Salt Pork and Beans
Salt Pork and Beans is a hearty, traditional American dish consisting of white beans slow-cooked with salt pork, a cured and fatty cut of pork belly. It is a staple of New England and Southern American cuisine, often associated with colonial-era cooking, homesteading, and hearty, rustic meals.
🍽️ Nutrition at a glance
This dish is a good source of protein and dietary fiber, but it is also high in fat and sodium due to the salt pork. A typical serving provides a substantial amount of calories, primarily from the combination of beans and pork fat.
Nutrition breakdown
| Calories | 350 kcal |
| Protein | 20 g |
| Carbs | 35 g |
| Fat | 14 g |
| Fiber | 10 g |
| Sugar | 2 g |
| Sodium | 950 mg |
| Iron | 4.5 mg |
| Potassium | 600 mg |
| Magnesium | 80 mg |
| Phosphorus | 200 mg |
| Zinc | 3.0 mg |
| Thiamin (B1) | 0.4 mg |
| Folate | 120 mcg |
| Selenium | 10 mcg |
Per 1 cup (240 g) · estimated, varies by recipe
💡 What's interesting
Culturally, this dish represents a classic example of American 'peasant food' or 'frontier cooking,' designed to be economical, filling, and shelf-stable. Nutritionally, the long cooking process helps break down the beans, making their nutrients more bioavailable, though the high sodium content from the salt pork is a key consideration.
