All recipes

Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock

Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock deliver creamy, tender lima beans bathed in a rich, smoky broth infused with bacon, ham hock, and thyme. The gentle simmer coaxes out a silky texture and deep, meaty flavor, perfect for spooning into bowls with cornbread. Serve for a cozy weekend supper or a comforting side at family gatherings.

  • Prep5 mins
  • Cook2 hrs 45 mins
  • Serves6
  • DifficultyMedium
Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock
  1. 1

    Gather all ingredients.

  2. 2

    Place the bacon in a large Dutch oven or large pot and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until crispy, about 8 minutes.

  3. 3

    Add the onion, garlic, and pepper; cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft and translucent, about 5 minutes.

  4. 4

    Add the chicken stock, beans, ham hock, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, and salt; bring to a boil over medium-high heat.

  5. 5

    Reduce the heat to medium-low; cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender, 2 1/2 to 3 hours, adding stock or water as needed to keep the beans covered by about 1/4 inch.

  6. 6

    Stop adding liquid during the last 30 minutes of cooking so the beans are not too brothy.

  7. 7

    Remove the ham hock; pick off the meat, discard the hock, and stir the meat into the beans.

  8. 8

    Remove and discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs.

  9. 9

    Stir in the sherry vinegar.

  10. 10

    Divide the beans evenly among bowls.

  11. 11

    Garnish with thyme leaves and additional pepper.

About This Recipe

Southern Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock is a Soul Food side dish recipe made with 11 ingredients. It takes about 2 hrs 50 mins, serves 6, and is rated medium. Key ingredients include Black Pepper, Bone In Ham, Dried Bay Leaves, and Fresh Thyme. Each serving provides about 288.79 kcal, and is a good source of protein.

Recipe Questions

What is Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock?
It is a Soul Food recipe made with 11 ingredients, usually served for side dish or dinner or lunch.
What is Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock made of?
The main ingredients are Black Pepper, Bone-In Ham, Dried Bay Leaves, Fresh Thyme, Garlic. The full list of 11 is above.
How long does it take to make Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock?
About 2 hrs 50 mins in total: 5 mins to prepare and 2 hrs 45 mins to cook.
How many calories are in one serving?
One serving provides about 288.79 kcal. The full nutrition breakdown is above.
Is Southern-Style Butter Beans with Bacon and Ham Hock easy to make?
This recipe is rated medium, with 11 ingredients and 11 steps.

How easyChef Pro Scores This Recipe

easyChef Pro gives every recipe a health score from 0 to 100, built from more than 30 nutritional parameters including nutrient density, energy density and glycemic impact. It calculates rather than estimates, so the same recipe returns the same score every time.

The number is traceable. You can see exactly which nutrient moved it, so a dish scoring 78 might show fiber pushing it up while sodium pulls it down, alongside the NOVA processing level of each ingredient.

Your health goal changes the calculation itself, not just a filter. easyChef Pro applies clinically derived weighting across six health dimensions, which is why the same dish can score well for one goal and poorly for another.

Swap an ingredient or change the serving size and that math changes with it. Scoring your own version is the only way to see what your kitchen actually produces.

Modified this recipe?

Changing ingredients or serving sizes changes the nutrition profile. Score your own version with easyChef Pro to see how it compares.

Learn More