Green beans cooked in a rich broth full of smokey bacon, savory onions, and aromatic garlic make these Fresh Green Beans with Bacon exceptionally flavorful. With easy prep-ahead instructions, they make the perfect side dish to serve at your next holiday dinner or weeknight meal!
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These fresh green beans with bacon, onions, and garlic are served as a side dish at every Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter celebration we have. It all started when one side of the family gave this recipe to the other side. I just love when family traditions make their way from one side of the family to the other. This recipe is a perfect example.
Originally this recipe came from my dad’s sister, Aunt Cindy. She shared the recipe with my husband’s sister, Cheri. Now Cheri is assigned to bring it to all our holiday meals. 😋
I also like to make this for our Family Football Sundays when I am smoking ribs or brisket. They remind me of a southern-style green bean you get at your local BBQ joint, but they also pair well with any grilled meat which makes these green beans with onions and bacon an ideal side dish for fall, winter, spring, or summer. Basically, a year-round treat.
🥇 Why They're Great!
- They are perfect for prepping ahead which makes them perfect for serving a crowd. You get to do 90% of the work ahead, leaving plenty of time for cooking all the other recipes you are making.
- They are delicious. I know that seems obvious, but that really is one of the reasons they are so great. Green beans cooked in a rich broth of crispy bacon, sweet bits of sauteed onion, and savory garlic. Is there a better way to eat vegetables? 😉
- They are not covered in soup-based sauce and topped with fried onions. Now don’t get me wrong- I actually like those. But these are different, and that is a good thing.
🥓 Ingredients
Green beans: Fresh green beans, either regular or french-style, work in this recipe. However, the skinner French green beans will need less time to cook.
Bacon: Any bacon will do but the smokier the better. That really helps flavor the broth.
Onions: Diced yellow or sweet onion is preferred but white onion will also work.
Garlic: Minced garlic and lots of it add that punch of flavor that can’t be substituted.
Salt & Pepper: Use whatever you have on hand, but kosher salt and freshly ground pepper ups the flavor a bit more.
🔪 Instructions
The beginning of this recipe starts as all good recipes should...by cooking diced bacon over medium heat in a large pot until it is almost crispy. It is probably better for our health if we don’t start every recipe this way, but oh how I wish we could! 😋
The important point here is if you go too far with the bacon it will burn while the onion is cooking, but if you don’t let it cook long enough the bacon won’t ever get crispy. Just to be safe you can cook the bacon until crispy, and remove it to a paper towel with a slotted spoon, leaving the grease in the pan. That does require more dishes, though. In the spirit of less is more, I prefer to leave the bacon in the pan until just before it's fully crispy , and then add in the onion, garlic, salt, and pepper for about 5 minutes until soft. If you choose to remove the bacon before cooking the onions and garlic, be sure to put it back in the pot before moving on to the next part.
Add in the green beans and water. Give everything a good toss. Bring it to a boil with the lid on. As soon as it begins to boil, immediately turn off the burner (without opening the lid) and allow the beans to steam for at least 10 minutes. Toss again before serving.
If you are making these in a larger quantity be sure to read the instructions below under how to make fresh green beans with bacon for a crowd.
👨👩👧👦 For a Crowd
First, you must decide how many recipes you are going to make. Each pound of green beans serves 6 people. If it is a holiday meal where there are lots of other sides one pound will serve 8. Second, you need to choose an appropriately sized pot. A little too big is better than too small. You need to be able to have enough room to mix it all together.
The easiest way to serve these to a crowd is to prep the ingredients ahead. Read below in the FAQ section for how to prep ahead. It doesn’t matter how many people you are serving- the prep ahead instructions are the same. I prefer the second method of the two options because it makes cooking on the day-of so simple.
Over the years my SIL has developed a tried and true technique for timing the green beans to be cooked just in time for dinner. When the potatoes (sweet or scalloped) go in the oven she adds the water to the pot, mixes everything together, puts on the lid, and turns the burner on high. As soon as the pot comes to a boil she turns off the heat and allows it to steam for 10 minutes. Then she gives it a good stir and replaces the lid until the rest of dinner is ready. Essentially this means that about 45 minutes to an hour from serving time she starts the process of the green beans.
This process works well with 6-10 pounds of green beans. If you are not cooking that many pounds then 30 minutes ahead should be sufficient.
🙋 Questions and Answers
These do not freeze well. They are best served fresh.
These green beans with bacon work best with fresh green beans, but if you are looking for a green bean recipe that uses frozen green beans try these lemony green beans with almonds.
There are two ways this can be done.
1) Trim the green beans, slice the bacon, dice the onion, and mince the garlic up to 3 days ahead. Store each component separately in the refrigerator in tightly sealed containers. Proceed with the recipe as follows when you are ready to cook.
2) After prepping all the ingredients, cook the bacon and then the onion/garlic mixture until the onions are soft. Turn off the burner and allow the pan to come to room temperature. Add in the green beans right on top of the bacon, onions, and garlic. Store in the refrigerator with the lid on overnight. When it is time to cook proceed with the directions as written.
Fresh green beans only need one end trimmed. First you have to determine which is the “tail” end and which is the “stem” end. The stem is the end that was attached to the green bean plant. The stem end is the end you want to trim off.
The fastest way to trim fresh green beans is to gather a small pile of them in your hand with all the stem ends facing one direction. Then, being careful of your fingers, make one cut with a large knife, removing the stem end of all those green beans at once. Repeat until all the green beans are finished.
📖 Other Great Recipes
- 🥔 anyone? Either this Cheesy Scalloped Potatoes Recipe or this Twice Baked Potato Bake will fit the bill perfectly.
- 🍋 If you want to use frozen green beans try this Green Beans Almondine with lemon and slivered almonds. Yummy!
- 🌽 Or try this pan roasted corn recipe. Frozen corn gets caramelized with bits of onion and garlic in a cast iron skillet.
- 🥖 What dinner isn’t complete without bread? Frozen Rhodes Dinner Rolls get baked to perfection with a buttery herb topping.
- 🌽 🥖 For a delicious spin on cornbread this Cast Iron Jiffy Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread.
👨🏼🍳 Tips & Tricks
- Really pay attention to the doneness of your bacon before adding in the onion and garlic. If it isn’t cooked enough the bacon will never get crispy, but if it is overcooked the bacon will burn while the onion and garlic are sauteing.
- Don’t over-steam them or they will get mushy. You can always turn the burner back on and steam them a bit more but once they are overdone there is no going back.
- Always check the green beans for seasoning before serving. Often they need a touch more salt and/or pepper.
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📋 Recipe
Fresh Green Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 oz bacon thinly sliced
- ¼ medium yellow onion diced, can substitute with sweet or white
- 1 tbsp garlic minced
- 1½ tsp kosher salt
- ¾ tsp pepper
- 1 lb fresh green beans trimmed
- 1 cup water plus more if needed
Instructions
- Cook bacon on medium heat until almost crispy, approximately 5-7 minutes.
- Add onions, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cook until onions are soft, approximately 5 minutes.
- Add green beans and water. The water should come up about ⅓ to ½ way up the green beans. Give everything a good toss. Cover and bring to a boil. You will know it is boiling when lots of steam is escaping from under the lid. Immediately turn off the heat without removing the lid. Allow to steam for 10 minutes.
Notes
- Really pay attention to the doneness of your bacon before adding in the onion and garlic. If it isn’t cooked enough the bacon will never get crispy, but if it is overcooked the bacon will burn while the onion and garlic are sauteing.
- Don’t over-steam them or they will get mushy. You can always turn the burner back on and steam them a bit more but once they are overdone there is no going back.
- Always check the green beans for seasoning before serving. Often they need a touch more salt and/or pepper.
1) Trim the green beans, slice the bacon, dice the onion, and mince the garlic up to 3 days ahead. Store each component separately in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Proceed with the recipe as follows when you are ready to cook.
2) After prepping all the ingredients, cook the bacon and then the onion/garlic mixture until the onions are soft. Turn off the burner and allow the pan to come to room temperature. Add in the green beans right on top of the bacon, onions, and garlic. Store with the lid on in the refrigerator overnight. When it is time to cook proceed with the directions as written. For A Crowd Read the section in the post for all the tips for serving to a crowd.
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