These green beans with bacon are fresh string beans cooked until tender, then topped with plenty of crispy bacon. An easy and elegant side dish that’s perfect for a holiday meal or an easy weeknight dinner.
Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables – they’re great battered and fried as a party snack, perfect for stir fries, and always make for a delicious side dish. These bacon green beans can be prepared in just minutes, and are always a big hit.
My family is not a huge fan of green bean casserole, so when I’m planning my holiday menus, I often make these greens with bacon. The combination of freshly sauteed beans and crispy smoked bacon just cannot be beat!
HOW DO YOU PREPARE FRESH GREEN BEANS?
To get your green beans ready for this recipe, all you need to do is give them a good wash, then trim off the stem end. The fastest way to trim off the stem end is to line up a handful of green beans, then cut the stems off all at once. It makes prep time go a lot faster.
How do you make green beans with bacon?
This recipe starts with bacon, which is cooked on the stove top. When the bacon is nice and crispy, take it out of the pan leaving only a little of the bacon fat. That bit of bacon fat will give amazing flavor to the chopped onions that go into the pan. Cook up those onions for a few minutes until they are translucent. Put your green beans into the pan with the onions and they will absorb the savory flavor. Add a little salt and pepper and cook the beans until tender. Sprinkle the crispy bacon on top along with some parsley, and the beans are ready to serve.
Tips for green beans with bacon
- You can use regular green beans, or for an elegant dish try using small french haricot vert. You can also use wax beans or romano beans with similar results.
- I typically make this dish with whole beans, but you can also cut your beans into 1 inch pieces if you prefer.
- Use kitchen shears for a quick and easy way to cut up the raw bacon into small pieces.
- Feel free to add any herbs you like on top for extra flavor. I like to sprinkle on a little parsley, but other great options include chives, basil or thyme.
Bacon green beans variations
This is a basic recipe for pan cooked green beans, but you can add so many different ingredients to customize your green beans to your tastes.
- Cheese: Add grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese before serving.
- Tomatoes: Stir 1 cup of halved cherry tomatoes into the finished dish.
- Mushrooms: Add 1 cup of sliced mushrooms to the pan when you cook the green beans.
- Crispy Onions: Add 1/2 cup of canned french fried onions on top of the finished dish.
- Seasonings: Try adding a sprinkle of garlic powder or dried Italian seasoning while the beans are cooking.
These recipe is a classic way to prepare green beans that are full of savory flavor. The onion and bacon taste great with tender, freshly cooked green beans. These green beans are perfect for holidays and dinner parties but they are easy enough to make any time of the year.
More side dish recipes you’ll enjoy
- Roasted Cherry Tomatoes
- Broccoli Mac and Cheese
- Fried Corn with Bacon
- Sweet Potato Fries
- Scalloped Corn Casserole
Green Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
- 8 ounces bacon finely diced
- 1/2 cup onion finely diced
- 2 pounds green beans trimmed
- salt and peppe to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
Instructions
- Place the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until bacon is crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
- Pour off excess fat from the pan, leaving about 2 tablespoons of fat remaining in the pan.
- Add the onion to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the green beans to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of water. Season the green beans with salt and pepper.
- Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes.
- Sprinkle the reserved bacon and parsley over the top of the green beans, then serve.
Can I make this ahead of time, earlier in the day, and microwave it at serving time?
That should be fine, I’d leave the bacon off though, microwave it separately and add it to the reheated beans at the last minute so it doesn’t get soggy.
I used your suggestion of mushrooms and the dish came out wonderful! Thanks
I cant wait to try this for Christams dinner. Before adding the fresh green beans to the pan with the onions, should they be steamed first?
You can blanch them or just cook them in the pan along with the rest of the ingredients
Mine took ALOT longer than 5 minutes to cook. Are the beans supposed to still be crunchy? And are you supposed to cook with a lid on? Bacon flavor was really good.
The beans should be tender, it’s possible that your pan wasn’t large enough so they didn’t cook as quickly or evenly! What size pan did you use?
The bacon made the green beans so good! This is one of our favorite recipes now!
This recipe is so tasty! Green beans with bacon is one of my favorite side dishes. You can’t go wrong with that combination.
Fresh green beans are simply delicious, so flavoursome and great as a side dish to so many meals. Adding the crispy bacon just makes them even more moreish, and so very tasty. A simple additon for something delicious.
Simple green beans is one of my favourite side dish ever, and what a great way to make them even more special with the bacon! So tasty
I love green beans! Looks so delicious and healthy – perfect for a balanced dinner ♥
That’s one way to get the kids to eat their greens – just add bacon! Haha. 🙂
I don’t usually like green beans, but adding bacon?! Who could resist? Not me certainly!
I’m not the biggest fan of green beans either, but I think you sold me by adding all that bacon! It tastes as delicious as it looks I’m sure!
These green beans and bacon are perfectly cooked, and are a match made in heaven! Thanks for this easy, classic recipe 🙂
These green beans look so gorgeous and bacon makes everything better!
Such a simple and delicious recipe. I’m saving this for Thanksgiving!