A no-fuss crockpot ham and cabbage soup recipe using fresh cabbage, carrots, onions, celery, garlic, and smoked ham.

With Fall approaching Kim and I have been working on some heartier dishes to share.

For today's recipe, we're sharing my slow-cooker ham and cabbage soup.

It's a super easy dump and go recipe that uses fresh ingredients to create a savory, warm soup.

Two white bowls filled with ham and cabbage soup.

For my version, I like to use an apple smoked ham. Applewood has a nice flavor that pairs well with cabbage and pork.

Now, you could use bacon, but I don't recommend tossing it into the crockpot raw, unless you enjoy soft, chewy bacon.

The finished soup served in a big, white bowl.

How to make crockpot ham and cabbage soup?

First, chop the ham and wash and core the cabbage. You want to remove that tough inner core from the vegetable.

Also, go ahead and give the cabbage a rough chop. Dice the onions, carrots, celery and mince the garlic.

All of the ingredients have been added to a slow-cooker.

Next, add the ham, cabbage, carrots, onion, celery, garlic, broth (or water), bay leaves, salt, and pepper to the cooker.

In regards to the liquid (water or broth), you do have 2 options. For more information, please refer to the tips section.

Carrots, ham, and other ingredients in the crockpot.

Then, cover the soup and let it cook for 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low.

Keep an eye on the soup while it cooks, if you need to add more liquid, go ahead and do so.

More broth added to the cooking ingredients.

Last, remove the lid and taste test the veggies. If the cabbage and carrots are soft, then the dish is finished.

That's it, your slow-cooker ham and cabbage soup recipe is done! Kim and I hope you enjoy it and wish you all the best 🙂

A top-down view of the finished soup in bowls.

Recipe Tips:

Once the video is uploaded, you'll notice we added liquid twice. That's because not everyone has a massive crockpot. Kim started with about 4-cups of liquid, let the soup cook down a little, and added more during the cooking process. Depending on the size of your cooker, you may have to do this as well.
Applewood smoked ham isn't always easy (or cheap) to come by. In a pinch you could use regular pre-cooked ham and add a little something extra. Wash, peel, core, and dice an apple. Toss that into the cooker to add an apple flavor to the soup.
This dish can be high in sodium, but you do have a few options. For example, buy low-sodium ham and low-sodium broth; or use water in place of the broth.
Don't forget to remove the bay leaves before serving the soup. Nobody wants to bite into an inedible, dried spice.

Two bowls of the soup sitting on a table.

Other soup recipes you may love:

Recipe Card with Ingredient Amounts and Instructions