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Green Beans with Bacon – the combination of aromatic garlic and cooked bacon is a great way to add a lot of flavor to a classic side dish. It’s easy, simple and cooked to tender-crisp perfection.
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Green beans are a part of most American family’s holiday table (or at least I think they should be). They are also an easy and fuss-free side dish to prepare for a weeknight dinner or a quick vegetable dish to add to your meal plan routine. I have shared earlier with you my tips for making the best green beans recipe but today I am sharing another favorite – garlic green beans with bacon. The addition of bacon provides a comforting depth of flavor and sophistication to this simple side dish.
This recipe takes inspiration from traditional Southern cooking where green beans are flavored by ham hock, pork knuckles or bone-in ham steak. This take on the classic is a quick way of getting dinner on the table faster while still adding an element of the salty, meaty flavor of pork. These beans are soulful and very satisfying and an easy side to add to your weeknight dinner table. The tender green beans go wonderfully with any kind of meat or seafood – I like to serve them with baked salmon, chicken or steak. For some recipe inspiration what to serve with these bacon green beans read my serving suggestions below.
How to Prepare Green Beans with Bacon
When I am short on time to make dinner, I tend to choose quick and easy sides that don’t have a lot of complicated steps, don’t require much cooking and have a short list of ingredients, like this Tomato Cucumber Avocado Salad, these Baked Sweet Potato Slices or one of my favorite – the Roasted Honey Glazed Carrots.
This green bean recipe with bacon has only a handful of ingredients – green beans, minced garlic, bacon and olive oil, and spices. And a few simple steps:
- Blanch the green beans for a couple of minutes.
- Saute the beans in olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for 3 minutes. Add garlic and saute for 30 seconds.
- Steam them in 1/2 cup water for a few more minutes until tender.
- Drain, season and top with bacon.
Delicious and Healthy Green Beans
Don’t let the simplicity of the recipe and the ingredients fool you. These southern green beans with bacon is a flavorful and delicious side that goes wonderfully with a lot of dishes. Everyone will rave about it. It’s also healthy – naturally low-carb, Paleo, Whole30 and gluten-free.
Why Blanch Green Beans and Is It Necessary
It’s necessary to blanch green beans to prevent a loss of flavor, color, and texture. It also cleanses the surface, brightens the color and helps prevent loss of vitamins. The quick blanching step helps tenderize the beans and stops any further change in color. Blanching green beans for a couple of minutes and shocking them in ice-cold water guarantees tender and gorgeous green vegetable side dish.
Garlic Green Beans with Bacon – Easy Side Dish
This easy green bean and bacon recipe comes together in about 15 minutes and can be prepared while you are still cooking the main meat for dinner. I love that it can be cooked ahead and reheated just before serving which makes it a great choice for meal prepping as well.
What To Serve With Southern Green Beans
Some of my favorite meals to serve with these easy green beans and bacon are Chicken Francese, Chicken Marsala, Meatloaf, and Honey Sriracha Salmon.
Green Beans with Bacon
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Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
- 2 Tablespoon olive oil, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon salt and freshly ground black pepper, each
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup chopped cooked bacon
Instructions
- Blanch green beans in boiling water for about 2 minutes, or until their color turns bright green. Transfer them to a large bowl with ice-cold water. Drain the beans and pat them dry with a paper towel.
- Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add trimmed green beans to the skillet, season them with salt and black pepper, and saute them stirring often until they are tender for about 3 minutes. (Make sure you don't burn them, reduce the heat if necessary).
- Add minced garlic to the green beans, toss and cook until fragrant for about 30 seconds.
- Pour 1/2 cup water over the green beans and cover the skillet with a lid. Steam the green beans for about 3-4 minutes, until they are bright green and crisp-tender.
- Drain green beans and transfer them to a serving bowl. Drizzle the remaining olive oil over them and season with a little bit of salt and pepper. Top with chopped cooked bacon.
Love this recipe! Such a tasty and easy side dish. I will definitely be making this one again!
The bacon and garlic take bland green beans to the next level making these a family favorite.
I really loved how easy this is to make! So delish!
Bacon makes everything better, and these green beans are the perfect spring side dish and one of my families favorites.
This is one of those recipes our family loves. Simple ingredients but big on flavor. We’ll be adding this to our meal plan rotation!