Slow Cooker green beans with ham and potatoes is a cheap and easy side dish great with dinner. Mixed vegetables with bacon or as a leftover ham recipe gives this dish lots of added YUM. Need a holiday side dish or a way to use up leftovers, this is a great one!
Green beans ham and potatoes cooked together are great side dishes cooked together. When your oven is full with other dishes, having this Crockpot recipe is a great way thing to use during those times. Keep vegetarian with just fresh produce and seasonings or add diced meat for flavor.
Slow Cooker Green Beans with Ham
There are a few different ways to cook these together. Of course you could boil, but the texture isn’t as good as making air fryer roasted potatoes with diced ham in there at the same time.
Then cooking air fryer frozen green beans and tossing the two together. That is one way you can get this done.We will be talking in this post about how to get this done the slow cooking way. Why??
Really because there are two times I make this; for Easter, Thanksgiving or Christmas as a side or the day after those days with leftover meat. I hate wasting food so adding what’s in the fridge, diced into the mix not only adds protein but salt and flavor too.
Ideally you want to use fresh green beans though with the ends removed, cut in half for the best results. It will get you the cleanest flavors and texture will remain firm but tender.
Can you use frozen green beans?
You could if you would rather and the texture would be very close to using fresh like we did. In this case it would be a lot faster to prep since bagged usually have the ends already snipped off and you just dump in. Make sure they are separated and not in one big clump though. I would NOT use canned as those get mushy.
After the holidays I always have a bag of leftover ham so I just chop it up into bite size pieces and throw that in. You could dice up ham steaks throughout the year though to make this whenever.
Green Beans with Ham Hocks
I suggest that use these actually because they are typically sold smoked which gives you a ton of flavor. These take a long time for the meat to fall off the bone and so it’s perfect with these other veggies. Just set in the center in the first step.
Can you add potatoes?
Yes, we love mixing different things in with with your Crockpot green beans to bring them to the next level. Just like our Cheesy Hashbrown Potatoes Crockpot they can then be served for brunch or dinner really. You can use russets or red but even easier is to just grab a bag of petite potatoes that are mixed in color and varieties.
How Long to Cook Fresh Green Beans with Ham
I like low and slow especially if you are adding taters. 6 hours is usually just about right for everything to become tender and flavorful. If you insist on using the high function that would take 3-4 hours (but not recommended).
Canned Green Beans with Ham
If you wanted to use canned vegetables you could but know that those are already rather soft so they don’t need a lot more heat or they will disintegrate. SO if you are adding potatoes add those first, with any meat for a good 3 hours on low (to tender) before you drain the beans and add those on top until warmed.
When to Add Ham
I like to add some small bits of smoked ham or bacon bits to add meat, or dice up some leftover Ham Steak in Oven if you like This is a great way of how to cook ham hocks or ham bone too, set into the middle of this mix at the beginning. Since it is cooked slow all day it gives those babies a chance to really get tender and the meat to be pulled off the bones easily before serving.
Whether you are sauteeing fresh green beans on stove or using our slow cook method, keep these in mind. When selecting at the store, you want to ensure that you choose the best ones. Here are some tips:
FAQ
1. Look for beans that are bright green in color. Avoid those that are dull, yellow, or have brown spots on the outsides.
2. Check the texture because they should be firm, crisp, and snap easily when bent in half. If they bend all the way they are no good.
3. Inspect the shape to make sure they are nice and straight, a uniform size that are free of bumps and bruises.
4. Feel the surface and make sure each one is nice and smooth and free of any wrinkles.
5. Smell them to see if the scent is fresh with a grassy scent.
6. Check the ends, they should be relatively dry with no signs of mold or sliminess
I mean add both! You will want both or either to be precooked before adding, and diced into small bite sized pieces is best too. I prefer to add bacon near the end so it doesn’t get too soft but either way works.
We have a printable recipe card at the bottom of this post with nutritional information as well. That will vary depending on the starch variety you choose and serving size but it is a good idea in general.
Slow Cooker Green Beans with Ham Recipe
Equipment
- 1 slow cooker
Ingredients
- 2 lbs green beans, fresh, ends removed, cut in half
- 3 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 cup chicken broth, or beef broth
- 1/2 medium onion, diced
- 1 pinch salt, to taste
- 1-2 large ham hocks, or diced precooked pieces, bacon can be cooked and added instead or in addition to
- 1 lb potatoes, used mini, cut in half – optional
Instructions
- Set ham hocks in center of slow cooker. Cut potatoes in half or quarters depending on size (if adding them). Cut green beans in half, remove ends. Sprinkle everything in pot with some salt and pepper.
- Add dried minced or diced onions and garlic with your broth. Sprinkle top with precooked and chopped bacon (optional).
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for 5-6 hours or until contents are as tender as you'd like.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Stovetop directions using a large stock pot would be to add broth, then whole baby potatoes, beans on top and diced meat with seasonings on the very top. Close with a lid over medium heat for about 10 minutes or until ingredients are tender to your liking. Now jump to recipe and let us know what you think!
