Ham Great Northern Bean (Printable Version)

Tender Great Northern beans and savory ham slow-cooked with classic aromatics for a hearty meal.

# What You 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

# Steps:

01 - Rinse and sort the dried Great Northern beans to remove any debris. No soaking is required for slow cooker preparation, though optional overnight soaking yields softer beans and reduces cooking time.
02 - In a 6-quart or larger slow cooker, combine beans, ham bone or diced ham, chopped onion, diced carrots, diced celery, and minced garlic.
03 - Pour chicken broth and water into the slow cooker. Add bay leaves, dried thyme, and ground black pepper. Stir gently to combine all ingredients.
04 - Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours, or until beans reach tender consistency and flavors have fully melded together.
05 - Remove ham bone from the slow cooker. Shred any meat clinging to the bone and return it to the soup. Discard the bone and bay leaves.
06 - Taste the soup and adjust salt level as needed, accounting for the sodium content already contributed by the ham.
07 - Ladle soup into bowls and serve hot. Garnish with fresh parsley if desired.

# Expert Pointers:

01 -
  • It practically cooks itself while you go about your day, filling your home with an aroma that feels like a hug.
  • One pot, minimal prep, and you end up with enough to feed a crowd or keep in the freezer for rough mornings.
  • The beans become so creamy and the broth so rich that you'll forget how simple the ingredients really are.
02 -
  • Don't add salt early in the cooking process—the ham and broth contribute enough, and you risk oversalting if you're not careful.
  • If your beans are still hard after 8 hours, your slow cooker might run cool; add another hour or two rather than turning up the heat, which can make beans tough.
03 -
  • If you don't have a ham bone, quality diced ham works fine—just use about 2 cups and reduce the cooking time to 6 hours since there's less bone to extract flavor from.
  • The secret to deep flavor is resisting the urge to rush—low and slow, never high heat, will give you beans that are tender and a broth that tastes like it's been lovingly made for hours.
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