Searching Ham Bone Soup?  We have a delicious and easy Ham Bone Soup crock pot recipe to share with you today.  

Indulge in the heartiness of this Ham Bone Soup with beans recipe. Opt for ham bone soup canned beans version for an effortless twist on this comforting recipe making it a breeze to prepare.  

With Easter in the rearview, leaving behind the remnants of festive meals. I have to ask, did you have ham? It is tradition in our family to have ham for Easter dinner. Having a ham always leaves the infamous hambone behind. My grandmother, being the ultimate cook she was in her day always made something with the ham bone.  But this year? I was the one who decided (wrong choice of words here) to take the dreaded ham bone home with me.

Mom asked me several times if I wanted it, and I told her to make soup with it. Of course, she smiled that smile (you know the one mothers give), and asked why don't you take it home with you? Grr... was my thought.  I had no idea what I would do with it, but I decided to go ahead and accept her challenge because I can never seem to back away from a challenge.

My husband loves beans. Kidney beans, black beans, navy beans, lima beans, pinto beans, I am beginning to think all the beans. And now, apparently soup. He is loving all of the soup creations so I have been sticking with what works for us, and have another soup recipe to share with you today. Maybe one of these days he will be souped out, but for now, I will keep chugging along creating new soup recipes to keep that smile on his handsome face. 

This easy soup recipe gets rid of that ham bone no one seems to want after the holiday dinner is finished, or at least that was my sentiments when the ham bone was being packed up to come home with me. Does anyone else feel this same way? No? Well, darn, I was hoping I could find at least one other who doesn't have a clue what to do with a ham bone like myself. Let's see how this one turns out, fingers crossed. 

Hambone Soup

Ingredients:

1. 2 cups chopped red cabbage
2. 1 leftover ham bone
3. 1 c sliced carrots
4. 3 celery heart stalks sliced
5. 1 medium onion, chopped
6. 1/2 10 oz bag spinach (5 oz)
7. 1 32 oz chicken broth
8. 1 can kidney beans
9. 1 can butter beans
10. Salt & Pepper to taste

Instructions:

• Place leftover hambone in crockpot
• Pour chicken broth over hambone
• Add carrots, kidney beans, butter beans, red cabbage, onion, celery heart stalks, spinach to crockpot
• Cover and cook on low for 8-9 hours
• Ham will fall off the bone, remove bone from soup
• Serve and enjoy!

Tips and Variations:

• Feel free to experiment with different types of beans. Cannellini beans, navy beans, or a combination would work beautifully.
• Add a pinch of red pepper flakes for a touch of heat.
• Fresh herbs like thyme or parsley can be added towards the end for an extra layer of flavor.
• For a more substantial meal, you can add cooked barley or rice at the end.
• Don't be afraid to experiment with other vegetables like corn, peas, or green beans.

Confession time.  I am a rookie cook who had never worked with a ham bone before. I see you chuckling to yourself you seasoned cooks, but this gal had no idea I could make my own broth by simply adding water to simmer with the ham bone. Maybe if I would have thought about it before I jumped right in, it would have came to me eventually, but you know me... jump first, research later.

   

I went to the pantry and chose chicken broth.  Yes, I still have some in the pantry from Thanksgiving sales, geesh... it may be a while before they are all gone. Maybe I will learn a lesson in restraint when it comes to sales, although I wouldn't count on it. 😉

I love kidney beans, and black beans, but that is about as far as my liking for beans goes.  I admit, my husband may be on to something with butter beans though. On my last grocery order, he requested butter beans, and since I had never worked with them before, I only added one to the cart. Knowing what I know now, I would have added two cans of butter beans just to this crock pot soup recipe.

The Ham Bone soup recipe was filling, and did you know the ham will literally fall off the bone by cooking it in the crockpot?  I had a feeling it would, but there were some who were doubtful.  

I recall my mother standing at the counter pulling ham from the bone in my early years as a child, and I knew that was not something I would even entertain. As we know, when it comes to cooking, I like it easy. It was a gamble to put the hambone into the crockpot and hope for a fall off the bone outcome, but I decided what the heck? Let's give this a try, and thankfully it worked. I am sure if I had searched out more information, I would have found that to be true, but I like to figure things out on my own. Plus, well, there is that jump right in attitude I tend to have.

I think Grandma was even cheering me on Sunday with that sly grin of hers to see what I could make with a hambone. I can hear her now, waste not, want not since it was a topic of conversation that would come up often throughout my childhood. When I shared what I made, I heard an "oh, that is interesting. How did the vegetables taste with the ham? Ham is so overpowering, you do not usually put all of those vegetables with ham." 

Well, I did, and it was great! 

In fact, pretty darn good. Next time I will gladly take the hambone home with me. No grumbles, grimaces, or questions asked, I'll just scoop up that hambone and say, I have plans for you my dear.  

In case you too wondered what you can do with a hambone after the holidays, now you know, soup. It seems to be the answer to all of our dinner dilemmas here lately, and since my handy crockpot has been my new sidekick, I am thinking dinner these days is a breeze.

No one wants to complicate dinner, unless perhaps you like to, and in that case, my hat is off to you. For me, dinner is just something I have to do every night.  Ok, so I admit there are some evenings I enjoy cooking, and then others? Well, we will just say, it is not my favorite task. I'd much rather be dreaming up my next project or brushing Bentley, maybe even laundry? Sometimes you just have to get through it, and in this case that was how I felt.

I wasn't sure what to expect, but I have my go to vegetable list now that I like to cook with, and I knew they would be a part of this recipe. Spinach is a favorite of mine, and while my husband may grumble that it keeps finding it's way into our nightly dinners, he has been sucking it up and enjoying dinner. I even heard a, will you make this one again? Just for him. I will.

Let us know if you decide to try this ham bone soup. I am eager to hear if it is a recipe others will enjoy too. Experimenting in the kitchen can be fun, at least in my case it can be when the recipes actually turn out. Teehee

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Ciao,

Cara