Ham and Great Northern Beans (Printable Version)

Savory ham and tender Great Northern beans combined with classic aromatics for a warm, satisfying dish.

# What You'll Need:

→ Beans & Legumes

01 - 1 pound dried Great Northern beans, rinsed and sorted

→ Meats

02 - 1 meaty ham bone or 2 cups diced cooked ham

→ Vegetables

03 - 1 large onion, finely chopped
04 - 2 carrots, peeled and diced
05 - 2 celery stalks, diced
06 - 3 cloves garlic, minced

→ Liquids

07 - 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
08 - 2 cups water

→ Herbs & Spices

09 - 2 bay leaves
10 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
11 - 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
12 - Salt to taste

# How-To Steps:

01 - Rinse and sort the dried beans to remove debris. Soaking overnight is optional but recommended for softer beans and reduced cooking time.
02 - In a large slow cooker, combine beans, ham bone or diced ham, onion, carrots, celery, and garlic.
03 - Pour in chicken broth and water. Add bay leaves, thyme, and black pepper. Stir gently to combine.
04 - Cover and cook on low for 8 hours, or until beans are tender and flavors have melded.
05 - Remove ham bone if using. Shred any meat from the bone and return it to the soup. Discard the bone and bay leaves.
06 - Taste and adjust seasoning with salt as needed. Serve hot, optionally garnished with fresh parsley.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • It practically cooks itself in the slow cooker, leaving you free to do literally anything else for eight blissful hours.
  • The flavor deepens as it sits, so this soup tastes better the next day and actually improves when frozen and thawed.
02 -
  • Don't oversalt at the beginning—ham releases salt into the broth as it cooks, and it's easy to end up with soup that's too salty if you're not careful.
  • The soup thickens as it cools because of the starches from the beans, so what seems perfectly soupy when hot might be more like a stew the next day, which is actually wonderful.
03 -
  • If your slow cooker runs hot, check the beans around the 7-hour mark to avoid them turning to mush—every cooker has its own personality.
  • Save any leftover ham bone even after you've picked it clean; freeze it for making broth another time.
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