Step aside green bean casserole, Green beans with Bacon are an easy, last-minute side dish for holidays with the best blend of garlic, parmesan and bacon that will have green bean haters begging for the recipe! Made in less than 10 minutes with just a handful of ingredients.
This post was originally published on November, 2014, and has been updated November 2019
I had no idea when I originally shared this easy Green Beans with Bacon recipe years ago, just how much y’all would love it! I’m not sure why I’m surprised, even I, a previous veggie hater eat them like candy.
This is one of our favorite side dishes and from Pinterest and Facebook shares, it must be yours, too! If you haven’t tried them yet, there’s not time like the present!
They’re quick, easy and oh so good! You can whip them up while waiting to carve the turkey or warm the rolls in the oven.
Table of Contents
To Make These Green Beans With Bacon, You Will Need:.
These Sautéed Green Beans with Bacon are so incredibly easy to make and require just a few ingredients.
- Butter – Salted or unsalted, your choice.
- Garlic – I purchase minced garlic in the produce section of the grocery store. It’s a great shortcut that won’t cheat you on flavor.
- Shallot – Shallots add so much flavor to this simple dish.
- Bacon – Use fresh bacon or purchase bacon pieces in the salad section of your grocer. You won’t know the difference! The butter helps bring out the juices in the bacon.
- Green Beans – Canned, French Cut to allow all the flavors to seep in while being sautéed. Yes, you can make this with fresh green beans, which I usually prefer, but I’ve tried both fresh and canned (this is one of our favorite and most frequently made side dishes) and I highly recommend using canned French Cut green beans. It’s an easy canned green bean recipe you’ll make again and again!
- Parmesan – This is one of the few times I use grated parmesan, rather than fresh. This recipe is all about being quick and easy!
The shallot and garlic flavor the beans and allows all of the flavors to seep in for a memorable last minute side dish.
How to Make Green Beans With Bacon
It takes less than 10 minutes to make this tasty side dish.
- On medium low heat, combine butter, garlic, shallot and bacon to pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add green beans, increase heat to medium, stirring frequently until hot.
- Garnish with parmesan and serve.
I love that it takes no time at all to make, so you can cook it up right before serving.
What to Serve Green Beans with Bacon With
These sautéed green beans with bacon pair well with chicken, turkey and steak! Try then with:
- Baked Chicken
- Prosciutto and Fontina Stuffed Chicken
- Barefoot Contessa Marinated Steak
- Red Wine Sauce for Steak
- Turkey
- Tips
- Don’t put the heat on high, the beans just need to be warmed through, not charred.
- If using fresh beans, be sure to trim the ends and clean them.
- Serve the beans immediately. This dish is best served hot.
If you try these green beans with bacon, please come back to share using my 5 star rating in the comments below! Not only do I appreciate it, but I know readers do, too!
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More Thanksgiving Recipes
Firehouse Green Beans with Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons butter salted or unsalted
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- ½ shallot minced
- 2 ounces bacon 1/2 pkg real bacon pieces
- 29 ounce green beans 2 cans french cut, strained
- ½ cup parmesan grated
Instructions
- On medium low heat, add butter, garlic, shallot and bacon to pan. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add green beans, increase heat to medium, stirring frequently until hot.
- Garnish with parmesan and serve.
Video
Notes
- Don't put the heat on high, the beans just need to be warmed through, not charred.
- If using fresh beans, be sure to trim the ends and clean them.
- Serve the beans immediately.
- You can make this with fresh green beans, which I usually prefer, but I’ve tried both fresh and canned and I highly recommend using canned French Cut green beans.
Absolutely delicious and easy!
I prefer fresh green beans, so I was on a frantic quest to find a french green bean slicer…..no where,( I no longer have one of those peelers that has the grid on the bottom (I NEVER knew what that was for…) I found one at Kohl’s but it is one of those wide bladed ones, and you are able to switch to the “julienne” slicer….however, that did not work….drum roll…..the blade for peeling works like a champ….seriously, just sliced down, then turned over and sliced again…..perfect french style green beans!!!
We love this recipe. I always use fresh green beans and fresh bacon
Thank you, Linda! So glad you enjoy them!
This recipe is as advertised. I don’t know of a side dish that has this much of a time-deliciousness benefit.
Thank you, Charles! So glad you enjoyed it! We can’t get enough.
This is easily on our menu at home 1-2 times a week. Bacon makes everything better…and certainly helps getting young kids to eat their veggies. This recipe comes together really fast and has the kids (and adults) always asking for more.
I LOVE IT! I couldn’t agree more. What is life without bacon? Thank you, Sydney!
These are the best! They are my “go-to” recipe when I need a quick side dish. Thank you for the recipe!
Thank you, Karen! That makes me so happy!
Always a hit in our house! Great way to get my 4 year old to eat green beans!
Thank you, Sydney! I’m so glad you enjoy them! Have you tried my peas? One of the few things I can get my kiddos to eat!
This was easy, quick and delicious! No more traditional green bean casserole for me, this recipe surpasses it by far! Thank you for sharing!
So glad you loved it!
Last year (2018) was first year to try these. My fam. LOVED them at Thanksgiving…… So I made them again, at Christmas 2018, making tomorrow for T-day 2019….THIS recipe, these wonderful, quick n easy green beans are our new tradition…..here to stay!!
Yay!!! They’re a must have our hour holidays, too! Happy Thanksgiving!
Made this with friends for a pre-Thanksgiving meal with turkey and steamed sweet potatoes. No leftovers with this dish!
So glad you enjoyed them, Donna! Thanks for taking the time to share!
Favorite veggie side dish in this family!
My son requested I briy these to dinner tomorrow night. Great recipe.
So glad you enjoyed them! They’re our absolute favorite!
Yum! Green beans with bacon is one of my favorites! Love the addition of parmesan! I’ve not done that before!
These green beans are absolutely delicious and so easy to make. The bacon just takes them over the top. I think I’m going to make this for Thanksgiving!
I feel the same on photos, I like them to look real. These beans look good and sound tasty, I think my family would like them.
Wow -delicious and packed with flavor! Great recipe
I’ve learned to love green beans, but they have to have the bacon with them! These are tasty & the perfect holiday side.
My families favorite holiday side dish!
Thank you! It’s ours, too! I look forward to green beans and bacon more than turkey!
These are perfect for holiday or special occasion dinners! So delicious!
I love putting bacon with green vegetables for a side dish. So yummy!
Delicious! Perfect side dish for the holidays!
Yum! I love this classic!
So delicious and perfect for Thanksgiving! I love this tasty twist on green beans!
The recipe does not specify what size cans of beans. My grocery store has two sizes. Help!
Standard can size, not the larger
These were amazing! And so easy too
I eat them like candy! So glad you loved them as well! Happy New Year!
My family is tired of green bean casserole every Thanksgiving, so I thought I’d give Julie’s Firehouse Green Beans with Bacon a try. I used French cut green beans which really took on all of the flavors. Before adding the green beans I soaked the garlic, butter, shallot and bacon in the cooking pot for about an hour. There were no left overs and that was with doubling the recipe for 15 people. It was a big hit! Thank you for sharing that recipe, Julie!
Thank you, Cindy! Glad everyone there likes them as well! We doubled and didn’t have a green bean left in our group of 12. I’m tripling next year! Happy New Year!
Had these over thanksgiving and they were delicious! Definitely going to replace my go-to green bean casserole with this dish! It was a crowd pleaser!
Our family’s favorite sidecar dish! Delicious and simple! Always a hit at gatherings as well!
I do NOT do canned veggies. With that being said, I DO these! They are delish, and very easy to make!
Can you please tell me about how many ounces of bacon bits to use? I have a big bag of crumbles from Costco. Thanks!
I think a standard bag is about 2 1/2 oz.
Julie, please! This is looks like a great recipe, except for the canned green beans — why on earth would anyone use them, when fresh or frozen beans (either from the grocery store or one’s own freezer) are so readily available? Canned green beans are over-cooked, limp and loaded with sodium and preservatives, to boot. This is the sort of stuff my culinarily-challenged aunt fed us in the Fifties, along with the appalling green bean casserole — you know, the one that requires a can of cream of mushroom soup and a topping of frozen fried onion rings. So gross! Kids everywhere ran for their lives!
I am always an advocate for fresh, but for some reason I love these canned {insert teeth grit}. Either way, I hope you enjoy them. I cannot stand that casserole…I find it appalling as well. Have a beautiful week, Suzanne!
We’ve made something similar but we did use fresh green beans with a pork hock. Yep you get that smokey taste and the onions in it give it a delicious flavor. This we make in the slow cooker but you get the green beans taste that isn’t “green” from using the fresh green beans and we pick off the meat from the hock and keep it with the green beans. This is a VERY German type recipe.
YUM!
Made tonight for supper. Big hit with my family. As my family would say….this recipe is a keeper. 🙂
Yay! So glad you enjoyed them. Thanks for thanking the time to share! Have a great weekend.
The recipe sounds great. Merry Christmas to you and your family❤️????
Merry Christmas!
Do you think you can make this in a crock pot?? If so, what steps would one take?
I’m sure you can, but they’re so quick and easy I would just make them on the stove top. Enjoy!
Did you drain the water? Can garlic powder be used instead of minced garlic?
Yes, drain the water. I never use garlic powder…minced garlic keeps in your refrigerator for months and adds a lot more flavor. Give it a try, I just might convert you 😉
Thanks Julie, I’ll will let you know how they like it!! Sounds yummy and easy!
Hi Julie, could you please tell me how many people this recipe serves? I would like to make this for first night of Hanukkah. And can it be made ahead?
It is so incredibly quick and easy, I’d make it last minute. It all depends how many sides you make, but comfortably 6.
I made these Firehouse Green Bean with Bacon yesterday for Thanksgiving (along with the Sweet Potatoes). They were very good. Couldn’t stop eating them. Thanks!
I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! Thank you SO much for taking the time to share your feedback!
My sons are not big vegetable eaters, but they love green beans. I try almost any that I come across for variety.
What a delicious way to jazz up green beans for the holidays! These would definitely be hubby approved!
Great side dish to any meal!