Bacon Green Beans

These smoky-and-sweet Bacon Green Beans are a super easy vegetable side dish that can be enjoyed all year round.

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Ingredients Needed for Bacon Green Beans Recipe

1. Cut green beans (frozen, canned, or fresh)
2. Bacon
3. Worcestershire sauce
4. Liquid smoke
5. Brown sugar
6. Chopped onion
7. Garlic

How To Make This Bacon and Green Bean Recipe (Quick Overview)

First, prepare your green beans per the instructions on the recipe card at the end of the post.

Now it’s time to fry up your bacon! 🥓

When it’s nice and crispy, carefully cut it into small pieces. Remove from pan and set aside.

Sauté the onions in the bacon fat until they’re beginning to turn translucent, then drain any excess fat. Add Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and liquid smoke and let the mixture simmer briefly.

Add green beans, toss to coat them in the sauce, and cook for 10-12 minutes.

Then add the bacon pieces and cook for another 1-2 minutes until the bacon has been reheated.

Here’s the delicious dish you’ll be rewarded with for your efforts!

(Note that I used frozen green beans for these photos.)

Serve and enjoy! One of my favorite easy pairings is with Air Fryer Chicken Breasts.

How to Blanch Green Beans

If you’ll be using fresh green beans, here’s your quick and easy guide to blanching green beans!

What You’ll Need

• Fresh green beans
• Large pot of water (enough to cover the green beans)
• Large bowl of ice water
• Colander
• Kitchen towel or paper towels

Steps to Blanch Green Beans

1. Place the large pot of water on the stovetop on high and begin to bring it to a boil.
2. As you’re waiting for the water to boil, prepare green beans by rinsing them and trimming off the ends.
3. When the water has reached a boil, add green beans and allow them to cook for 2-4 minutes. Keep in mind that you’ll be cooking them further in the Bacon Green Beans recipe, so you will want to cook them to a little less than your desired final texture.
4. After 2-4 minutes, remove the green beans and immediately place them in the ice bath.
5. Once they’ve cooled completely, pour the water and beans into the colander.
6. Pat them dry with a kitchen towel or paper towels. Now they’re ready to be used!

More Vegetable Side Dishes

• Make oven roasted vegetables that are delicious and beloved by all!
• Enjoy these crispy baked Brussels sprouts as a parmesan cheese-infused side dish that will actually make you love Brussels sprouts.
• Summer squash sides like this baked zucchini and squash are delicious with just about any meal!

What Dinners Pair Well with Bacon and Green Beans?

• This easy chicken thighs in the air fryer recipe is both filling and fabulous – and a perfect main dish for bacon green beans. Also, this garlic and parmesan chicken goes great with that smokey and sweet flavoring.
• When you need a great side to go with your air fryer chicken wings, this is the one! Want to mix things up a bit? Try air fryer buffalo wings or lemon pepper air fryer wings.
• Meatloaf tastes wonderful by itself, but serve it with these bacon green beans for classic home-cooked goodness.
• It may seem like an odd pairing, but I love these green beans with a big bowl of white chili. And they go great with this homemade chili made with homemade chili seasoning.

Bacon Green Beans

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These smoky-and-sweet Bacon Green Beans are a super easy vegetable side dish that can be enjoyed all year round.

Servings 6

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Western

Keyword green bean recipes, vegetable side dishes

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Total Time 30 minutes minutes

Ingredients

• 24 to 28 oz cut green beans (frozen, canned, or fresh)
• 6 pieces bacon
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 tsp minced garlic

Instructions

To Prepare Green Beans

• Frozen green beans: Thaw them in the refrigerator overnight or for eight hours and then drain any excess water. (Don't have the time to thaw? Remove the green beans from thier package, place them in a microwave-safe bowl, and use your microwave's defrost function.)
• Canned green beans: Ensure that you drain any extra water.
• Fresh green beans: Blanch them first and then cut them into bite-sized pieces. (Not sure how to blanch? See the post for a guide!)

To Prepare Final Dish

• Start by cooking bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crispy.
• Once done, turn off the heat and carefully cut the bacon into small pieces using a spatula or kitchen scissors. If the bacon is too hot, allow it to cool before handling.
• Remove the bacon from the pan and set it aside.
• Return the skillet to medium heat and add chopped onions to the bacon grease. Sauté the onions until they are beginning to turn translucent.
• Drain any excess fat from the pan, then add Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, and liquid smoke. Let the mixure simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the green beans to the skillet, ensuring they are coated with the sauce. Cook for 10-12 minutes until the beans soften.
• Finally, mix in the bacon pieces, stir, and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes to reheat the bacon.

Notes

When using frozen green beans, ensure they reach a safe temperature of at least 165°F.

Nutrition Disclaimer

Nutrition Estimates are per serving and included as a courtesy only. They are accurate to the best of our knowledge based on the ingredients and brands used, but their accuracy is not guaranteed.

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