Dinner · 20 October 2026 · By Ashley

Crockpot Ham Hocks, Green Beans and Little Potatoes

Name: Crockpot Ham Hocks, Green Beans and Little Potatoes
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 6 h 30 min
Total time: 6 h 45 min
Yield: 6 to 8
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 to 3 smoked ham hocks; 2 lbs fresh green beans (rinsed, trimmed and snapped); 1 lb little potatoes (from The Little Potato Company, washed, then halved or quartered); 2 tbsp lard; 4 to 6 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tsp smoked paprika; 1 tsp kosher salt (adjust for how salty your hocks are); ½ tsp black pepper (freshly ground); 3 to 4 cups chicken broth or water (enough to cover the hocks and most of the vegetables)

Fifteen minutes in the morning, and by dinner the whole house smells like smoked ham.

Jump to recipe

Prep: 15 min
Cook: 6 hr 30 min
Total: 6 hr 45 min
Serves: 6 to 8
Level: Easy

Where the time goes

6 hr 45 min, mostly waiting

Hands-on
Hands-off

01Hands-onLoad the crockpot15 min
02Hands-offSlow cook on low · or 4 hr on high6 to 7 hr
03Hands-onShred the meat and serve10 min

The story

This is the kind of dinner that cooks itself. Smoked ham hocks go in the crockpot with green beans and halved or quartered little potatoes, and six or seven hours later the beans are deeply tender, the potatoes are creamy, and the hocks have given everything a rich, smoky flavor.

Lard on the bottom of the pot adds a little richness. Shred the meat off the bones at the end, stir it back in, and serve it with a wedge of the honey cornbread.

How it went

Smoked hock on a bed of beans, before the potatoes.
In the bowl, with honey cornbread.

Ingredients

Serves 6 to 8

Tap an ingredient to check it off.

If you haven't got it

little potatoes — any small new potatoes

Method

Tap a step number to mark it done.

Grease the pot
Melt the lard and rub it over the bottom of the crockpot. Set the ham hocks in the center.
Add the vegetables
Arrange the cut potatoes and the green beans around and on top of the hocks.
Packed in around the hock.
Season
Scatter the garlic evenly over everything, then season generously with the smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
Add the broth
Pour in the broth until the hocks are fully submerged and the beans and potatoes are mostly covered.
Slow cook
Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, or on high for 4, until the green beans are deeply tender and the potatoes are fork-tender.
Shred and serve
Lift the hocks out carefully. Throw away the skin and bones, shred the meat, and stir it back into the pot before serving.

Things worth knowing

Taste before adding all the salt. Some hocks are much saltier than others.
Serve it in bowls with plenty of the broth, and cornbread on the side for soaking it up.

Swaps that work

Butter or bacon fat in place of the lard.

Credits and sources

Made withThe Little Potato Company(opens in a new tab)the little potatoes

Ingredients · 6 hr 45 min · Serves 6 to 8

2 to 3smoked ham hocks
2 lbsfresh green beans
1 lblittle potatoes
2 tbsplard
4 to 6 clovesgarlic
1 tspsmoked paprika
1 tspkosher salt
½ tspblack pepper
3 to 4 cupschicken broth or water

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Made this one?

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