green beans with bacon
I love green beans! And I love bacon too!
And so, I want to share my favorite ways of making the BEST
What I love most about these recipes is that you can use fresh green beans, canned green beans, or frozen in a bag. It doesn’t matter.
But, the one ingredient that makes these recipes SPECIAL is B-A-C-O-N!
Do you have to boil green beans before you sauté them?
No, I usually don’t boil green beans in a pan on the stovetop anymore, whether they come from a can or fresh.
Rarely will I ever heat them in the microwave, either.
The main reason why I don’t boil them is that first, you start by removing any excess liquid before adding them to the
I must say, as an alternative, I will add some chicken broth as they are frying.
This little trick of adding the chicken broth was first suggested to us by our daughter-in-law, and we very much enjoyed it.
It just gives it an added layer of flavor.
What can I add to green beans for flavor?
Well, we already mentioned chicken broth adding flavor to these recipes.
Pan-fried green beans with bacon- this is the game changer when cooking greens beans.
Hickory-smoked bacon gives it that wonderful flavor that we’ve come to expect from an excellent smoked bacon product!
And because these recipes have bacon in them is but one reason why I make it regularly!
There is so many other skillet fried green bean recipes out there today, but this is a southern green bean recipe a friend of mine taught me how to make a few years ago, and I’ve been making it the same way ever since.
Below is a video of the complete process of making the BEST fried green beans in a
This recipe is probably the easiest and my favorite, but I want to share another great recipe as a bonus!
green beans with fried onions
Here is another fantastic green bean side dish recipe.
It goes so well with almost anything too.
It not only has green beans and bacon, but it has fried onions also.
Another alternative to the ones mentioned is pan-fried green beans with garlic.
Garlic is in a class of its own, and when combined with green beans and bacon-well, it just can’t be beaten!
These two recipes will make you very popular with a hungry crowd, and I’m sure once tried will become frequently requested too!
If you’re looking for something new to try with a great flavor, you will want to add these two recipes to your recipe arsenal!
And since I primarily cook with cast iron skillets anyway, this is the best way to do it, in my opinion.
And our friends and family members seem to love them just as much as we do.
Below is the recipe ingredient list we used to make and also demonstrated in the first video above.
Recipe For Skillet Fried Green Beans
- 2 quarts of Canned green beans (I like to use homegrown canned green beans, but store-bought is fine if this is all you have available.)
- 1 pound pkg bacon (Cut pieces in half)
- One dash of salt and pepper (To taste)
- One dash of crushed red pepper flakes (*Optional*)
- Heat a 12″ cast iron skillet over med-hi heat. Remove the bacon and cut pieces into halves. Bacon fries easier when cut in half and does not curl up as bad.
- Drain off all the liquid from the green beans.
- Fry up all the bacon fairly crisp so we can crumble it up into the green beans later.
- Once the bacon is fried, remove it to a paper towel-covered plate. Leave approximately 2-3 tablespoons of bacon grease in the skillet.
- Slowly add drained green beans to skillet and let fry(cook down). Do not stir immediately, as we will want a little char on the bottom to form before we stir the green beans.
- As the beans cook, the remaining moisture will begin to evaporate. Once the beans have a little charr-fried look, you can stir them slightly.
- Add crumbled-up bacon and stir. Cook for a few minutes more to thoroughly combine bacon and green beans.
- Add a dash of salt to taste, as bacon is already salty. Add pepper to taste. You may want to add some red pepper flakes for a little added kick!
- Remove from heat and serve!
In conclusion:
These two versions of the skillet fried green beans are the ones we love to make the most.
I know there are more than these two, but I hope you give these a try and let us know what you think about them.
I think you are gonna love them!
Thanks Tiffany! It’s good to see others love this dish as much as I do! Bacon grease and garlic, plus onion, is hard to beat in so many recipes that’s for sure!
Great recipe!! I add fresh garlic and diced onion to mine. I fry the bacon, use some of the grease to sauté the onion and garlic. Then fry the frozen green beans. I sprinkle crumbled bacon over the green beans. It has become a staple dish for every event or family has!!
Thank you Angela. Yes it is so simple yet oh so good!! Please let me know how it turns out okay?
What a delicious recipe! I love green beans and bacon and would not have thought of combining them. Great idea cooking the beans in the bacon fat too – give them a lovely flavour. I will definitely be trying this recipe out – nice and easy to follow, so thank you
You’re welcome Audra. I hope you can give it a try. And maybe you can convince your family to try it as well. Cast iron cooking is the way to go too!! When you try this recipe will you please let me know what you think, okay?
Thank you for sharing your fried green bean recipe. I myself love green beans but my family not so keen. I hope when I try your recipe they too will love them. I don’t cook with cast iron cookware but I think I’ll have to give it a go.