1 lb. dried navy beans or 2 cans navy/great northern beans
5 cloves garlic, chopped
3 carrots, sliced
2 ham hocks (1.5 lbs.) or 1-1.5 lbs. cubed pork shoulder
1 small red onion, chopped
1 russet potato, peeled and quartered
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. thyme
black pepper, to taste
4 cups water
1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar

  • add all ingredients except vinegar to crockpot
  • cook on high until beans are tender, about 6 hours
  • remove ham hocks to cool, then remove meat and add back to the soup
  • mash potato pieces with a fork
  • stir in vinegar
  • adjust seasoning and serve

source: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1027174-slow-cooker-senate-bean-soup

8/27/2025: made this yesterday, with a few modifications:

  • cubed pork shoulder instead of ham hocks (wegmans only had raw pork hocks)
  • canned great northern beans (couldn’t find dry navy beans)
  • 4 cups of water instead of 8 (because 4 filled my crockpot)

with these updates, it’s pretty similar to pork and beans — but the spices are a little different, so i think it’s worth keeping both of them, at least until i decide which one i like best or if they are different enough.