Smothered Green Beans – Recipes From A Pantry

Smothered green beans are sautéed with shallots and bacon and simmered in chicken broth until tender. The result is a green beans side dish the whole family will love.

Smothered green beans are simple yet incredibly flavorful. This recipe makes a ton, but it’s also easy to reheat the leftovers. My family loved this recipe, and so will yours. 

Traditional green bean casserole is perfect for your holiday table, but when you want to enjoy green beans with a simple weeknight meal, green bean casserole can be a bit much. Smothered green beans are just as flavorful and much lighter.

This smothered green beans recipe is so simple and can be made with fresh green beans, drained green bread from a can, or frozen green beans. 

If you want your family to eat green beans, this green bean recipe is a great way to make that happen. Smothered green bean casserole is sure to be a family favorite. 

Why Make This Recipe

• Perfect for Easy Meals – Simmer these smothered green beans while the rest of your meal cooks. You’ll have a healthy side dish that takes very little work. 
• Healthy – Smothered green beans are low carb and gluten free, so they are the perfect side dish for a variety of diets.  
• Diet Friendly – Smothered green beans are suitable for various diets such as low carb, keto and gluten free.  
• Bacon – Bacon just makes everything better, especially green beans!

Ingredient Notes

• Vegetable Oil – Use any light, neutral-flavored oil, such as olive oil or avocado oil.
• Shallots – Shallots have a mild flavor, but you can also use yellow, white, or red onion. Onions have a slightly more robust flavor. 
• Fresh Green Beans – Wash the fresh green beans and trim the ends. 
• Garlic Salt – If you prefer, you can use garlic powder and add salt and pepper to the smothered green beans separately. 
• Bacon – Precook the bacon and sprinkle cooked bacon over the green beans. You can also add a bit of bacon grease for extra flavor. 
• Chicken Stock – Chicken stock helps to cook the beans. You can substitute water. 

Ready to make green beans recipes with bacon? Gather your ingredients and I will show you…

How To Make Smothered Green Beans With Bacon And Onion

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

1. Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the shallots and sauté for a few minutes until they soften and lightly brown.
2. Add a third of the bacon and the fresh green beans to the pan and fry for 1 minute.
3. Stir in garlic salt and chicken stock, then cover with a lid and allow to simmer, occasionally stirring for 15 minutes for fork tender green beans with a little bite or for about 20 minutes for softer green beans.
4. Adjust the seasonings to taste and switch off the heat.  Toss in the remaining bacon and serve.

Pro Tips 

• Cook bacon in advance, crumble and set aside. 
• Green beans should be washed and trimmed to remove the woody stems from the green beans. 
• Adjust the cooking times depending on how tender you prefer your green beans. 15 minutes will make your green beans tender with just a little bite. Cook longer if you prefer softer smothered green beans.

Delicious Variations

• Add More Bacon – Add more bacon to make these smothered green beans smoky and delicious. Sprinkle cooked bacon over the green beans before serving. It’ll be a big hit.
• Swap The Meat – Use smoked ham or turkey instead of bacon. 
• Use Canned or Frozen Beans – Drain canned beans before using. Canned beans and frozen green beans should be pat dry with paper towels. 
• Add Brown Sugar – A little bit of brown sugar will ramp up the sweetness and bring everyone back for seconds. Adding brown sugar shouldn’t be done if you follow a low carb or keto diet. 
• Swap Seasonings – Flavor your smothered green beans with a variety of seasonings, including garlic powder or granulated garlic, soy sauce, melted butter, or Worcestershire sauce.
• Add More Vegetables – Add garlic, sliced onions, or fresh sliced mushrooms.

Prep And Storage

• Prep Ahead – Cook bacon ahead of time. Cool and crumble the bacon. Trim and wash the green beans. 
• Store – Cover leftover smothered green beans and store them in an airtight container for up to 3 days. 
• Freeze – The green beans may become mushy, so we don’t recommend freezing smothered green beans. 

FAQs

More Recipes You May Like

Serving Suggestions

Weight Watchers Points

There are 2 Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

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Print Recipe

Smothered Green Beans

A family friendly green bean and bacon casserole.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time25 mins

Total Time35 mins

Servings: 6

Calories: 68kcal

Instructions

• Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Add the shallots and sauté for a few minutes until they soften and lightly brown.

• Add a third of the bacon and the fresh green beans to the pan and fry for 1 minute.

• Stir in garlic salt and chicken stock, then cover with a lid and allow to simmer, occasionally stirring for 15 minutes for fork tender green beans with a little bite or for about 20 minutes for softer green beans.

• Adjust the seasonings to taste and switch off the heat. Toss in the remaining bacon and serve.

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Notes

• Cook bacon in advance, crumble and set aside. 
• Green beans should be washed and trimmed to remove the woody stems from the green beans. 
• Adjust the cooking times depending on how tender you prefer your green beans. 15 minutes will make your green beans tender with just a little bite. Cook longer if you prefer softer smothered green beans.
• Storage – keep leftovers in an airtight container inside the fridge for 4 days.
• There are 2 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.

Nutrition

Calories: 68kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 2mg | Sodium: 67mg | Potassium: 285mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 524IU | Vitamin C: 11mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg