Green Beans with Bacon

When I tell you that I got REALLY excited about this Green Beans with Bacon Recipe, I’m not even kidding. Who knew that green beans could be so exciting? I was obsessed and made them several times in just one week.

close up of green bean with onions, bacon and burrata


 

Green beans make a delicious addition to any table, but pair that with crispy bacon (and a few other secret ingredients) and you’ve got yourself a side dish that can function as a whole meal. Quick and easy, make it for lunch, dinner, or meal prepping for the week, you are going to love the flavors it has to offer.

Green Beans with Bacon Recipe

This green bean side dish recipe is made from the freshest string beans and cooked until tender. But, if that isn’t good enough, they are finished off with a healthy topping of deliciously crispy bacon- just enough to coat the beans and also give a salty crunch.

angle of green beans with bacon recipe

But everyone has a basic recipe for this, what makes ours different? CHEESE! Yep- creamy, cool and totally rich burrata cheese, more on this below. But it doesn’t end there… now we had leafy herbs like mint and basil giving this traditionally winter dish more of a summer swing.

And then brighten the whole thing with lemon just and PINK peppercorns, yes I just said pink!

Ingredients

green beans with bacon on a serving dish with mint and cheese
  • Green Beans: I recommend using fresh green beans as they are the star of the dish. However, if you need to substitute, you can with either frozen on canned green beans. 
  • Bacon: I recommend using finely diced thick cut bacon.
  • Onion: A white onion sliced super thin with all the perfect flavor without being too bold.
  • Cheese: For this recipe, I used creamy burrata cheese which I believe really balances out the dish.
  • Delicious Greens: There is nothing better than fresh herbs in a dish. For this recipe I used both fresh mint and basil.
  • Lemon Juice & Zest: The juice from 1/2 a lemon mixes perfectly with the green beans. Lemon juice and zest give very different lemony flavors- adding both gives the best balance.
  • For Cooking: Kosher salt and pink peppercorns to taste.

*For a detailed list of ingredients and measurements, please reference the recipe card down below.

How to make Green Beans with Bacon

This side dish comes together in just 20 minutes, but looks super fancy. Here is how you make it…

  1. Cook the bacon. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes, until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
  2. Drain the excess fat. Pour out excess fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
cooked bacon in a skillet
  1. Cook the onion. Add the onion to the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until translucent and slightly caramelized.
caramelized onions in a skillet
  1. Cook the green beans. Add the green beans to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of water or chicken broth. Season the green beans with salt. Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes and bright green. Just before removing from the pan, mix in the lemon juice and half the basil and mint.
green beans and onions in a skillet
  1. Serve. Transfer the green beans with bacon and onions to a serving dish. Top with bacon, remaining herbs, torn burrata, and pink peppercorns.
close up of green beans with bacon on a serving platter

How to Prepare Green Beans

Before cooking you are going to want to prepare your green beans.

If you are using fresh green beans (after washing them), you are going to want to snap off the stem end. Depending on where you bought your green beans, this may already be cut off/detached. If your green beans still have them attached, just snap off the very end of the stem of each green bean.

bag of fresh green beans

If you don’t feel like snapping them off one by one, you can line them up and cut them off with a knife. This is much faster.

Tip: Snapping the ends off green beans is a great activity to give kids who want to help in the kitchen!

However, you don’t have to cut the ends off if you don’t want to. You can leave them stem on the green beans and bacon and eat them if you’d like. The reason the stems are cut off is mostly aesthetic. However, the stems can also be hard and uncomfortable to eat. You can choose to leave the stems on and even eat them and it would be completely safe!

green beans with bacon recipe

What are Pink Peppercorns?

If you are unfamiliar with pink peppercorns, you may be surprised to learn, they are not actually pink! Pink peppercorns are red in color and adds great color to whatever you are making!

In terms of flavor profile, pink peppercorns are similar to black pepper but much milder, a tiny bit sweet, and highly fruity.

pink peppercorns on a salt block

I’ve recently become a regular user of these in my cooking for both flavor and aesthetic reasons. If you haven’t used pink peppercorns before and/or don’t have them in your spice rack, I recommend them for this recipe and others. I prefer them whole and then put them in a grinder, this ensures they have the best possible flavor.

Before you know it, you will be topping salads, chicken, and more with it.

What is Burrata Cheese?

Burrata is an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and stracciatella. The outer casing is solid mozzarella cheese, while the inside is a loser stracciatella and cream.

It stays together in a jiggly ball, but when you cut it open, it oozes a little like the yolk of an egg. The umami flavors of this are wonderful with fresh salads and citrus.

close up of burrata

Where can I buy burrata? You can usually find a ball in the specialty cheese section or deli counter of your grocery store. You can serve it with olive oil and spices on bread or crackers too, or place a small amount on nearly any Italian pasta dish. I also like mine in salads.

What can I substitute for burrata? Fresh mozzarella cheese or goat cheese are good comparisons.

Canned vs. Raw Green Beans

Nothing beats the texture, flavor, and crispness of fresh green beans for this green beans with bacon recipe. However, if you need a substitute, I recommend using frozen green beans before canned.

Admittedly, frozen green beans are not as good as fresh, but they’re miles better than canned ones. The nice thing about frozen green beans is that they’re quick frozen and uncooked. What this means is they retain that beautiful green color and also the nutrients.

Green beans, in general, are best consumed cooked rather than raw.

green beans with bacon pin for pinterest

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close up of green beans with bacon
green beans with bacon, burrata and fresh herbs

Green Beans with Bacon

5 from 6 votes
EASY Green Beans with Bacon make the perfect side dish for any meal! Using fresh green beans and crispy bacon, you can't go wrong!
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 6

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon and cook for 5-6 minutes, until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and drain on paper towels.
  • Pour out excess fat from the pan, leaving about 1 tablespoon.
    cooked bacon with rendered fat
  • Add the onion to the pan and cook for 6-8 minutes or until translucent and slightly caramelized.
    caramelized onion in pan
  • Add the green beans to the pan along with 2 tablespoons of water (or chicken broth). Season the green beans with salt. Cook the beans, stirring occasionally, until tender, about 5 minutes. Just before removing from the pan, mix in 2 tablespoons of fresh lemon juice and half the basil and mint.
    how to make greens beans with bacon
  • Transfer the green beans and onions to a serving dish. Top with bacon, remaining herbs, torn burrata, fresh lemon zest and pink peppercorns.
  • If you've tried this recipe, come back and let us know how it was in the comments or ratings!

Nutrition

Calories: 313 kcal, Carbohydrates: 15 g, Protein: 14 g, Fat: 25 g, Saturated Fat: 10 g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 3 g, Monounsaturated Fat: 7 g, Trans Fat: 1 g, Cholesterol: 52 mg, Sodium: 261 mg, Potassium: 458 mg, Fiber: 5 g, Sugar: 6 g, Vitamin A: 1450 IU, Vitamin C: 30 mg, Calcium: 273 mg, Iron: 2 mg
Author: Jordan Zelesnick
Calories: 313
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Keyword: green bean side dish, green beans with bacon
Did you make this recipe?I’d love to see your recipes – snap a picture and mention @savoryexperiments or tag #savoryexperiments!
Jessica Formicola in her ktichen

About the Author

Jessica Formicola

Jessica the mom, wife and food lover behind Savory Experiments. She is obsessed with butter, salt and bacon and spends all her time in the kitchen and behind a camera. Jessica is a contributor to PopKitchen by Parade, Better Homes & Gardens, The Daily Meal Food + Travel and more!

Read More About Jessica

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Recipe Rating




Questions and Reviews

  1. 5 stars
    My hubby and son love this recipe! Such a delicious and easy side for dinner. Definitely remaking this recipe! The flavor is so delicious and very tasty!

  2. 5 stars
    I love this recipe! The bacon and onion added fantastic flavour to otherwise boring green beans! I need to find a shop that sells some burrata (my small local shop didn’t have it) for the next time I make this, it sounds amazing!

  3. 5 stars
    Green Beans and Bacon is such an amazing classic side. I never thought about adding mint and basil but I enjoyed this flavour variation a lot. I made it with some marinated lamb chops and it was fantastic!

  4. 5 stars
    Adding bacon to these green beans was brilliant! It just took them to another level and made the perfect side dish!