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Beans Side Dishes One Pot 30 Minutes or Less
4.6 from 57 votes

Old Fashioned Green Beans

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By: Joanna Cismaru 18 Comments

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

Table of Contents

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  • Ingredients
  • Not A Fan Of Green Beans?
  • How To Make Old Fashioned Green Beans
  • Serve This With
  • More Delicious Sides To Try:
  • Old Fashioned Green Beans
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

  1. 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.
  2. Combine the sauce: Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and water to the skillet and stir. Bring to a boil.
  3. 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.
  4. Season with salt and pepper if needed, then serve.
a platter of green beans covered in sauce and bacon

Serve This With

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Rosemary Garlic Pork Roast

a plate of green beans with bacon and chicken

More Delicious Sides To Try:

  • Brandy Glazed Carrots
  • Loaded Scalloped Potatoes
  • Italian Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
  • Greek Potato Foil Packs
  • Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussels Sprouts
  • Green Beans and Chanterelle Mushrooms
  • Roasted Green Beans and Mushrooms
  • Green Bean Casserole from Scratch
  • Garlic Herb Red Potato Salad
  • Asian Green Beans
  • Green Bean Almondine

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

side view shot of green beans and bacon in a pan being stirred by a wooden spoon
4.62 from 57 votes

Old Fashioned Green Beans

Prep 5 minutes minutes
Cook 20 minutes minutes
Total 25 minutes minutes
4
Rate Recipe Print Recipe
These Old Fashioned Green Beans only require a handful of ingredients, easy to make and requires very little time. Simple ingredients but lots flavor!
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Ingredients

  • 10 bacon strips (chopped into 1/4 inch pieces)
  • 2 tablespoon soy sauce (low sodium)
  • 2 tablespoon brown sugar (packed)
  • ½ cup water
  • 1½ pound fresh green beans
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt (or to taste)
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper (or to taste)

Before You Begin! If you make this, please leave a review and rating letting us know how you liked this recipe! This helps our business thrive & continue providing free recipes.

Instructions 

  • 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.
  • Add the soy sauce, brown sugar and water to the skillet and stir. Bring to a boil.
  • 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.

Notes

  1. This recipe is very versatile and can be used on different types of vegetables. Try it on carrots, broccolini, asparagus, peas, or whatever your favourite vegetables are!
  2. 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.
 

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1servingCalories: 309kcal (15%)Carbohydrates: 19g (6%)Protein: 10g (20%)Fat: 22g (34%)Saturated Fat: 7g (44%)Cholesterol: 36mg (12%)Sodium: 716mg (31%)Potassium: 482mg (14%)Fiber: 4g (17%)Sugar: 11g (12%)Vitamin A: 1195IU (24%)Vitamin C: 20.8mg (25%)Calcium: 71mg (7%)Iron: 2.1mg (12%)
© Author Joanna Cismaru

Notice: Nutrition is auto-calculated for your convenience. Where relevant, we recommend using your own nutrition calculations.

side view shot of green beans and bacon in a pan being stirred by a wooden spoon

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Joanna Cismaru

Joanna Cismaru

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is my blog where I share with you my culinary adventures. Through Jo Cooks, I invite you to join me in my kitchen as we explore delicious recipes from around the globe, celebrate the joy of cooking, and make every meal a memorable one. Happy cooking!

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4.62 from 57 votes (53 ratings without comment)
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Hey there!

I’m Joanna (Jo for short) and this is the place where I share my passion for easy and delicious recipes. From comforting classics to global flavors, I believe that cooking should be fun, approachable, and most importantly, rewarding. Join me on this culinary journey and let’s get cooking!

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