This Collard Green Soup with Ham and Beans is everything we want in a slow cooker meal - crazy flavorful, seriously filling, and almost entirely hands-off. Hearty, smoky, and packed with tender collard greens, savory ham, and creamy beans. A one-pot, soul-warming dish where the slow cooker does all the heavy lifting! 🤤 Serve with cornbread and your favorite hot sauce!
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This Slow Cooker Collard Green Soup Is Basically a Hug in a Bowl 🥰
Chamere's grandma makes the best collard greens - the kind you think about long after the meal is over. She never wrote anything down, so we've learned to riff on our own, tasting and adjusting until it feels right. This soup is our spin on her greens, turned into a full meal with ham and beans. Grandma's cooking is always the inspiration!
The slow cooker is perfect for this kind of soup - the ham, beans, and greens have time to get to know each other, and all those flavors meld together beautifully. Lots of garlic, onions, spicy and savory seasonings add tons of depth, and a splash of apple cider vinegar at the end brightens everything up. Comfort food that practically makes itself! Perfect for a cozy Sunday meal, meal prepping for the week (it's even better the next day!), or anytime you want something hearty without a lot of hands-on effort.
We love serving this soup with a drizzle of hot sauce and a side of cornbread. Our cast iron skillet cornbread or sweet potato cornbread are perfect for dipping into that flavorful broth - the slightly sweet cornbread and savory, smoky soup are meant to be together.
🥬Everything You Need for This Ham, Bean, and Collard Green Soup
This soup comes together with simple pantry staples and a few fresh ingredients. Nothing fancy, but BIG flavor.
How to Make Ham and Bean Soup with Collard Greens 🥬
The beauty of this soup is how simple it is to throw together. A little sautéing, then prep the greens while everything slow cooks, and dinner comes together mostly hands-off!
- Step 1: Wash the beans in cold water until the water runs clear. You may need to do this 3-4 times - dried beans can be dusty! Toss any rocks or debris you find.
🫘A note on the beans: If you're using dried beans, there's no need to soak them overnight - they'll cook low and slow right in the broth.
If you want to use canned beans instead, drain them and add them during the last hour of cooking with the collard greens so they don't turn to mush.
- Step 2: Drain the beans completely and set aside.
- Step 3: This step is optional, but we highly recommend it! Melt the butter in a skillet (or your slow cooker if it has a sauté setting) over medium heat. Add the onions and jalapeños with a big pinch of salt and cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes.
Add the garlic, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, and dried thyme. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
✨ Flavor boost: Those few extra minutes build a serious flavor base - trust us, it's worth it!
🌶️A tablespoon of our homemade Cajun seasoning (which is salt-free) adds so much depth and a little heat to the broth. If using store-bought, taste before adding any extra salt!
- Step 4: Add the beans, ham, and most of the broth to the slow cooker (save some for later to add with the greens!). We love using cubed or diced ham here since it's pre-cooked and saves a ton of time.
Set the slow cooker to HIGH and cook until the beans are fully cooked, about 4 hours.
🍖 Using ham hocks or smoked turkey? Sear them first (or boil briefly and skim off impurities for a cleaner broth), and plan on a longer cook time to get them fall-off-the-bone tender.
Prep those greens! Wash them really well - collards hide a lot of dirt in the leaves! Remove the tough stems, roll up the leaves, and slice them into thin strips.
- Step 5: After 4 hours, add the collard greens, remaining chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, salt, and pepper.
✨ Why vinegar? It brightens everything up and balances the richness - don't skip it! Hot sauce does the same, but it also adds heat (obviously), so keep that in mind. We like using both hot sauce and vinegar to add heat and acidity. We recommend a Louisiana-style hot sauce - our favorite is Crystal. 🌶️
🥬 Short on time? Pre-bagged collard greens work great. No collards at the store? Mustard greens are the closest swap!
- Step 6: Cover and cook on HIGH for another hour until the greens are tender.
Serve with extra hot sauce, honey cornbread muffins, or a warm pile of buttermilk cornmeal biscuits and some whipped honey butter. 🤤
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📖 Recipe
Collard Green Soup with Ham and Beans (Slow Cooker Recipe)
Equipment
- skillet or dutch oven can skip if you can sear things in your slow cooker
- 8-quart slow cooker (or larger)
Ingredients
- 1 pound dried beans rinsed, no need to soak, about 2 cups
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 large onions thinly sliced
- 2 whole jalapenos diced and seeds removed (optional)
- 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt divided and to taste
- 12-14 cloves garlic minced
- 2 teaspoons dried thyme
- 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning preferably with no salt added
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes optional and to taste
- 2 pounds cubed or diced ham
- 8 cups chicken stock divided
- 2 bunches collard greens about 1½ to 2 pounds, cleaned, stems removed & chopped
- 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 tablespoons hot sauce to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Wash the beans. Rinse the dried beans in cold water until the water runs clear. Drain completely and set aside.1 pound dried beans
- Sauté the aromatics (optional but recommended). Melt butter in a skillet (or slow cooker with sauté setting) over medium heat. Add onions and jalapeños with a pinch of salt. Cook until softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, Cajun seasoning, smoked paprika, thyme, and red pepper flakes. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.6 tablespoons unsalted butter, 2 large onions, 2 whole jalapenos, 1-2 teaspoons kosher salt, 12-14 cloves garlic, 2 teaspoons dried thyme, 1 tablespoon Cajun seasoning, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes, ½ teaspoon black pepper
- Start the slow cooker. Transfer aromatics to the slow cooker if needed. Add beans, ham, and 4 cups of chicken stock. Cover and cook on HIGH until beans are tender, about 4 hours.2 pounds cubed or diced ham, 8 cups chicken stock
- Add the greens. Stir in collard greens, remaining chicken stock, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce, salt, and pepper. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 more hour until greens are tender.2 bunches collard greens, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons hot sauce
- Serve. Ladle into bowls and serve hot with cornbread and extra hot sauce on the side.
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Notes
- Salt: We use Diamond Crystal kosher salt in all of our recipes. If you're using Morton's or table salt, reduce the amount by half - they're much saltier!
- Collard greens: Wash them really well - they hide a lot of dirt in the leaves! Remove the tough stems, roll up the leaves, and slice into thin strips. Short on time? Pre-bagged collard greens work great. No collards? Mustard greens are the closest swap.
- Using ham hocks or smoked turkey? Sear them first (or boil briefly and skim off impurities for a cleaner broth), and plan on a longer cook time to get them fall-off-the-bone tender.
- Using canned beans? Drain them and add during the last hour of cooking with the collard greens so they don't turn to mush.
- Don't skip the vinegar! It brightens everything up and balances the richness. Hot sauce does the same (with a spicy kick!). We love a Louisiana-style hot sauce like Crystal.
- Stovetop method: Cook in a large Dutch oven over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. The beans will take about 2 hours, then add the greens and remaining ingredients for the last 30 minutes. Add more broth if needed.
- Serving suggestion: This soup is begging for cornbread! Our sweet cornbread muffins with honey or sweet potato cornbread are perfect for dipping.
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. This soup freezes beautifully - cool completely, transfer to a freezer-safe container, and freeze for up to 6 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge.
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