This ham and 15 bean soup is a delicious and comforting family favorite, and it is our favorite way to use up leftover ham.
My mom made ham and 15 bean soup all the time when I was growing up. I actually remember her making it on New Years because it has black-eyed peas and ham in it, which is supposed to bring luck and prosperity in the new year.
Plus, it was a great way to use up that leftover Christmas ham!
The recipe starts with a 20 ounce bag of Hurst 15 bean soup mix.
They carry it in all the major grocery stores around here. I have also see the 15 beans sold in the bulk section at Sprouts. You can get the bulk kind, if you want to because I discard the spice packet that comes with it.
I prefer to season it up myself. Plus, it helps me bypass those mystery ingredients that I cannot pronounce.
I do rinse and drain my beans, but I do not soak them ahead of time. If you want to soak yours, you will need to reduce the liquids in this recipe by about a cup and a half.
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Also, I made this in both the slow cooker and the Instant Pot/ pressure cooker. There is a time and place for both, in my opinion.
The Instant Pot is great for making it at dinner time.
The slow cooker is great to set up earlier in the day so that dinner is waiting for you when you are ready to eat it.
Both are hands-off, once you chop everything. You can also use pre-diced onions and bottled minced garlic, if you want to make it even easier!
Either way, you are going to get some really delicious and filling soup!
Also, FYI: the longer you let your soup sit, the thicker it will get. If you are heating up leftovers the next day, you can add a little splash of water, if you wish.
Tools Used to Make Ham and 15 Bean Soup
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Ham and 15 Bean Soup Recipe
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Ham and 15 Bean Soup (Slow Cooker or Instant Pot)
Ingredients
- 1 20-ounce pack Hurst dry beans (15 beans soup mix) rinsed, discard the spice packet
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 Tablespoon fresh thyme or 1.5 teaspoons dried
- 7.5 cups chicken stock homemade or store-bought
- 1 teaspoon hot sauce or more to taste
- 1 lb diced ham can use leftover
- Optional: ham bone if you have one
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Place all ingredients (except salt and pepper) in the slow cooker or Instant Pot.
SLOW COOKER
- For the slow cooker, cook in high for about 6 hours, until beans are tender.
- Salt and pepper, to taste. I always taste the soup before I add salt and pepper. There is already a fair amount of salt in the ham and the broth, so sometimes I don't need it at all.
INSTANT POT
- For the Instant Pot, cook on high manual pressure for 40 minutes with natural pressure release (do not use the quick release valve, but let the pressure indicator lower on its own).
- Salt and pepper, to taste. I always taste the soup before I add salt and pepper. There is already a fair amount of salt in the ham and the broth, so sometimes I don't need it at all.
Recipe Notes
Soup will thicken as it sits.
What hot sauce did you use?
I like either Trappey’s Bull (👈🏻the one with the least heat, FYI), Frank’s Red Hot or Tabasco.
Hi, if using a slow cooker, should you pre-soak the beans? Thanks!
Hi Judy! No, I do not presoak using the slow cooker method either. I’m just a rebel I guess.😉😎
Just made this tonight- oh my goodness its wonderful! Barely needed any salt and pepper, it was so flavorful. And I am a picky soup eater! I used the bulk 15 bean mix from Sprouts. I was so skeptical about not soaking the beans, as I am a pretty dedicated soaker. but I believe in the magic of the instant pot, so I gave it a try! Worked beautifully. I will be trying more of your recipes!
Woo hoooo!🙌🏻 SO happy to hear that you enjoyed it Tia!💖
I made this tonight in the Instant Pot, and it is sooooo good!! It took 2 hours, start to finish, which is a still way faster than doing it on the stove. Not having to soak the beans was fantastic!
The only thing I wish I thought to get was a nice hunk of crusty bread to dip into the delicious broth. Mmmmm!!!
Yaaay!💖 Oh yeah, corn bread is so good with this. 👌🏻 Glad you enjoyed it!
Made this and used italian style diced tomatoes, carrots, celery,also
I’d love to add pasta to the soup. is it possible when making in an instant pot?
It is possible, although I’m not really sure of the result since I haven’t tested it myself. Guessing: I’d definitely give the beans a head start, and cook them most of the way, then turn off and release pressure. Remove lid and add pasta for just the last minute or so. You might need a little more water, depending on how much pasta you add. The pasta will soak up some of that liquid. Good luck!
I’m having a game night, I will be making this for sure. Hubby and daughter loved it as well. Thanks for recipe.
Thanks Lindy! I am so glad y’all enjoyed it💖👍🏻
This is my first time making this in the instant pot. I have always pre soaked and used crockpot. Can you use sausage instead of ham?
I have never tried it with sausage, but that sounds good to me. Let me know if you try it, and what kind of sausage you use. 👍🏻
This has become a favorite recipe In our house. Ive shared it with tons of people and we make it every few weeks. Love how easy it is in the instant pot! Great way to use up leftover ham around the holidays.
Woo hoo! I am glad you have enjoyed it Kim. Thanks for passing it along too. 💖 I hope you are having a great week.
Does the ham have to already be cooked when making this soup? I am just starting out cooking with an instant Pot and have to be very careful not to add any extra salt into my wife’s diet. The pre-cooked hams sold in supermarkets usually contain a large amount of salt.
Yes, I have only ever used cooked ham in this recipe. I completely understand about your concerns on salt, though. Yes, ham is salty. Check your store to see if they carry any lower sodium ham maybe?
I want to use the flavoring packet. I’ll try to remember to let you know how it tastes.
I bet it will taste good!
If using a 16 oz. bag of beans, what adjustments would you use?
Hi Liz! If you click on the number of servings a slider will pop up, and you can change it. My recipe card will update the amounts for all ingredients. I would recommend changing from 8 servings to 6, and that should get you very close. Hope that helps!
I tried clicking on the number of serving but a slider did not pop up. Did I do something wrong.
Hi Doreen! Something is going on with my recipe plugin, apparently. Apologies! I am trying to fix it.
If the beans are soaked overnight will this change the cooking time in the Ipot
Yes, this will reduce the cook time a pretty good bit, although I am not sure by how much.🤔
Hello Marjorie:
I am going to make the 15 bean soup tonight. I did soak the beans… I was so overwhelmed by how many people said to do it and those who said to no soak. I finally gave in and soaked them overnight. Having said that, this will be my first dish made in my brand new Instant Pot. I will be pressure cooking them and need to know how if they should be cooked less time because of the soaking. Also, I see that you said to put in less liquid- so, to confirm, should I only use 3 and 3/4 cup of broth?
I am sure you have made this by now. Sorry I didn’t catch your comment in time! Yep, you’d need to reduce cook time by quite a bit (not sure exactly, since I’ve never made it that way). And if you are making the whole recipe, I’d still make sure to use a little more water, like maybe 6 cups, instead of 7.5. Again, not totally sure since I haven’t tested it that way.
What if I’m using a ham bone
Ham bone is SO awesome in this. Just use instead of diced ham, and remove the bone after cooking. The meat will fall off during cooking. Super yummy!
Hi all, can anyone tell me if these bean recipes freeze well after they have been prepared?
Yes, these freeze well. I often freeze half to have for an emergency meal.✅👍🏻
Hi Coby! It takes a while. I want to say 25 to 30 minutes or so. Hope that helps!
Made this with some alterations. This was my first use of my Instant Pot and it was ENORMOUSLY successful. I did take the advice of another poster to saute the aromatics first but also added 1/4 c each of diced celery and carrot to the saute, just cause I like the richness they add. (and extra veggies! always a good thing!) Everything else stayed the same. I barely have leftovers which is a sad thing but also a good thing. Yummy!
Sounds great! Glad you enjoyed it!
Do you soak the beans according to the package instructions or just ad them to the Instant Pot or slow cooker?
I do not soak. Apparently some people are pretty hard-core about soaking their beans. I used to be, but I don’t do it anymore, and it is not necessary for this recipe if you don’t want to.
Do you mean 1 pound of beans? / 2 cups dried beans? Is the 1 ounce a typo??
Thanks for catching that! I recently switched recipe plugins, and it messed up in a few spots like this. It is supposed to be one 20-ounce bag of 15 bean soup mix, spice pack discarded. I updated the post to reflect this.