Slow Cooker Ham and Beans

If you’re a busy mom who needs a quick meal to make when you’re running errands all day, this slow cooker ham and beans recipe gets a thumbs up from us all. Best ham hock recipe you’ll ever make.

Ham Hock and Beans

This. Is. Me. I have three girls who are all in school. Did I mention, THREE different schools?? One does drive herself luckily, and I work full time from home.

Needless to say we are very busy so Crockpot meals are my go to for eating healthy and eating together as a family at the end of the day.

It used to be hard cooking from scratch, until this “magical pot” came along in my life. Now cooking dry beans in slow cooker is so easy, adding some meat in there takes it from good to amazing.

Crockpot Ham and Beans

This year brought about a few new adventures. We moved 1,000 miles away AND my oldest daughter got her driver’s license! Both bring excitement and a bit of anxiety as our focus went to the cars we were driving and making sure they were great in the snow.

Once I got a hang of our new surroundings it was time to find a new source of buying meat in bulk. You see we always have bought half a cow and/or pig from a local farmer and still wanted to continue that. Once we did we got a bunch of different cuts which was great so I could experiment with them.

If you have never used ham hocks or pork shank they have a TON of flavor to them especially if they have been smoked. There really isn’t a need for much seasoning if you use one or two of these babies. It’s also a great Crock pot leftover ham recipe if you want to just throw in what you have after the holidays.

Let’s talk a little bit about slow cooking shall we?? First off I have a few different varieties and I love them all. Each one has an occasion to be used like….

1. This is my favorite 6 quart programmable one with a locking lid so it’s great for bringing to a potluck too.
2. If you just want to serve a few appetizers you should get this one that sit side by side one another.
3. I prefer not to use liners, but rather just spray olive oil inside before adding my food for easier cleanups.

Let me give you a peek of my pretty thang I bought recently. It goes with my kitchen so I can just leave it out on the countertop all the time. 😉

Slow Cooker Recipe for Pinto Beans

I will admit, I am a very busy mom but have been focusing lately on taking the time to focus on our family time. Our children are getting older and we are at the point now where we are counting down the number of summers we have left. Using a pressure cooker or slow cook pot like this makes it easier to eat together more often. 

If you are in the same boat I would highly suggest using this more. You can literally throw everything in there in the morning and not touch it all day long.

When you are all back from your busy days it will be there perfectly tender to enjoy. Then you can discuss your day, together. You’ll look back on this and treasure it for sure.

• We highly value family dinners and try to get it done at least 2-3 times each week.
• You could start with canned beans if you only had a few hours on hand.
• You could use leftover pressure cooker ham you made the night before for this or ham hocks are even better.

The timing won’t matter whether you use hocks, sliced ham steak or precooked leftover ham though. You still need a while to soak and slow cook the pinto beans. Don’t rush it.

Another option is to use mayocoba beans or Northern beans for this. They all have a pretty mild flavor. You can soak overnight to lessen the time or just rinse and throw them right in.

Beans and Ham Hocks

When I married my husband we talked about making dinner together a priority. I will admit at the beginning when we had 3 girls with 2 under the age of 2. I was overwhelmed and it didn’t happen often. The older they got the easier it became. But the running around on a daily basis didn’t end.

• I needed to find a way to cook a healthy delicious meal when I was gone all day long. That is when I really started creating slow cooker recipes!

It. Was. A. Lifesaver!! This made it possible for me to prepare the ingredients, throw everything in, turn it on in the morning. Then I would know when everyone was done with their homework we could just serve it up. I needed that, we needed that, and I felt the difference the more often we had family dinner nights together.

Over the years dinners together would slip to the back of my mind and I have to be honest, we all felt the difference. Even my daughters would remind me that “we need to eat dinner together more often” and get me into gear again. It really bonded us and really was an easy thing to do when I keep it in mind.

Now that my oldest is almost out of the house and ready to start college next year I have tried to do it as often as possible.

If family dinners are important to you too but you aren’t sure how to get started, try this easy Crock pot ham and beans recipe.

• Aim for once a week and build from there. Go around the table and have everyone share their high and low for the day….that always gets the conversation started.

Another way we created a closer family bond was to go on road trips together! To get started with this just find somewhere about an hour away from your home that everyone would enjoy.

Slow cooker ham and beans

What I am saying with all of this is as busy moms we need to put stopping (literally and figuratively) on our “list of to dos”. It’s a necessity and you won’t regret it.

1. Ham bone – ham hocks, or use leftover diced ham after the holidays
2. Bag of beans
   1. dried beans, pinto or Northern beans found at local grocery store
   2. rinsed beans 
3. Broth – I used beef broth
4. Onion
   1. carrots and celery could be added too
   2. cut into large chunks
5. Seasonings
6. Bay leaf is optional

And if you’re having a really busy day we also have instructions to make Instant Pot ham and beans here as well. Both are winners.

Dry Beans in Slow Cooker

Pinto was used here but Great Northern beans is great too. If you instead use drained canned beans it will only take 2-3 hours. White beans take less time than darker varieties. If you don’t add meat at all I would add salt and pepper to give it more flavor.

• If using dry beans put them in a bowl with 4 cups of water and leave them overnight to soak. (can use drained canned beans but I think dry turns out better)
• Slice or dice your onion.
• Put your ham hock in the center of your slow cooker. Drain your soaked beans and pour those around your ham hock.
• Separate pieces of cut onion and sprinkle around ham hock on top of beans.
• Sprinkle minced garlic and seasonings around, on top of onions. Then pour your chicken broth into your crockpot and close your lid.
• Set on low for 6 – 8 hours for dry soaked beans (until they’re tender)
• After 6 hours (7 if you want beans softer), remove bones from ham hock and shred ham in pot (it will fall apart when you use tongs on it.
  • I do not recommend cooking on high for this at all. They need time to get tender.
• Stir and serve!

Slow cooker ham and bean soup recipe

This would be an easy transition to make . Use the same ingredients as listed below. You might want to add some sliced vegetables like carrots and celery halfway thru for this to make it heartier.

• You’d just want to add more broth to make it “soupier”
• This too is the ultimate comfort food with an all day cook time.

Want to make this quicker? Use your pressure cooker or put canned beans in a Dutch Oven and cook 1 hour on medium high covered until tender!

I personally like using dry beans to adjust with a seasoning packet or the right amount salt for us. It is another choice though. In this post is a video showing you how to make this easy recipe with leftover ham.