will definitely make it again.
Oops, thanks Nagi, not Magi! 🙄
Delish! I do like a thicker soup, so I add instant potato instead of starch. Super yummy. 😉 Thanks Magi, and HNY 🎉
I don’t have a slow cooker and put it in a large pot. How long do I need to cook the broth & at what heat setting?
Scrumptious! My husband and I both loved it. I used ham hocks this time. Next time I have a ham bone, I will make it again. My husband wanted me to send you a picture of the bowl of soup, he said it was so pretty!
I love your recipes, Nagi 😊
I made this soup just a few days ago and am 8 weeks pregnant, I had been looking forward to it all week. After 8 hours cooking in the crock pot I could hardly bring myself to look at it, I was so queasy! My husband enjoyed it the first night all alone! Luckily, today I was able to reheat a bowl of leftover soup and I am blown away with how good it is! Creamy without being too rich and not at all greasy from the fried ham. Thank you for satisfying my cravings! I am looking through all the recipes now to build a meal for my family over the holidays.
Well worth 5 stars, or more
Thanks! N x
I love ham bone soup, it is so good. This has to be the best recipe for it yet. Made it alot of times, got a crockpot going now.