Soul Food Green Beans and Potatoes

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: American, Soul Food

Prep Time: 10

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1

Servings: servings

Calories: 256kcal

Author: Jazzmine Woodard

Fresh green bean and red potato side dish made from scratch and slow simmered the old school way

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Equipment

1 cutting board
1 knife
1 stock pot four quarts or larger
1 kitchen spoon

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
½ sweet yellow onion
4-5 cloves garlic
½ teaspoon sea salt or to taste
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon black pepper
3-4 cups chicken broth or stock
2 pounds smoked turkey legs, tails, wings, etc.
2 pounds fresh green beans
1 pound red potatoes

Instructions

Add olive oil to pot over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, dice the onion and crush or mince the garlic.
Add the onion, sea salt, cayenne pepper, and black pepper to the heated oil and cook until fragrant and the onions start to turn translucent.
Add the garlic and cook one more minute then add the smoked turkey and chicken broth.
Meanwhile, dice the potatoes into small chunks and snip or pull the ends off the green beans and cut them into halves or thirds depending on how long they are. Each cut piece should be about two inches long in order to be bite-size.
Once the pot likker is boiling, reduce heat to medium low then add in the green beans and potatoes, making sure to cover them in the liquid.
Cook until green beans and potatoes are tender (about 45 minutes) then remove turkey from pot and cut off the heat.
Shred or cut the turkey meat from the bone into pieces then stir the meat back into the pot of green beans. Serve warm.

Notes

Preparation

You can make Soul Food style green beans up to four days ahead of time with great flavor and texture. So this is a meal prep friendly dish!

Variations

Canned Green Beans can also work in this simple green bean and potato recipe but you won't need to cook them nearly as long or else they turn into mush. So, if you're using canned green beans it's best to simmer the turkey and potatoes first then add them last minute.

Vegan or Vegetarian - Make this recipe without meat and using a vegetable broth.

Garlic and Onion - Fresh provides the best flavor but you can certainly substitute with garlic powder and onion powder, if needed.

Peel the Potatoes - I like to leave the skin on for color and flavor but it depends on your preference and which kind of potato you use.

Storage

Store homemade braised green beans in an airtight container and refrigerate them. Keeps for up to one week.

To freeze, place the dish in a freezer-safe container then into the freezer. Technically, green beans and potatoes will keep in the freezer for up to six months, however, the flavor and texture of the potatoes tends to go off after just a couple of weeks frozen.

Nutrition