Name: Old Fashioned Green Beans
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 10 bacon strips (chopped into 1/4 inch pieces); 2 tbsp soy sauce (low sodium); 2 tbsp brown sugar (packed); 1/2 cup water; 1 1/2 lb fresh green beans; 1/8 tsp salt (or to taste); 1/4 tsp pepper (or to taste)

These Old Fashioned Green Beans only require a handful of ingredients, easy to make and requires very little time. Simple ingredients but lots flavor!

a braiser full of green beans with bacon, salt, and pepper

Hubs made his monthly trip to Costco last week and bought me a bag of gorgeous fresh green beans. I love green beans but I don’t cook enough with them. However, I couldn’t pass out an opportunity like this because these beans were super fresh -what can I say they inspired me!

Bacon and green beans are great together, a classic, marriage made in heaven, so if I was going for an old fashioned recipe, adding bacon was a no brainer. You want to crisp up the bacon perfectly because this will add a nice crunch to the beans and tons of flavor.

I added soy sauce and brown sugar for that sweet and salty combination. Add the beans, cover up the pot and cook for 15 minutes and you’ll end up with perfect green beans every single time.

The beans will still have a nice crunch to them, and amazing flavors from the bacon and brown sugar. Bacon does make everything taste better.

bacon sizzling in a braiser with a wooden spoon

Ingredients

Bacon – None of that precooked crumbled stuff, be sure to cook this up fresh so that your beans have some smokey and delicious fat to cook up in.
Beans – Fresh Green beans! Feel free to trim the ends and clean them up a bit, but keep the beans whole.
Sugar – I used brown sugar today, it pairs so well with the bacon and will caramelize nicely.
Soy sauce – This will add depth and umami to our dish as well as some great color. I recommend using low sodium since we have lots of salt from the bacon and the seasoning in this dish.
Seasoning – Salt and pepper to taste.

Not A Fan Of Green Beans?

This recipe is very versatile and can be used on different types of vegetables. Try it on carrots, broccolini, asparagus, peas, or whatever your favorite veggies just so happen to be!

How To Make Old Fashioned Green Beans

Cook the bacon: Add the chopped bacon to a large skillet and cook over medium heat until the bacon is nice and crisp and most of the fat has rendered, should take about 5 minutes.
Combine the sauce: Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and water to the skillet and stir. Bring to a boil.
Cook the beans: Add the green beans and toss them around a bit, so they get covered in the sauce. Reduce the heat to a medium-low, cover the skillet with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. The green beans should be crisp-tender when done.
Season with salt and pepper if needed, then serve.

a platter of green beans covered in sauce and bacon

How To Serve

This side dish is perfect alongside some savory mains, pair them up or just eat a big bowl on their own, I won’t judge.

Storing Leftovers

This dish will store well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 – 4 days. These beans will also freeze well! Just store in an airtight container or tightly wrapped for 4 – 6 months in the freezer.

a plate of green beans with bacon and chicken

More Delicious Sides To Try:

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