Transform green beans from acceptable to extraordinary! Green Beans with Bacon and Garlic are a quick, one skillet side dish. Sautéed green beans are incredibly flavorful on their own, but the additions of bacon and garlic make this humble vegetable shine.
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Adding bacon and garlic to plain ol’ green beans is one of my favorite ways to take this classic side dish from “oh that’s just fine” to “gimme! gimme all the green beans!”.
This recipe is so simple, with just four ingredients, but it delivers huge flavor. Sometimes simple is the most direct road to addictively delicious, and this recipe for green beans with bacon is proof.
One of my favorite things about this dish is that’s made in just one pan – no blanching or ice baths required – plus it’s ready in only 20 minutes! Talk about an all-star, crowd-pleasing side dish. Move over green bean casserole – bacon is here to take your green bean game next level, and we are here. for. it.
Love green beans? Us too!! Learn how to cook green beans using one of these five classic methods.
Why This Recipe Works
- It’s cooked in one pan in 20 minutes – no additional blanching or steaming required.
- The green beans are cooked in the rendered bacon fat, adding additional flavor.
- Slightly dampened green beans saute and steam at the same time for the perfect balance between crisp and tender.
Watch: Bacon Green Beans Video
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How to Make Green Beans with Bacon
Pan-seared green beans with bacon and garlic is the perfect quick and easy side dish for everything. Fast enough for weeknight dinners, and crowd-pleasing enough for celebrations like Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. This recipe is so fast, so flavorful, and SO EASY. Plus it’s got bacon – what more could you want in a side dish?!?
- Brown chopped bacon in a large skillet until crisp and golden brown; remove using a slotted spoon.
- Rinse green beans in a colander; shake to remove excess moisture, but do not completely dry.
- Add the green beans to the skillet and toss to coat in the rendered bacon fat.
- Cover the pan. Cook, stirring every 2 minutes, until the green beans are charred and just about bite tender – about 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic to the skillet. Toss the garlic with the green beans and cook for 1 minute more, or until the garlic is lightly golden brown and very fragrant.
- Return the cooked bacon to the skillet and toss with the green beans.
- Season to taste with freshly ground pepper and additional salt (if needed).
Tips for making this recipe perfectly
- Rinse the green beans in a colander, drain well, but don’t dry completely – the residual water clinging to the green beans will help them steam, while the hight heat will brown them, resulting in perfectly tender but caramelized green beans.
- Use a 12″ skillet. The larger size allows the green beans to spread out so as much of their surface area as possible comes into contact with the hot pan.
- If you don’t have a lid for your 12″ skillet, cover with an inverted baking sheet or a 12″ round pizza pan.
- Be sure to drain the excess bacon fat, leaving just a thin layer behind – too much fat and the green beans will be too greasy.
- Keep an eye on the green beans while sautéing – add the garlic once the beans are charred and just about bite tender, but not limp. If they’re limp when you add the garlic, they’ll end up overcooked and mushy by the time you add the bacon.
- If you prefer firmer green beans, sautee for closer to 4 minutes instead of 6.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, provided that you use Whole30 compliant bacon. It’s also low carb and would make a terrific keto side with 6g net carbs.
Both thick cut and regular bacon work. For thick-cut bacon, cut into into a 1″ dice. For regular bacon, cut into ½″ thick strips – they’ll hold their shape better.
If you’ve ever tried to slice bacon with a chef’s knife, you know it’s not exactly an “easy breezy” process. Use kitchen shears! It makes for quick, efficient work.
More Ways to Cook Green Beans
Did you make these bacon green beans? I’d love to know how they turned out! Leave a comment and a rating below.
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Recipe
Green Beans with Bacon
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Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon, diced
- 1 lb green beans, ends trimmed
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- sea or kosher salt, to taste, if needed
Instructions
- Heat a 12” skillet over medium high heat. Add bacon and cook until crisp, 6-7 minutes. Remove bacon using a slotted spoon and set aside. Pour all but 2 tbsp bacon from the pan.
- Rinse the trimmed green beans in a colander. Shake to release most of the moisture, but don't dry completely.
- Return the pan to medium high heat; wait about 30 seconds for the bacon grease to heat up again. Add the green beans and toss to coat in the fat. Cover and saute the green beans, stirring occasionally, until charred and just about bite tender, about 6 minutes.
- Add garlic and saute, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Return the bacon to the skillet and saute, stirring frequently, for a further minute.
- Remove from heat. Add the cracked black pepper and toss. Taste for seasoning and add salt if needed.
Notes
- Use sugar free, nitrite/nitrate-free bacon to keep it paleo and Whole30 compliant
- Rinse the green beans and shake to dry, but don’t dry completely – the residual water clinging to the green beans will help them steam while heat sautés them.
- Be sure to drain excess bacon fat, leaving just a thin layer, to prevent overly greasy green beans.
- If you prefer firmer green beans, sautee for about 4 minutes in Step 4, instead of 6.
DAVID W SMITH
This is great I didnt have garlic the last time will try it sure it will be good
Jen
Delicious! I made for Thanksgiving and added diced shallots. No one in this family ever wants to “waste stomach space” on veggies but the smell of these overrode their trepidation and they gobbled up the first helping them went back for seconds. Will make them all the time.
Danielle
Ha! I know that sentiment well, so I’m glad these were such a hit. Bacon helps 😀
Kathy
Can these be made a day ahead or made early morning? If so how do you suggest reheating?
Diane
This was really good! I like my green beans cooked soft instead of crisp, so I just cooked them a little longer (10 minutes) before adding the garlic. I also added about 1 1/2 teaspoons butter when I added the garlic. I will definitely add this to my favorites!
Sandy
Yummy and easy to make!