This is an old-fashioned Southern-style soul food green beans and ham hocks recipe.  I’ve been eating this dish since I was a little kid.

We usually ate them on Sunday with fried chicken, ham, baked chicken, or smothered pork chops.  They’re also the perfect bbq side dish.

To get these soul food green beans perfect, you have to boil your ham hock for a while before cooking the green beans.  This method will season the water and give the green beans that wonderful flavor.

How to make Southern-style green beans

This is a very simple recipe that features two main ingredients.  Boil one smoked ham hock and onion per two cans of green beans.  Cook the ham hock for at least 90 minutes before adding the green beans.  Cook the ham hocks and green beans until they’re tender and most of the water has cooked off.

Soul Food Green Beans and Ham Hocks

Southern-style green beans seasoned with smoked ham hocks

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Southern

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 smoked pork ham hock
• 2 cans green beans
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 1 teaspoon basil
• salt and pepper

Instructions

 

• Put the ham hock in a large pot and cover it with water. Cook the ham hock for 1 1/2 hours on medium heat
• Drain the water from the green beans and place them into the pot. Cook on medium-low heat for 1 hour
• Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes to reduce the broth.

Notes

If your green beans are cooked to your liking and there's still a lot of liquid in the pan, remove the ham hocks and green beans and cook the liquid on medium-high to allow the liquid to reduce. Cook down to about a 1/2 cup and pour over the green beans, and stir.

Keyword green beans, ham hocks, soul food