This Slow Cooker Bean Soup has loads of flavor from ham, spinach, and thyme, and it can be made with cooked dried beans or canned beans. And this kicked-up version of ham and bean soup is nutritious and extra delicious!

PIN Slow Cooker Bean Soup to make it later.

This Slow Cooker Bean Soup has spinach, and adding some leafy greens is one of my favorite tricks for increasing the nutritional value of most any kind of soup. Greens are the the most nutritious foods per calorie of all the world’s healthiest foods, and the flavor of leafy greens goes with so many other foods. And I loved the addition of spinach in this ham and bean soup made in the slow cooker!

The slow cooker soup started with leftover ham from Thanksgiving and dried beans in the pantry. Once I had the idea in mind, all I needed was a package of baby spinach and by the end of the day I had this delicious Slow Cooker Bean Soup that was kicked up in flavor with ham, spinach, and thyme.

I took some of the soup to my brother Mark and his wife Lisa, since they’re the ones who brought the ham for Thanksgiving. A few days later Mark texted me to say the healthy soup was a winner. I hope you’ll try this tasty soup next time you have some leftover ham!

What ingredients do you need for this soup?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient.)

What greens can you use for the Slow Cooker Bean Soup?

If you’re not big on spinach, I think Kale or Swiss Chard would also be delicious in this ham and bean soup.

Want to use dried beans for the Slow Cooker Bean Soup?

If you want to save some money and have plenty of time, here’s How to Cook Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker. There’s also a good post on my Slow Cooker or Pressure Cooker site about How to Cook Dried Beans in the Slow Cooker or Instant Pot. You can make extra beans and freeze some for the next time you want to make soup.

What size Slow Cooker did I use?

I made this soup in my 6 quart Ninja Cooker, which isn’t that readily available any more, but any type of Crock-Pot Large Oval Slow Cooker (affiliate link) that’s at least six quarts will be fine.  If you only have a smaller slow cooker, the recipe could certainly be cut in half.

How high in carbs is this slow cooker soup with beans, ham, and spinach?

This soup has 29 net carbs and 34 grams of protein per serving.

Can Slow Cooker Bean Soup be frozen?

This soup freezes well, and you’ll be glad you have some to pull out of the freezer when you get home late on a cold night.

How to Make Slow Cooker Bean Soup (with Ham, Spinach, and Thyme):

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

1. Cooking your own dried beans is the most flavorful option for this type of soup. (I cooked two pounds of beans, then froze half and used half in the soup. Here’s How to Cook Dried Beans in a Slow Cooker if you haven’t done it.
2. If cooking dried beans from scratch doesn’t work for you, no judgement from me. Just use 4 cans of white beans!
3. Put 6 cups of cooked beans (4 cans) into a large slow cooker with 6 cups chicken broth (or use partly ham stock if you have some).
4. I had ham juice from the bottom of the slow cooker we cooked the ham in, but if I’m using chicken broth for soups with ham, I add a little Goya Ham Flavor Concentrate (affiliate link) to flavor the soup.
5. Cook beans, onions, dried thyme, and stock about 2 hours on high.
6. Then add chopped ham and cook about 2 hours more.
7. When the soup has cooked several hours and ingredients are starting to taste good together, chop 5 oz. baby spinach (or other greens) and add to the soup.
8. Cook 30-45 minutes more. (I like the greens fairly well done.)
9. Season Slow Cooker Bean Soup to taste with plenty of fresh-ground black pepper and a little salt if needed. Serve hot and enjoy!

More Tasty Soup with Ham:

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How to make roasted tomato soup with fresh lemon, garlic and thyme. Jump to the Roasted Tomato Soup with Lemon and Thyme or read on to see our tips for making it.

After sharing this Cardamom Roasted Tomato Pasta we wanted to try another recipe combining roasted tomatoes and citrus. Instead of cardamom and lemon (like in the pasta), we went with lemon and fresh thyme for this easy roasted tomato soup. We thought about calling this “adult soup” since it is a bit different from a more traditional creamy tomato soup. This soup is much lighter and tastes fresh thanks to the lemon.

How to Make Roasted Tomato Soup with Lemon

To make the soup, we used our new favorite kitchen gadget, the OXO Food Mill on the coarsest setting. You can use a blender, but we prefer the texture you get from using the food mill.

To make the soup, we start roast lots of tomatoes with thyme, garlic and a few strips of lemon zest. Since we’re using the food mill, you don’t need to remove the skin from the garlic cloves. It will catch the skin when we blend the soup. If you are using a blender, you might want to remove the skins now.

Add olive oil, salt and pepper then roast until the tomatoes begin to caramelize around the edges. While they roast, cook some onions in a large pot then add the roasted tomatoes and garlic. Here’s another roasted tomato soup recipe, made with onion, garlic, and basil.

Pour in some chicken stock and a large can of tomatoes. Simmer then pass the soup through a food mill. By the way, if you do use a food mill, don’t forget to scrape underneath the mill when you are done. You don’t want to miss all that good stuff.

Add the soup back to the pot and pour in some half and half for a little creaminess — coconut or almond milk would work as well.

Recipe updated, originally posted December 2011. Since posting this in 2011, we have tweaked the recipe to be more clear. – Adam and Joanne

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