You know those dinners that simmer for hours and make the whole house smell amazing? The ones that cause people to say “What are you cooking?!” the second they walk in the door? This slow cooker ham, green beans and potatoes recipe is one of those.
I grew up near the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country, where this creatively named recipe (I dare you to guess what’s in it!) was a mainstay. Ham, green beans, and potatoes (or as I lovingly refer to it—HGP) was one of my favorite childhood meals. Any time I’d come home from school to smell it wafting through the house, I felt like all was well with the world.
It wasn’t until I headed west that I realized this gem of a dish is not a staple in every part of the country. To help correct that, I am sharing this simple and delicious meal with you all. This could not be any easier to make, and I promise your family will love you when you serve it, especially when the weather starts to cool down in the coming months.
This easy one-pot recipe cooks up in one big crockpot (or soup pot), and it only requires three ingredients. The title pretty much gives it away, right?
Ingredients:
Ham hocks
potatoes
green beans
You’d never guess there were so few ingredients given the amazingly salty, smoky, hammy flavor of the broth; but the flavor is simply the result of the ham hocks cooking low and slow in water.
The trickiest part about making this recipe is finding the right kind of ham hock.
What is a ham hock?
A ham hock comes from the lower leg of a pig. There’s not a lot of meat on a ham hock, but this portion of a pig lends a distinct “umami” flavor to anything it’s cooked with, and creates a delicious broth when cooked low and slow in water.
Ideally you want to look for a meaty ham hock so that you can separate out a decent amount of meat to include in your dish. Good ham hocks should be readily available in farm-rich places (like Pennsylvania, where I grew up), but if you live in a really urban area they might be harder to come by.
I managed to find some good ham hock (boneless even!) at H.E.B. here in Houston, and I’ve had luck at other large grocery store chains as well. If you’re having trouble finding a quality ham hock where you live, you can always ask a friendly butcher for some advice.
Another nice thing about ham hocks is that they’re cheap! So if you find some, you should stock up and store any extras in the freezer.
I cook my ham, green beans, and potatoes in a slow cooker, so I wrote the recipe accordingly, but you can easily make this in a big soup pot or dutch oven on the stove as well. **Just note that if you do a stovetop variation, you’ll want to cut the cooking time by about half since the stove simmering process takes less time.
Timing:
As the recipe indicates, you don’t want to add everything to the slow cooker at the same time because the ham hock takes longer to cook than the potatoes and green beans. So while this is an easy recipe, it’s not a “set it and forget it” type of slow cooker meal.
I like to cook this meal over the course of two days.
DAY ONE: I slow cook the ham hocks all day to create the flavorful broth. Once the broth has cooled, I place it in the refrigerator over night. This way, the fat rises to the top of the broth and can be easily skimmed off and removed in the morning.
DAY TWO: I return the skimmed broth to the slow cooker and add the potatoes & green beans, along with the ham meat pulled from the bones. If you’re in a hurry, you can do this part on the stovetop instead.
Not enough ham?
If you end up with a ham hock that doesn’t have a lot of meat, you may want to add some additional ham. Purchase a ham steak, cube it up, and add it to the slow cooker at the end of the cooking process. Since it’s already cooked, it just needs to be warmed up in the broth before it’s ready to eat.
Slow Cooker Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes
Simmer ham hocks, green beans and potatoes together in the slow cooker until your whole house smells amazing.
Ingredients
- 2 lbs ham hock
- 2-3 large russet potatoes peeled and chopped into two-inch pieces
- 16 oz green beans frozen or fresh
- 1 lb cubed ham steak optional
Instructions
- Place the ham hocks into a crock pot and cover with water. Cook on high for approximately 5 hours, or until meat is super tender.
- Remove the meat from the crockpot with tongs, remove and discard any fat and bones, and return the meat to the broth.
About 2-3 hours before you plan to eat, add the potatoes and green beans to the crockpot, adding more water if necessary.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
TWO DAY INSTRUCTIONS:
On day one, cover ham hocks with water and cook on high for 5 or more hours. Remove ham hocks to a bowl. Allow broth to cool, and then refrigerate overnight.
In the morning, skim the fat from the top of the broth. Remove the meat from the ham hocks and add to the broth. Add broth, ham meat, diced potatoes and green beans to the broth and slow cook for 3 hours, or until vegetables are tender.
Recipe Notes
Cubed ham steak or additional ham can be added after the cooking process if your ham hocks are not very meaty.
Gary in Georgia says
Oh man, this is definitely a Pennsylvania Dutch comfort food from way back.
You need some bread and butter to sop up the juice too.
Alyssa says
Definitely!!!
Julie Graff says
I have a bag of simply potatoes ( that hubby took out of freezer ) can I use them in this recipe? Would they cook for the 2 hours or would it be less?
Thanks
Alyssa says
I’m not familiar with simply potatoes, so I can’t say for sure. When in doubt, cook them separately and then add them to the broth.
Beth says
I tried this recipe today and it was okay. I’d never had ham hocks before, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I followed the recipe exactly and I do have to say, this made a BEAUTIFUL appearance in the crockpot. The whole house smelled like bacon. I was just surprised by how fatty the broth and the hocks in general were; probably not very diet-friendly. I thought the dish tasted very good and had lots of flavor, but my husband wasn’t really a fan. He said the ham was too tough and chewy. If I made it again, I might cook the ham just a bit longer to see if it tenderizes the meat any better. Overall, I recommend giving it a try!
Alyssa says
Thanks for your comment, Beth! I do agree that the quality/type of ham hocks can affect how the meat turns out. I’ve had really meaty ones which came out tender and delicious, and then the more fatty ones like you mentioned. It can vary store to store (and brand to brand). I do love how the ham hocks flavor the broth, though.
Sarah says
I usually use a small hock and a big pieces of bone in ham.
Sarah says
Try using a small ham hock and cook it along with a large piece of bone in ham. The meat will not be as tough.
caroline says
when you put the green beans and potatoes in will the cooker still be on a high setting or low?
Alyssa says
Hi Caroline – You can turn it down to low after adding those ingredients just to prevent accidental over-cooking.
Carol says
I have ham slices can I make this with just the meat & not the bone
Alyssa says
No, unfortunately the results won’t be the same because the meat doesn’t get as tender.
kristina says
“No”? Of course you can. We made this recipe growing up, frequently. We’d slow cook the potatoes with a bit of chicken broth (if we had it, or bouillon cubes), and add the can of green beans WITH THE JUICE OF THE BEANS for favor (and likely the salt missing from the ham hocks you don’t have). Once it got tender, we’d either (1) cut up a ham steak into tiny bits and stir that in, and continue to simmer on low heat, or (2) whirl up several slices of ham lunch meat if that’s all we had, in a blender with chicken broth or the potato water, and stir these pink bits into the pot, and continue to simmer on low. Is it as flavorful as ham hocks? No. But this is humble eating when you need to stretch a budget, and a ham steak or ham slices can most certainly show up to the party. Just add them later, slow cook, and proceed. It’s a delicious dish, and so good reheated at work or school for lunch.
Sarah says
Hi! Many people in my family (from Lancaster Pa) use 1 ham hock and an additional large bone in ham for extra meat that isn’t as fatty, and salty. 😊
Gary in Georgia says
Howdy neighbor–formerly Lebanon Pa.
I don’t think my mother used ham hocks for anything. For this she’d use the leftover from a bone-in ham dinner. Tip for all…fresh green beans are the best; just don’t add them until almost the end of the cooking time.
Jessica says
Do you think we could use red potatoes instead of russet?
Alyssa says
Sure! I think they’d be just as good. 🙂
Jonita says
What can you eat with this as a side?
Alyssa says
That’s the beauty of this dish…you don’t need a side! It’s all in one pot.
Faye Wilson says
Very meaty ham bones can be purchased at Honey Baked Ham stores. They are perfect for this recipe and also make the best ham and Great Northern beans ever!
Alyssa says
Great tip! Thank you, Faye. 🙂
Anna says
None of my local stores carry ham hock right now? Would a pork loin roast work with this as well? xx thank you
Alyssa says
Hi Anna – No, I don’t think a loin roast would work because it’s a much leaner cut of meat and doesn’t have the same smoky/salty flavor that the hock does. Hopefully you will find some in stock one of these days!!
Brittany says
You can call a local butcher to purchase ham hocks. Or ask at your local grocery store to see if they can order them.
Fran says
I love this but I am going to take out grn beans and add cabbage to it. I too lived in pennsylvania . We would use ham broth and cook potatoes and cabbage then drop in dumplings just a little different but I love it both ways
Alyssa says
Your version sounds delicious, too. Thanks, Fran!
Jodie says
What if I have “fresh hamhocks” not “smoked” would that be ok and what can I do to achieve the same taste?
Thanks!
Alyssa says
Hi Jodie – I think all hamhocks are created alike, so I’m assuming it’s the same thing, just worded differently!?
Jodie says
We ordered a whole hog and had it butchered and packed(for the first time) and that is the way they are labeled. All of ours is not smoked as we didn’t want the nitrates and nitrites that come with that process. I am still learning how to cook it all! I think it is different. I have a liquid spice that is like worcestershire called “liquid smoke” and I added that and salt and they are simmering on the stove now! We’ll see how that works…
Alyssa says
How did it turn out? I’m sure it’s a learning process cooking that way, but the meat is probably delicious.
Yolonda says
There is a difference. Get smoked for this.
Helen says
Does the water need to cover the potatoes and green beans?
Alyssa says
No – it needs to cover the ham all the way, but doesn’t need to fully cover the potatoes & beans.
Valerie says
Hi. This sound so good!
Have a question about cooking time. Do you throw in the ham hocks for three hours and then put in the green beans and potatoes and cook for another two hours? Or do you put in the ham hocks for five then add the rest and put it on for another two?
Can’t wait to try this. Thanks!
Alyssa says
Hi Valerie – You can do it either way. The ham hock meat can cook as long as you’d like and it’ll remain good & tender (plus, the longer it cooks the more the fat renders off). But the potatoes & beans are more important to time properly because if the potatoes cook for too long they’ll get overly mushy. So usually I’ll start the meat in the morning, and then add the potatoes & beans about 2-2.5 hours before I want it to be done. But if you want to cut down on the cooking time, you can put the beans and potatoes in before the meat is done so that everything is finished at the same time. Hopefully that makes sense!
Paige says
I can not find a meaty ham hock, so I use ham broth. Unfortunately my store quit carrying ham broth, so I use vegetable. We add frozen corn to ours. Never thought to make in crockpot, but will give it a try. Thanks!
Sheila says
Can I use a meaty ham bone from a spiral sliced ham?
Alyssa says
Yes, I think that would be a great use for it!
Cathy says
Some recipes call for chicken broth? I’m not sure which to try water or chicken broth?
Alyssa says
Hi Cathy, I’ve always just used water. The ham is salty enough that it flavors the water and essentially turns it into broth while it’s slow cooking. I think if you’re cooking it more quickly on a stovetop vs. slow-cooking it might make more sense to use broth since the flavors of the meat won’t have as much time to flavor the liquid. Hope that helps!
Kimberly Bonham says
Yummy! This looks so simple and delicious! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Nakeya says
OMG… This looks just like a meal my mom prepares… It looks so yummy and flavorful… I’m going to call my mom and ask her to make it for me…. I know I should just use your recipe and make it myself… LOL…
kristen says
you cannot go wrong with a 3-ingredient recipe! this looks great. perfect for our cold snowy denver days! thanks for sharing!
Zully Hernandez says
Three ingredients?! This is SO my kind of recipe! I’m also a big fan of potatoes – and their so filling, too!
Lottie L'Amour says
This recipe sounds delicious! I am going to have to give this a go. I love ham, beans and potato, so nothing can really go wrong!
Lottie xx
http://www.lottielamour.co.uk