Slow Cooker Corn and Green Bean Succotash Recipe

I know. A slow cooker recipe? In August?

But think about it: What better way to cook dinner without heating up the kitchen? A slow cooker provides a delicious hands-off meal that lets you more fully enjoy these last fleeting days of summer.

The word succotash comes from a Narragansett word that means boiled corn. The dish is a comforting combination of corn, lima beans and any other seasonal vegetable that calls to you from your farm stand or produce store.

I’m making an unadorned, classic American succotash using lima beans, corn and flat green beans slow simmered to mushy perfection.

You might also think about adding:

• Onion
• Garlic
• Tomatoes
• Bell or other peppers
• Cilantro, basil or other fresh chopped herbs

Corn and Green Bean Succotash is delicious slow cooked with a bit of pastured bacon—given factory farm conditions, I buy only local, pastured pork. But the dish is also satisfyingly full-flavored without bacon. If you want smoky flavor without meat, try adding 2-3 drops of liquid smoke flavoring—found in the spice section of your supermarket.



Just before I’m ready to serve, I throw in a splash of heavy cream and a few extra grindings of black pepper.

Slow Cooker Corn and Green Bean Succotash is heaven served with a side of fresh, hot corn bread.

Slow Cooker Corn and Green Bean Succotash

1 pound lima beans
1 pound flat green beans
1 slice bacon made from pastured, locally raised pork
1 pound fresh or frozen corn kernels
3 tablespoons heavy cream or half-and-half
Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

1. Wash and pick over the dried lima beans. Place in crock of your slow cooker; add 1 teaspoon salt and bacon if desired. Cover with water—about four cups—and set slow cooker temperature on appropriate setting to cook beans. It will take a few hours.
2. About half an hour before lima beans are fully cooked, prepare remaining vegetables. Wash, trim and cut flat green beans into 1” slices.
3. Add green beans and corn to cooked lima beans. Continue cooking succotash until vegetables are tender—about 30 minutes.
4. Just before serving, stir in cream or half and half and add freshly ground pepper to taste.

Serves 8.