This side dish for green beans with bacon is a fast and easy recipe that packs a ton of flavor. Bacon goes perfectly with just about everything and green beans are no exception. For extra bacon flavor, reserve some bacon drippings to toss with the green beans.
Sauteed green beans are a favorite in our house and you just can’t go wrong with a bit of bacon.
The green beans are the stars in my garden as they always do well and we have been enjoying them in different ways. Last year I over-planted and had a bumper crop. We still have a few jars of pickled green beans in the garage.
If you are looking for more ways to enjoy your green beans, try our green bean salad or our Instant Pot Lebanese green beans. Even simple steamed green beans are delicious and allows the veggies to shine.
How to Saute Green Beans with Bacon:
This recipe is easy and delicious and if you have some pre-cooked bacon leftover from breakfast it is even easier. There are several ways to cook bacon. I like baking my bacon on a rack in the oven as it is easier than the stovetop fry-pan method and I don’t have to stand there turning it.
Here are the quick steps for this recipe. Make sure to scroll down to the printable recipe card for all the details.
- Cook the bacon.
- Blanch and shock the green beans.
- Dry the beans then saute them until tender crisp.
- Serve with the crispy bacon.
We like our green beans nice and tender-crisp and still pretty bright green. To get them that way I put them in a pot of salted boiling water for four minutes.
Next, I drain them and plunge them into a pan of ice water to stop the cooking process. When they have cooled, I drain them and put them on a kitchen towel and blot the water off.
At this point, they can be set aside and sautéed just before serving. That is a great time saver and can be done even a day before and refrigerated until you are ready to finish the cooking process and serve them.
It only takes a few minutes to finish these green beans with bacon for serving. A little sprinkling of red pepper flakes gives the beans some zip.
Why Do You Boil the Green Beans First?
We quickly boil (or blanch) these green beans first so the cell walls soften. Not only does it give the beans a bright green color, it will help them cook more evenly in the saute pan. It might seem like a tedious and unnecessary step but it makes a big difference.
You can’t get the same results if you toss raw green beans in the saute pan. The skin on the green beans tend to be fibrous. If you blanch the beans before you saute them then it breaks down the tougher layer and lets the inside of the beans cook evenly.
What Goes with Sauteed Green Beans:
This is a side dish that goes with just about anything. Elevate your dinner with these stuffed chicken breasts or serve them with a simple home-style meatloaf. They are great any time of the year and especially popular with a Thanksgiving turkey.
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Green Beans with Bacon Crumbles
Ingredients
- 4-6 slices of bacon
- 1-½ pounds fresh green beans
- 1 tablespoon bacon grease or oil of your choice
- ⅛ teaspoon red pepper flakes
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F
For the Bacon Crumbles:
- Line a baking sheet with foil (this makes clean-up easy) and set a wire rack over it. Spray the rack with non-stick and place the bacon slices on the rack. Bake for 15 minutes, remove from the oven and flip the slices over and continue to bake for another 5-10 minutes. This will depend on how thick your bacon is and how crisp you like it. Remove from the oven and transfer the slices to a paper-towel lined plate. When cool cut into crumbles and reserve.
For the Green Beans:
- Fill a large pot with salted water and bring it to a full boil. Meanwhile, rinse the green beans under cold water to remove any debris, drain them and snap or cut off the stems. Prepare another pot of water with ice water and reserve. When the pot of water begins to boil, add the green beans and boil for 4 minutes.
- Carefully, drain the hot water off the green beans through a colander and immediately plunge them into the reserved ice water bath. This will stop the cooking process and allow the green beans to remain bright green. When the beans have cooled in the ice water, drain them in the colander and spread them out on a kitchen towel to drain. Blot off any remaining water before cooking.
- In a heavy-bottomed skillet, over medium-high heat, add the bacon grease or oil and the red pepper flakes, when the oil is hot, add the green beans tossing to coat each one. Cook the beans, tossing and stirring continually, just until they are crisp-tender.
- Transfer the green beans to a serving dish and sprinkle the reserved bacon crumbles on top. Season with salt and pepper.
Notes
- Before you saute the green beans, blanch them in water then stop them from cooking by plunging them in ice water. This extra step will soften the cell walls of the green beans, keep them bright green, and help them retain a crisp yet tender texture. Tossing raw green beans in a skillet will not give you the same results.
- For extra bacon flavor, saute the green beans in the bacon grease. If you want a lighter flavor, use olive oil or butter.
John/Kitchen Riffs
Wednesday 19th of August 2015
It got too hot for out tomatoes this year -- the vines got fried, alas, so our crop wasn't that good. Anyway, love green beans! Don't they combine so well with bacon? This looks terrific -- thanks!
Pat
Wednesday 19th of August 2015
Thanks, John...:) The bacon is delicious with these beans.