Transform humble vegetables into the talk of the table with this Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon and Onion recipe! Tender-crisp beans are cooked with crispy bacon, garlic, and sweet onions for a simple but flavorful side dish everyone will love.
Why You’ll Love This Green Bean Recipe with Bacon and Onion:
- Four Ingredients: Are you looking for accessible and uncomplicated side dishes? Add this recipe to your list! It’s made with common ingredients you can find in nearly any grocery store.
- Tasty: Featuring crispy, savory bacon, lightly caramelized onions, and nutty garlic, this green beans bacon recipe features your favorite comforting flavors.
- Quick and Easy: This side dish recipe is made in a handful of easy steps in less than 30 minutes. It is beginner-friendly and a great last minute option for busy days!
- Versatile: Though it is impressive and delicious enough to complete your next holiday feast, green beans and bacon is simple and doable enough for weeknight family meals.
For more easy and delicious green bean recipes, check out my Air Fryer Canned Green Beans and Crock Pot Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes.
Let’s Get Started! Here’s What You’ll Need:
Ingredients:
Green Beans - Fresh green beans are the star of this recipe. Choose fresh beans with a deep green color and no wilting or bruising. Wash them well and trim them before using them, or grab a bag of prewashed and trimmed for busy weeknights.
Bacon - This adds flavor, texture, and seasoning to the green beans with onions. You will need 4 ounces of bacon; dice it into ½-inch pieces. Do not pre-cook it, the bacon grease replaces the oil or butter you would need otherwise.
Onion - When cooked with the bacon, chopped yellow onion develops a lightly sweet flavor, making it the perfect complement to the salty meat. Use 1 small onion or ½ of a large onion and dice it finely. Shallots can be used instead if you prefer them.
Garlic - Two cloves add a fresh and lightly sweet, nutty flavor. If needed, you can substitute chopped bottled garlic, but fresh minced garlic is best whenever possible.
Equipment:
Cutting Board and Knife - For trimming the beans, chopping the onions and garlic, and dicing the bacon. To save time cleaning the cutting board between ingredients, chop the veggies before the bacon.
Large Skillet - A lidded skillet is preferable, as it traps the moisture and helps the beans steam. See the recipe tips below for how to successfully make these green beans with bacon without a lid.
Heat-Safe Spatula - For stirring the green beans, bacon, and onion frequently as it cooks.
Measuring Cup - This measures the water used to deglaze the pan and steam the green beans.
How to Make Green Beans with Bacon and Onions
Prepare the ingredients.
Dice the onion and mince the garlic. If needed, also wash the beans and trim them. Dice the bacon by slicing into strips, then turning the cutting board 90 degrees and slicing the other direction.
Cook the bacon.
Heat a large skillet over medium or medium-high heat. Add the chopped bacon and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently, until the bacon fat has rendered.
Add the onions.
Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions to the cooking bacon. Stir frequently, cooking until the onions are translucent, for about 5 minutes.
Deglaze the pan.
Add ¼ cup of water to the pan and deglaze it, scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pan as it simmers.
Cook the green beans.
Add the green beans and minced garlic and stir well. Cover the skillet with a lid and cook for 2-3 minutes. Stir the beans again and deglaze, or add more water, if needed.
Recover the pan and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove the lid and cook uncovered for about 5 minutes, or until the water has evaporated and the beans are cooked to your desired degree of doneness.
Recipe Success Tips
- Render the bacon fat. Or, brown it in the skillet until the fat has released from the meat. The bacon will cook longer until it is cooked through, but the onions need the bacon’s fat to cook properly.
- Use a lidded skillet. Trapping the moisture as the beans cook helps them to steam, reaching an even crispness. You can make this green bean and bacon recipe without a lid, if needed, with some additional water and time. Simply add a few tablespoons of water to the pan as needed every few minutes and stir frequently, until the beans reach your desired doneness level.
- Deglaze the pan. Deglazing is the process of adding moisture to a pan after searing or sautéing to release any stuck browned bits from the bottom. The browned bits contain lots of savory flavor, so stir as you deglaze, scraping the bottom as the water simmers.
- Cook to the desired degree of doneness. After removing the steaming lid, cook the beans until they have reached your preferred level of crispness. Al dente beans may need as little as 2-3 minutes of uncovered cooking time; more tender beans may take up to 7-8 minutes.
- Season to taste. Depending on the brand that you use, the salty bacon seasons this bacon green beans recipe, but you can add salt and pepper to taste before serving if needed.
Making this Recipe with Frozen Green Beans
You can substitute frozen whole green beans for fresh. The frozen beans contain more water, so only add ¼ cup of water when deglazing the pan and add extra water by the tablespoon throughout the cooking process as needed.
Serving Suggestions
This green beans with bacon recipe is a family favorite recipe for holiday feasts, and often makes an appearance at our Thanksgiving and Christmas table, though it’s also easy and tasty enough for weeknight dinners. Pair it with any of the following mains for a satisfying meal!
Storage Directions
- Refrigeration: Keep leftover green beans with onion and bacon covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Though you can freeze cooked green beans, I do not recommend it as they can become mushy once defrosted.
- Reheating: Warm the beans with a splash of water or broth in a skillet over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. You can also heat them on gentle heat in the microwave.
Enjoy!
I hope your family loves this recipe as much as mine does. Be sure to come back and leave a review letting me know how it turned out for you or what you made with it!
📖 Recipe
Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
Equipment
- 1 Large Skillet or Pan with lid preferred
- 1 cutting board
- 1 knife
- 1 Spatula or Wooden spoon
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans washed and trimmed
- 4 oz bacon uncooked, diced
- 1 ea small onion or ½ large onion
- 2 cloves garlic minced
Instructions
- Dice bacon, garlic and onion, and if needed, trim green beans.
- Add bacon to a large skillet with the lid off, and cook on medium to medium-high heat, stirring frequently. After 3-4 minutes some of the bacon fat should render into grease.
- Set the heat to medium and add the onions to the cooking bacon. Stir frequently, cooking until the onions are just translucent, about 5 minutes. Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup water.
- Add minced garlic and trimmed green beans and cover the skillet with the lid for 2-3 minutes. Stir, and deglaze again if needed. Recover and cook another 2-3 minutes, then cook uncovered about 5 minutes, until green beans reach desired crispness.
Notes
- Refrigeration: Keep leftover green beans with onion and bacon covered in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Though you can freeze cooked green beans, I do not recommend it as they can become mushy once defrosted.
- Reheating: Warm the beans with a splash of water or broth in a skillet over medium-low heat for 2-3 minutes, or until heated through. You can also heat them on gentle heat in the microwave.
- Render the bacon fat. Or, brown it in the skillet until the fat has released from the meat. The bacon will cook longer until it is cooked through, but the onions need the bacon’s fat to cook properly.
- Use a lidded skillet. Trapping the moisture as the beans cook helps them to steam, reaching an even crispness. You can make the green bean and bacon recipe without a lid, if needed – just add a few tablespoons of water to the pan as needed, as the water will evaporate more quickly.
- Deglaze the pan. Deglazing is the process of adding moisture to a pan after searing or sautéing to release any stuck browned bits from the bottom. The browned bits contain lots of savory flavor, so stir as you deglaze, scraping the bottom as the water simmers.
- Cook to the desired degree of doneness. After removing the steaming lid, cook the beans until they have reached your preferred level of crispness. Al dente beans may need as little as 2-3 minutes of uncovered cooking time; more tender beans may take up to 5-6 minutes.
- Season to taste. Depending on the brand that you use, the salty bacon seasons the bacon green beans recipe, but you can add salt and pepper to taste before serving if needed.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. It is recommended to use your preferred calculator with the actual ingredients you use for optimal accuracy.
Anne Aslanides says
The bacon adds so much flavor, we love having these.