Slow Cooker 15-Bean and Ham Soup

Updated and Revised August 2021

What's not to love about slow cooker 15 Bean and Ham Soup? Absolutely nothing! Oh my goodness, I wish I had made it this way before. So ... darn ... good and easy!  Did I mention EASY? 

Of course I still love making Ham Stock because I "put it up" by pressure canning it and use it in A LOT of other recipes, BUT this is quicker, easier and equally delicious if you just want the soup!

So, if you want this soup without all the fuss of making ham stock first, make it this way in your slow cooker, and simply freeze the leftovers for use another time (if there are any leftovers).

RECIPE
Ingredients

1 pkg Hurst’s® HamBeens® 15 Bean Soup®

8 cups water

1 large ham bone (with lots of meat on it)

1 lg. onion, cut into pieces

2-3 tsp minced garlic 

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp red pepper flakes

1-2 tsp course-ground black pepper

1 - 15 oz. can petite diced tomatoes (not drained)

3 tbsp lemon juice (or juice of one lemon)

Optional: Hot sauce

Method

No soaking of beans required!

Sort and rinse beans, check for any unwanted debris and discard.

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Drain beans, and place in slow cooker with 8 cups of water, onion, ham bone, garlic and red pepper or chili powder. 

Set slow cooker on high and cook for 5 hours (or low for 7-8), or until beans are tender, but not falling apart.

After the beans are tender, remove ham bone and trim meat. Stir in the can of tomatoes, ham flavor packet, lemon juice, and trimmed meat from ham bone. Add hot sauce now if desired.

Cook for additional 30 minutes then keep warm until ready to serve.

Note:  Every time the lid is opened, you should add 30 minutes to the cooking time.

**Looking for more soup recipes? Try this Taxi Tomato Blue Cheese Soup and more SOUP RECIPES compiled by my friend at Sumptuous Spoonfuls.

Enjoy,

Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ham Stock & Veggie Soup

I've had lots of meaty ham bones lately to cook with - this most recent one from my son's house and our early Christmas with him and his family ... naturally he saved the bone with lots of meat on it for me!  So I cooked the ham stock, let it chill so the fat would rise to the top and solidify. The next day I removed the stock from the refrigerator, skimmed off the fat and finished the Ham and Veggie Soup.

My husband does not care for ham and bean soup, so this recipe was a way for me to get him to enjoy it. Use any vegetables you want in this ... but be sure to use fresh or frozen, especially if canning it.  If you use canned vegetables, they will turn mushy, which is not what you want.  This soup also freezes very well.

Recipe
Ingredients
3-4 quarts Ham Stock (follow the highlighted recipe minus the chili powder and red pepper flakes)
1 onion, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
1 - 14.5 oz. can diced petite tomatoes with juice (or any canned diced tomatoes)
2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
2 cups frozen green beans
2 cups frozen corn
Sliced carrots
(other veggies could be lima beans, green peas, really anything you like)
Reserved ham meat from stock
2 -3 tsp. course-ground black pepper
2-3 tsp. garlic powder
1-2 tsp. seasoned salt (I use Lawry's - or make your own)

Method
In a large stock pot, bring ham stock, onion, celery, tomatoes and spices to a boil, reduce heat and simmer approx. 30 minutes or until vegetables are very tender.

Add the remaining vegetables, reserved ham meat from stock, adjust seasonings to taste and cook over low heat until all vegetables are tender. Serve immediately.

GREAT with biscuits, cornbread or crusty bread.

Canning directions:  Cook ham stock, onion, celery, tomatoes and spices as above.  Add remaining vegetables raw to each canning jar, top with reserved ham meat from stock, and evenly distribute among jars. Ladle hot stock over top and seal with canning rings and lids. Your ratio should be half solids to half liquid in each jar.

Process jars in a pressure canner 1 hour and 15-30 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure.

Yield is approx. 4 quart jars

Enjoy,

Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

Ham Stock and 15 Bean & Ham Soup

I love ham and 15 bean soup! It's one of those "make you feel warm all over soups." So, let's make some. You need one very meaty ham bone, saved from a ham shank or other ham you have baked. Save any leftover meat from the ham as well ... you will need some later. This is probably the most "frugal" thing you can do - make stock from a ham you have already eaten for dinner ... I mean, why not? You were going to throw it away anyway, so why not use it to make stock? Just think for one minute how awesome that is ... something you weren't going to use becomes some yummy soup you and your family will enjoy, or stock you can add to other dishes to make it even more yummy. I'ts a win, win as far as I can see!

RECIPE
Ingredients
1 large, meaty ham bone
2 quarts water
1 large onion, chopped
4 large carrots, cut in 1/2
4 celery stalks, cut in 1/2
1-2 tsp sea salt
1-2 tsp course-ground black pepper
1-2 tsp garlic
1-2 tbls chili powder
1-2 tsp red pepper flakes

Soup
1 bag Hurst's 15 Bean Mix
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion, chopped
garlic to taste
Juice of 1 lemon or 1 tbls lemon juice
Ham pieces, diced

Method
Place all ingredients in a large stock pot and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer several hours, or until ham is falling off the bone (about 3-4 hours); drain stock discarding all vegetables and ham bone.  Reserve any ham meat from the bone to use in the soup. Place stock in a large storage container and refrigerate until fat particles solidify on top; remove fat from stock. At this time you can pressure can just the ham stock if desired. Ladle into jars and pressure can pints for 20 minutes and quarts for 25 minutes at 10 lbs pressure.

Soup
Soak 15-bean mixture for 8 hours or overnight in 9 cups water.  Drain beans and place in large stock pot.  Cover with 2 quarts of reserved ham stock, add water if necessary; bring mixture to a boil, uncovered. Simmer 2 1/2 hours; add 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 onion diced, garlic and lemon juice. Continue to simmer 30 more minutes. Serve while hot or put up by pressure canning if desired.

Pressure Canning 15 Bean and Ham Soup
Reduce cooking time for the soup (above recipe) to 1 hour. Place diced ham pieces (reserved from baked ham) in canning jars; ladle soup over top to fill jars leaving 1" head space. Process pint jars 75 minutes at 10 lbs. pressure (quart jars 90 minutes).

Enjoy,

Mary

© Cooking with Mary and Friends. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Cooking with Mary and Friends with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.