Crock Pot Great Northern Beans - Southern style! So hearty and delicious and fabulous served with my Southern Cornbread Recipe.
Dry beans, ham hock, and all the other flavors that are hearty and flavorful will make you and your family happy!
So simple to put together - like any good slow cooker recipe - and yet so flavorful after all-day cooking!
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💖 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Easy -
- Quick to put together -
- Family friendly -
What are Great Northern Beans?
Great northern beans are a large white bean that's similar in taste to Navy beans, but they hold up a bit better than Navy beans during cooking. They are definitely not "northern" or anti-southern, however.
They have a hearty, creamy flavor and serve up nicely with ham, veggies, and other seasonings. For great northern beans, you can easily substitute Navy or cannellini beans.
What You'll Need
- 2 pounds dry great northern beans
- water
- ham or pork hock
- salt to taste
- black pepper
- 1 large carrot
- 1 large celery stalk
- cayenne pepper
How to Make
Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker.
Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours.
Remove ham hock to cool a bit. Remove ham bits and add them back to the slow cooker.
Stir the ingredients, taste, and add salt if needed. Serve hot with corn bread or biscuits.
Easy peasy! And so delicious!
Expert Cooking Tips
I like to soak my beans in water for 12-24 hours so they will cook more quickly and not be as hard to digest (yes, less gas for you and your family!)
After soaking, make sure to rinse the beans well before cooking. Some foam may form at the top of the liquid while cooking. It's good to skim that foam off if you have the time, as this is more gas forming on the surface.
If you don't have a ham or pork hock (which is simply a portion of pork leg bone with some meat on it), you can add in some cooked ham pieces (about 2 cups worth) to flavor the beans.
No need to add broth, as the ham hock will do the job broth would do. Simply adding water is sufficient.
You may not need to add any salt at all. This all depends on how salty your hock is and your preferences. That's why I'll leave it up to you. I didn't need to add any to mine.
I like to soak my beans in water for 12-24 hours so they will cook more quickly and not be as hard to digest (yes, less gas for you and your family!)
More Bean Recipes to Love:
Ham and Bean Crockpot Soup (using Leftover Ham)
📋 Recipe
Crock Pot Great Northern Beans - Southern Style with Ham
Equipment
- Slow Cooker
Ingredients
- 2 pounds great northern beans , dry
- 6 cups water
- 1-½ pounds ham hock
- salt to taste
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 large carrot sliced or chopped
- 1 large celery stalk sliced or chopped
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to a large slow cooker.
- Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 7-8 hours.
- Remove ham hock to cool a bit. Remove ham bits and add them back to the slow cooker.
- Stir the ingredients, taste, and add salt if needed. Serve hot with corn bread or biscuits.
Sara Blankenship says
Tried this for dinner. I did a quick soak for the beans the day before and then followed your recipe did mine on low for 12 hrs. I also didn’t have any ham so I fried up a pound of bacon and added that along with some its grease. Delicious base. Thanks for sharing.
Sally says
Awesome - thanks for letting me know, Sara!
Mickey S Jackson says
What do I serve with these white beans besides corn bread?
Sally says
Mickey - A hearty salad would go well with the beans and cornbread.
Melissa says
Do you put the lid on or not? Thanks.
Sally says
Yes, Melissa, you will put the lid on during the cook time. Thank you for your question!
Ted Thomas says
Great recipe but for 2 pounds of beans, even soaked for 12 hours, they were still very hard at 8hrs of cooking time on low. Plan on 7-8 hours on HIGH or 12 hours on low. Also need more like 10 cups of water or broth. (I used half water and half low sodium broth) Dinner is going to be 3-4 hours late, but they look great!
Sally says
Thanks for your feedback, Ted. However, if your beans were still very hard after 8 hours of cooking (even on low), it's highly likely that they were not fresh. This will make them take longer to soften. A longer cook time and a pinch of baking soda can help the older beans to soften. Older beans also might be the reason you needed to add more liquid, as the beans likely didn't absorb much water during the soak time. I'll consider adding this caveat to the recipe notes.
Theresa carney says
This was a great recipe and very easy to follow for us beginners.
Sally says
Great to hear, Theresa!
Patti funkhouser says
Do you have to soaks great northern beans in a cock pot
Sally says
Patti - Soaking dry beans helps them to cook faster as well as getting rid of some of the gas-producing elements in the beans, making them easier to digest. However, you don't have to soak them - they will take a bit longer to cook and may cause more gas discomfort if you don't.
Charlotte Lee McIlnay says
Just add a teaspoon of baking soda and it'll take care of the gas!