Green Beans with Bacon

Bacon makes everything better!  This short article features the easy recipe, with the six most asked-for variations.

Green Beans with Bacon features fresh beans sauteed in bacon fat, with bits of crispy bacon. Popular variations add onion, brown sugar, potatoes, vinegar, soy sauce, or tomatoes.

Hate recipe websites that take longer to get to the recipe than it actually takes to cook it? Me, too; so just tap where you want to go:

Table of Contents

• Green Beans with Bacon Recipe: Ingredients
• How to Make Green Beans with Bacon
• Green Beans with Bacon Printable Recipe
• Green Beans with Bacon Variations
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Potatoes
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Vinegar
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Soy Sauce
  • Green Beans with Bacon and Tomtoes
• Green Beans with Bacon: Tips for Success

Green Beans with Bacon Recipe: Ingredients

• 1 lb. fresh green beans
• 4 slices bacon
• 1/2t. sea salt
• 1/4t. freshly ground pepper 

How to Make Green Beans with Bacon

1. Cook the bacon in skillet over medium heat, while you wash and trim beans. 
2. Shut off pan. Remove the bacon, and drain on a paper towel.  Leave the fat in the pan.
3. Add the beans to pan, and put on low heat. 
4. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. 
5. Toss with a spatula to coat.
6. Cover pan and cook 15 minutes. 
7. Shut off pan  Crumble bacon, and toss with the finished beans.

Green Beans with Bacon Printable Recipe

Green Beans with Bacon Variations

Green Beans with Bacon and Onion

• Follow recipe, doing Steps 1 and 2, as written.  
• After removing bacon from pan, saute 1/4c. of onion, sliced into 1″ lengths.
• Add beans, and continue as written.

Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar

• Follow recipe to Step 6..
• After 5 minutes of cooking time, stir in 2T. brown sugar. 
• Finish recipe, as written, stirring occasionally to make sure that sugar does not burn.

Green Beans with Bacon and Potatoes

Follow recipe as written, except add 2c. of cooked, cubed potatoes when you add the beans.  

Alternatively, you can follow the recipe as described above; but instead of cooking it in the skillet for 15 minutes, you can finish it in a 450 degree oven for 15 minutes, or 350 for 30 minutes, or until done to taste.

Green Beans with Bacon and Vinegar

Follow recipe as written, stirring in 1T. vinegar during the last 5 minutes of cooking time.  I like using Balsamic vinegar.  Plain vinegar works fine, too.  Other good choices are red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or balsamic vinegar.

Green Beans with Bacon and Soy Sauce

Follow recipe as written, stirring in 2t. soy sauce during the last 5 minutes of cooking time. A sprinkle of sesame seeds or a few drops of sesame oil taste very good in this version.

Green Beans with Bacon and Tomtoes

Follow recipe as written, except add 1 nice, ripe garden tomato when you add the beans.  

I like a stewed variation of this during the winter.  To do so, follow recipe as written, except add a 16 oz. can of diced tomatoes when you add the beans, and cook on very low heat for 30 minutes.

Green Beans with Bacon: Tips for Success

• It takes a good pan to bring together the green beans and bacon without scorched beans or rubbery bacon. I like this American made, heirloom quality skillet (view here). 
• A quicker variation would be to use butter for the fat, and pre-cooked bacon. 
• Let the pan cool down a bit before you add the beans.  The heat needed to cook bacon would burn vegetables.
• Would you rather step away from the stove, and cook green beans in a 350 degree oven, to coordinate with baking casseroles or meat?  The infographic, below, shows you how. 

n. b. – Shopping links in this article help to support this website, but at no charge to you.  Thank you.