Southern Style Green Beans

A sauté pan filled with cooked Southern style green beans with bacon, next to a wooden spoon and several scattered fresh beans.

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5 from 1 vote

These mouthwatering Southern style green beans are slow-cooked to perfection with smoky bacon and sweet onion.

Prep Time5

Cook Time1

Total Time1 5

Course: Sides

Cuisine: American

Servings: to 8 servings

Author: Lynne Webb

Ingredients

2 lbs green beans ends trimmed
8 slices thick-cut bacon cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 to 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

Fry the bacon in a large skillet until cooked through. Drain on a paper towels and discard all but 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat.
Add the onion to the pan and sauté over medium heat until soft and translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue cooking until soft and fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes longer.
Add the green beans and 1/2 cup of the chicken broth. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then return the bacon to the pan.
Reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan (set the lid askew) and cook, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender but not mushy, about 20 minutes.

Notes

If the beans start to dry out during cooking, the heat might be too high. Add a little more chicken broth and lower the heat.

Tips for Buying and Storing Fresh Green Beans

SHOPPING: Look for beans that are a vibrant green without yellow or brown spots. Check for crispness - fresh green beans should snap when you break them. Avoid green beans where you can see the seeds bulging because they are usually stringy or tougher to eat.

STORING: Green beans can stay fresh in your refrigerator for up to a week if you store them unwashed in a plastic bag in your crisper drawer.

PREPPING: We like to use kitchen shears to snip the ends off fresh green beans. Try to trim them to a uniform length for even cooking.

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