There's so much to love about our old fashioned Ham Bone Soup recipe loaded with potatoes, beans, ham, and vegetables in a delicious broth. It can be made in the slow cooker or on the stove.

An easy Ham Bone Soup recipe with potatoes, ham, carrots, zucchini, and beans in a delicious broth, served in a bowl.

My favorite use of leftovers if this Ham Bone Soup; cheap and convenient!

Every time we enjoy a Baked Ham on Christmas or Easter, I'm most excited about turning the leftovers into this dreamy soup. It's healthy, hearty, and so delicious! And if you don't want to buy a whole ham you could go to your local Honey-Baked Ham and buy one of their leftover bones for this soup, or ask your local butcher if they have one. They are inexpensive and usually still have a lot of meat left on the bone!

This crockpot ham and bean soup is a hit with everyone, but don't miss my other leftover ham recipes like, Chicken Cordon Bleu, Monte Cristo Sandwich, Stromboli, and Ham Fried Rice.

How to make Ham Bone Soup:

Slow Cooker Method (Recommended):

Make Broth: In a slow cooker, add ham bone, water, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic. Put heat on LOW and cook for 5-7 hours (or overnight), or HIGH for 3.5 hours.

Two images showing a ham bone in a slow cooker with water and seasonings to make a broth for the best ham bone soup recipe.

Cook Bacon and Veggies: Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove to a plate and sauté onion, celery, zucchini, carrots, and potato in the same pan.

Two images showing bacon cooked until crispy and a bowl filled with chopped potatoes, zucchini, and carrots.

Combine: Remove ham bone from slow cooker and remove any meat from it. Add sautéed vegetables, cooked bacon, and the rest of the ingredients to the broth in the slow cooker. Taste, adding more spices if needed, then cook on LOW for 2 more hours. Serve ham and bean soup recipe in a bowl with a homemade garlic roll.

Two images showing crockpot ham and bean soup when it's finished in the crockpot then served in a bowl.

Stovetop Method: Add ham bone, water, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic to a heavy stock pot, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp then remove to a plate. Add veggies to skillet; onion, celery, zucchini, carrots, and potato and sauté. Remove ham bone from pot, and cut any meat off of it. Add ham (including any from the bone), sautéed vegetables, cooked bacon, and the remaining ingredients to soup pot. Taste and add any more seasonings as needed. Cook until potatoes are tender. Serve in bowls with a homemade roll on the side.

Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:

To Make Ahead: The broth can be made several days advance, stored airtight container in the fridge. I like to chop all vegetables beforehand and keep them in the fridge until it's time to make the soup.

To Freeze: The broth,ham bone and ham meat can be kept in the freezer for several months. The soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then rewarm on the stove or in the slow cooker on LOW until heated.

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Recipe

An easy Ham Bone Soup recipe with potatoes, ham, carrots, zucchini, and beans in a delicious broth, served in a bowl.
Prep 20 minutes
Cook 10 hours
Total 10 hours 20 minutes
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Ingredients
  

Broth:

Soup:

  • 5-6 slices bacon
  • 1 small onion , diced
  • 2 ribs celery , chopped
  • 1 medium zucchini , chopped
  • 2 carrots , peeled and diced
  • 1 russet potato , peeled and diced
  • 2 cans great northern beans , rinsed and drained
  • 1-2 cloves garlic , minced
  • 1/4 teaspoon Dried oregano
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 Tablespoon dried parsley flakes
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper , to taste
  • 1 1/2 cups leftover diced ham (225g)

Instructions
 

Slow Cooker (see notes for stovetop option):

  • Place the ham bone, water, peppercorns, bay leaves and garlic in slow cooker. Cook on LOW for 6-7 hours (or overnight) or HIGH for 3.5 hours.
  • Cook bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Remove to plate. Remove some of the grease from the pan, then add chopped onion, celery, zucchini, carrots, and potato and sauté for a few minutes.
  • Remove ham bone and remove any meat from it. Add ham, sautéed veggies, bacon, and remaining ingredients to broth in the slow cooker. Taste and add seasonings, as needed. Cook on LOW for 2 more hours, or until potatoes are tender.

Notes

Yield: About 9 cups soup. Serving Size: 1 ½ cups. 
Stovetop Method: Add ham bone, water, peppercorns, bay leaves, and garlic to a heavy stock pot, bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 2 hours. Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp then remove to a plate. Add veggies to skillet; onion, celery, zucchini, carrots, and potato and sauté. Remove ham bone from pot, and cut any meat off of it. Add ham (including any from the bone), sautéed vegetables, cooked bacon, and the remaining ingredients to soup pot. Taste and add any more seasonings as needed. Cook until potatoes are tender.
Make Ahead Instructions: The broth can be made several days advance, stored airtight container in the fridge. I like to chop all vegetables beforehand and keep them in the fridge until it's time to make the soup.
Freezing Instructions: The broth, ham bone and ham meat can be kept in the freezer for several months. The soup can also be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator then rewarm on the stove or in the slow cooker on LOW until heated.

Nutrition

Calories: 256kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 18gFat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.3gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.04gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 440mgPotassium: 898mgFiber: 9gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 3538IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 125mgIron: 3mg

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I originally shared this recipe February 2018. Updated April 2021 and March 2025.

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Lauren Allen

Welcome! I’m Lauren, a mom of four and lover of good food. Here you’ll find easy recipes and weeknight meal ideas made with real ingredients, with step-by-step photos and videos.

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4.96 from 141 votes (121 ratings without comment)
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jgoetzinger75@gmail.com
1 month ago

5 stars
Absolutely delicious! Did not make any adjustments and it turned put great. The ham bone and ham I used were left over from a smoked ham so it really added to the flavor. Will make again!

Robert Landis
3 months ago

5 stars
This is a wonderful hearty soup that can serve as a main course or an appetizer. I made the broth in a crockpot, cooking it all day as indicated in the recipe, then, after sautéing the bacon and vegetables, finished it in a big Dutch oven on the stove. Only change I made was to throw in some leftover sliced baby Bella mushrooms I had in the fridge. Wonderful, made from scratch taste that could not be duplicated by any pre-made soup from a can. A winner!

Kathleen Troost
4 months ago

1 star
I enjoy so many of your recipes but this one was a total fail. Tasteless

Tina
3 months ago

I’ve made this many times but use chicken broth or vegetable broth while making ham bone broth with seasonings without adding water. Much tastier. Hope this helps.

ByGeorge
7 months ago

5 stars
This is the first time I’ve tried making stock from any phone. But I thought I would give it a try with my Christmas hand bone and leftover ham. To my surprise, my family loved it.

Howlinwolfee
1 year ago

I have written a review already stating how fabulous this recipe is and that it is better if the broth is cooked overnight or all day in the slow cooker. My slow cooker was broken, I already new that stove top all the way is still good, but lacks the flavor produced by longer slow cooking. Here are my notes for what I tried in my instant pot in case anyone else wants to try: I cooked the broth on high for 2 hours and did an instant release. Good broth, but not nearly the power punch of the all day crock pot Next time, make the broth a day ahead, let it cook max hours in insta and let the insta release on its own. I sautéed the veg and added everything to the instant except for the canned beans, which I was afraid would overcook. Cooked for 2 minutes on high. This was probably a little too long because the potatoes and zucchini were a little mushier than I would have liked.

NEXT TIME, make the broth a day ahead, let it cook max hours in insta and let the insta pressure release on its own. Try pressure cooking all other ingredients except beans for 1 minute, or finish veggies on stove top. Also experiment with not sautéing the veggies before pressure cooking them.