Looking for a great side dish recipe to go along with that epic holiday feast (or steak dinner)? Fresh green beans with bacon and onions provides those perfect, complementary flavors to go along with that main dish!
An Amazing Green Vegetable Side Dish
Even though I grew up on canned green beans, I believe fresh green beans are better. Combine fresh green beans with bacon and onions? The best! This recipe is quick and easy because it only takes five minutes of prep time and 15 minutes of cook time. This is a great dinner side idea that complements mains such as smoked ham, turkey, or steaks.
How to Blanch Green Beans and What it Means (that rhymed)
To get the best flavor out of fresh green beans, you will want to blanch them. Blanching means to boil or steam the vegetable for 3 to 5 minutes and then put in a bowl of ice water. Blanching stops enzyme actions which would cause loss of flavor, color and texture.* After you’ve blanched green beans, they will be ready for the skillet.
*for more details on blanching, here’s a helpful link from Clemson University
How to Cook Fresh Green Beans with Bacon and Onions
Now that you’ve learned how to blanch green beans, go ahead and do that by adding a tablespoon of salt to your medium-sized pot of boiling water. Do this for about five minutes and immediately move to a bowl of ice cold water.
In a 12-inch skillet, combine olive oil, half of a diced yellow onion, four strips of bacon cut into half-inch strips, and two cloves of minced garlic over medium heat. I prefer to cook these in a cast iron skillet, especially when doing outdoor cooking. If you don’t have a cast iron, the skillet in your kitchen will work just fine. Cook mixture for five minutes until the bacon starts to crisp a little.
Stir fresh green beans into skillet and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for another five minutes until the green beans are done. It is recommended to serve immediately. I like to serve this dish while in the cast iron skillet for presentation purposes. And it also means one less dish to clean.
What to Serve with Green Beans and Bacon
This recipe pairs well as a side dish for big meals, especially Thanksgiving meals and Christmas. Here’s some recipes to serve with:
How to Smoke Spatchcock Chicken
Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
Looking for a great side dish recipe to go along with that epic holiday feast (or steak dinner)? Green beans with bacon and onion provides those perfect, complementary flavors to go along with that main dish!
Ingredients
- 8 Cups fresh green beans
- 4 strips bacon, cut into 1/2 inch strips
- 1/2 Cup yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon pepper
- 1/2 Tablespoon garlic powder
Instructions
- In a medium-sized pot, bring water to a boil with a tablespoon of salt. Place fresh green beans in pot and boil for five minutes. Remove green beans and place in bowl of ice cold water.
- In a 12 inch skillet, combine olive oil, diced yellow onion, bacon, and minced garlic over medium heat and cook for five minutes.
- Stir green beans into skillet and season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Cook for another five minutes. Serve.
Notes
- Cast iron skillet is preferred for cooking green beans with bacon and onion, especially if cooking outdoors.
- Tips of some green beans will likely need to be trimmed before cooking.
- For better visual appeal at the dinner table, serve green beans with bacon and onion in the cast iron skillet.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 8 servings Serving Size: 1 CupAmount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 4.5gSaturated Fat: 1.5gCholesterol: 12mgSodium: 300mgCarbohydrates: 8gFiber: 3gSugar: 4gProtein: 6g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
