Green Beans with Potatoes and Ham Recipe
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This delicious 5-ingredient Green Beans with Potatoes and Ham recipe is the perfect slow-cooked stew as a side dish or main entree. My family has been making it for generations, and I love it.
Soups and stews are probably my favorite foods. They’re comforting, delicious, and easy to make. If you’re similar, try my Lamb Stew or Mulligan Stew.
Green Beans with Potatoes and Ham
Green Beans with Potatoes and Ham is a Southern specialty. It consists of beans slow-cooked in water or broth with salt pork, onion, and ham until extremely tender. You add the potatoes at the end and gently simmer just until they’re cooked. This can be served as a side dish, but I love it as a main entree. This recipe specifically has been made in my family for over 75 years.
The most difficult procedure in this ham green beans and potatoes stew is cutting the fresh green beans, which isn’t hard. It just takes some time. I used 5 pounds of green beans in this recipe, and it took about 12-15 minutes to cut all of them.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Green Beans – Any breed of green bean will work for this recipe. Snap beans and haricot verts are my favorite to use.
- Onion — You can use a red, yellow, white, or sweet onion. Optionally, add 5 to 6 whole garlic cloves.
- Salt Pork — This recipe calls for salt pork, the sole ingredient that seasons the entire stew. If you cannot find salt pork, pork belly or bacon is a great alternative.
- Ham – Any whole ham or chunk of ham cut into large cubes will work.
- Potatoes – Russet potatoes are the most traditional, but Yukon gold, red, baby, or fingerling potatoes can also be used.
How to Make Green Beans with Potatoes and Ham
- Trim the green bean ends by snipping, cutting, or snapping them. Watch the video below to see the different ways to do this.
- Place the trimmed green beans in a large pot.
- Add a whole peeled onion to the pot with the green beans.
- Add the salt pork to the pot.
- Fill the pot with water until about 1 inch over the green beans and cook on low to medium heat for 4 hours. The longer you cook this, the better, more flavorful, and tender everything will be.
- Add the cut potatoes and ham to the pot and cook on low to medium heat for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender. Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
Make-Ahead and Storage
Make-Ahead: For freshness, you can make this recipe up to 1 day ahead.
How to Store: This will hold well in the refrigerator, covered, for up to 5 days. It will also freeze well, covered, for up to 3 months. Thaw it in the refrigerator for 1 day before reheating.
How to Reheat: To reheat the stew, add your desired portion to a small saucepot and heat over low heat until hot.
CHEF NOTES + TIPS
- Salt pork is a salt-cured piece of fatty pork belly. The longer the pork is cooked, the more flavor comes out.
- Do not use a spiralized ham for this recipe.
- The longer the stew is cooked, the more flavor comes out.
More Comfort Food Recipes
- Tomato soup and grilled cheese recipe
- Best Fried Chicken Recipe
- Pork Chops with Apples
- Chess Pie
- Swiss Steak
Video
Ham Green Beans and Potatoes Stew
Ingredients
- 3-5 pounds of trimmed green beans
- 2 small or 1 large peeled yellow onion
- 1 pound salt pork
- 3 pounds large diced russet potatoes, peelings optional
- 3 pounds ham, cut into 1” cubes
Instructions
- Add the beans, onion, and salt pork to an extra-large pot and fill it with water until the beans are covered by 1 inch.
- Cook over low to medium heat for 4 hours, remember the longer the better, so you can go up to 8 hours here.
- Add in the potatoes and ham after the 4-hour cooking time and continue to cook for 1 hour or until the potatoes are tender.
- Season with salt and pepper, and serve.
You are my “go to” guy for recipes. You do have kitchen cred!
I cannot grasp how you can cook green beans for 5 hrs or cut potatoes for an hour without turning to mush.
It’s over low heat. This is almost the exact same process of what they would serve at most BBQ restaurants.
I love this Dish your take on it it makes it even more more delicious
Thank you Chef, for another Oldie but GREAT recipe here. I love this dish so much.
Talk about your heart warming comfort food this has to be one of them. I have been making this for many years myself and like you Chef I copied it from My own Grand Mother too. It was a complete meal for me. I usually make a pan of Corn Bread to go with mine, just like my Gramma did. I have made this many times and have taken it to The Fire House near my house. These guys deserve to get a great meal for all they do for our Community.
Oh my goodness! I grew up on this ! I don’t remember “loving” this back then but we sure had it often. Love it now. Should make it more!
Chef,
When do you remove the onion or do you leave it in the mix since it has cooked down a great deal? You mentioned in the video when to remove the salt pork but I missed the onion timing.
no reason to remove the onion.
Yes so good making this today 👍🥰
Thank you Chief Billy😁😋