Most black bean sides lean on kidney or pinto beans and a strip of bacon for smokiness, but swapping in black beans and cubed ham changes the texture and flavor profile entirely. Black beans hold their shape better under a hard simmer while still mashing down to thicken the pot liquor, giving you a creamier finish without turning mushy. Ham brings a milder, saltier cure flavor than bacon’s rendered fat, so the smoked paprika and chipotle powder can do more of the smoky heavy lifting instead of relying on bacon grease. The result is a side that’s a little brighter and leaner than a typical pinto-bacon pot, but still rich enough to stand up to smoked ribs.

Smoky Black Beans with Ham

A smoky, slightly spicy black bean side made with cubed ham instead of bacon — ready in about 25 minutes, perfect alongside grilled pork ribs.

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Servings: 4

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Southwestern, Tex-Mex

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 tbsp Butter or Olive Oil extra virgin (EVOO)
• 1/2 cup Cubed ham (¼-inch dice)
• 1/2 bulb Sweet onion
• 3 Garlic cloves minced
• 3 cups Black beans, drained About 2 cans, liquid reserved
• 1/3 tsp Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
• 1/3 tsp Dried Oregano
• 1/3 tsp Chipotle powder or cayenne can substitute Smoked Paprika
• 1/2 cup Reserved bean liquid or chicken stock
• 1 Lime juiced
• 1/3 tsp kosher salt or to taste
• 2 tbsp Fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving
• 1 tbsp Hot sauce, for serving

Method

 

Brown the ham:

To replace Ham with Bacon in the recipe: Take 3 bacon slices, chopped and render the bacon: In a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat, cook 3 bacon slices, chopped until crisp and the fat has rendered, about 6 minutes.
1. Heat 1 tablespoons oil or butter in a heavy skillet or saucepan over medium heat. Add 0.5 cups cubed ham (¼-inch dice) and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned on the edges, about 3 minutes

Soften onion and garlic:

If using bacon: Add 1/2 yellow onion, diced to the bacon fat and cook until soft and translucent, about 4m 30s. Add 3 garlic cloves, minced and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds. Then skip to “Bloom the Spices“
1. Add 1/2 yellow onion, diced to the pan and cook until soft and translucent, about 4m 30s.
2. Add 3 garlic cloves, minced and cook until fragrant, 30-60 seconds.

Bloom the spices:

1. Stir in 1/3 teaspoons smoked paprika, 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin, 1/3 teaspoons dried oregano, and 1/3 teaspoons chipotle powder or cayenne.
2. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring, until fragrant.

Add beans and simmer:

1. Add 3 cups pre-cooked black beans, drained (liquid reserved) and 1/2 cups reserved bean liquid or chicken stock. Stir to combine, bring to a gentle simmer, then reduce heat and let simmer uncovered, mashing about a quarter of the beans against the side of the pan to thicken the liquid.

Finish and season:

1. Off heat, stir in 1 lime, juiced and 1/3 teaspoons kosher salt, or to taste. Taste and adjust salt or heat as needed.

Serve:

1. Spoon into a bowl, top with 2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped, for serving, and pass 1 tablespoons hot sauce, for serving at the table alongside your ribs.

Notes

Ham is already salty and cured, so the salt amount here is lower than a bacon version — taste before adding more. Since ham won’t render fat like bacon does, the oil or butter up front stands in for that. If your ham is smoked ham (not just cured), you could even drop the smoked paprika back down to 1 tsp since you’ll already have some smokiness built in.