Source: Cooking Classy

Snapshot Review

My Rating:

My Husband’s Rating:

Will I make again?:  Yes

Recipe Difficulty:  Easy

Time Involved: Quick

Occasion: When you have leftover ham or want a Slow Cooker recipe.

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My Thoughts on This Recipe

This Ham and Bean Soup: Slow Cooker recipe from Cooking Classy was a big hit with my husband. It is perfect for when you have leftover ham you don’t know what to do with, and/or if you love using your slow cooker. It’s easy to throw together and is a really comforting and filling soup.

Ingredients

The soup consists of Great Northern Beans, ham, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, broth and some herbs. View the full recipe here.

Recommendations

The ham bone I used had a ton of ham on it. I mean, a ton. I think the guy just chopped off half of the ham and then left the remainder on the bone. I had initially thought I might need to supplement with additional ham until I saw what he gave me. Take a good look at your ham bone and decide if you want extra meat in the soup as well before you get started.

I tend to have the worst luck using dry beans in the slow cooker. They never end up getting cooked enough, and then dinner happens much later than I planned. So I elected to use two cans of Great Northern Beans (drained and rinsed) rather than the soaked, dry beans. Therefore, I cannot speak to how done the beans were at the end of the process, but I would use the canned beans again for sure.

I loved that this soup was brothy and full of vegetables. I only had low-salt broth at home, so that is what I used. Next time I will definitely use the no sodium version because the ham has a lot of salt, and I thought the soup was saltier than I’d like (although not necessarily too salty). I did not ever add any salt to the soup.

It is definitely important to add the water at the end because the soup is quite thick as it cooks down. I might add just a little more than one cup next time.

I also like to prep my chopping the night before so that all I have to do is place everything in the slow cooker and press, “start. It is very handy if you have a lot to do the next day!

Future Ideas/Variations

You could certainly change up the beans and/or add vegetables to the mix, but honestly, I think this soup is just right as it is.

Final Thoughts

We enjoyed this soup and will be making it again! Give it a try!