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A Southern Soul Recipes Side Dish

Southern Style Green Beans

DonyabyDonya Mullins
Southern Style Green Beans are tender, smoky, and full of flavor! Made with fresh green beans, crispy bacon, and simple seasoning, this classic side dish is easy to make and perfect for any meal.
4.83 from 40 reviews
42 Comments
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Southern style green beans and perfectly cooked chopped up bacon all sitting inside of a square serving dish sitting on a blue and white kitchen towel.
Tender, flavorful, and steeped in tradition, Southern Style Green Beans are a down-home delight that's easy to make! Fresh green beans cooked with bacon and just the right amount of seasoning is the perfect side dish for any meal.
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Why You’ll Love These Southern-Style Green Beans

Slow-cooked in a bacon-infused broth until melt-in-your-mouth tender, these green beans deliver true down-home flavor with almost zero fuss. They’re perfect for weeknight suppers, holiday spreads, or any time you need a comforting Southern side dish that’ll have folks lining up for seconds.

Can I use canned or frozen green beans instead of fresh?

Yes, you can! Canned green beans are already soft, so they need less cooking time—just be sure to drain and rinse them first. Frozen green beans are a closer match to fresh and can go straight into the pot, but they may add extra moisture, so watch your liquid levels. Fresh is best for that true Southern texture, but either option works in a pinch!

Serve these Southern Style Green Beans with Crock Pot Beef Roast and Twice Baked Potatoes Casserole for a classic family dinner perfect for Sunday supper or entertaining.

What Kind Of Green Beans Are Best To Use?

Choosing beans that can withstand the long cooking process without turning mushy is important.

  • Blue Lake Bush – is known for its crispiness and sweet flavor.
  • Kentucky Wonder – easy to grow and great for canning or cooking fresh.
  • Half Runners – a cross between a bush and green beans that are great to make “snap beans” cooked fresh or canned.

Ingredients Needed To Make The Best Green Beans

Fresh green beans, vegetable stock, garlic powder, salt, petter and bacon in containers on a wooden board.
  • Bacon: The heart of Southern comfort cooking, bacon brings an irresistible rich, smoky flavor.
  • Fresh Green Beans: They bring a fresh, earthy flavor that balances beautifully with the richness of bacon.
  • Vegetable or Chicken Stock: This flavor enhancer adds a light vegetable sweetness or a hearty chicken depth to the beans.
  • Garlic Powder: A convenient and quick way to add a warm, slightly spicy undertone.
  • Salt: Salt brings out the natural flavors of your ingredients. It is the essential seasoning that sharpens and defines all the other tastes in your dish.
  • Black Pepper: Adds a slight kick and complexity, and pepper introduces a subtle warmth that perfectly complements the savory notes of bacon and the freshness of the green beans.

How To Cook Fresh Green Beans, Southern Style

Photo 1 of bacon in a pan to be cooked, photo 2 of fresh green beans in a metal pan on stove, photo 3 of green beans in a metal pan with salt and pepper, photo 4 of green beans in a pan with cooked bacon.
  1. In a heavy-bottom pan or Dutch oven, cook the bacon over medium heat until crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.
  2. Add green beans to the bacon drippings and sauté over medium-high heat until bright green. Pour in broth, then season with garlic powder, salt, and pepper.
  3. Stir in the cooked bacon.
  4. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender. Taste, adjust seasoning, and serve warm.

Flavor Boosters & Variations

Pot-luck trick: Keep beans warm on LOW in a slow-cooker set to “keep warm.”

Ham hock or smoked turkey neck for deeper smokiness

Dash of apple-cider vinegar right before serving to brighten rich flavors

Diced onion sautéed with the bacon for extra savoriness

Cooked southern-style green beans in a white dish served for dinner.

How Long Should I Cook Green Beans On The Stove?

Southern-style green Beans get their distinct, melt-in-your-mouth texture and flavor from being slow-cooked on the stove. Generally, you’ll want to simmer the beans on a low heat setting for about an hour for the most flavor-infused results. This cooking duration allows the ingredients, to be thoroughly cooked into the dish, resulting in terrific flavor and great to serve with any main dish.

Make-Ahead, Storage & Reheating

Freeze: Beans freeze beautifully up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the fridge, then warm as above.

Up to 2 days ahead: Cook completely, cool, and refrigerate in an airtight container.

Reheat: Simmer gently on the stove with a splash of broth or pop in a 325°F oven, covered, until hot.

Commonly Asked Questions

Can I make Southern Style Green Beans in a slow cooker?

A slow cooker is a great tool for making Southern Style Green Beans. You can follow the same recipe, setting your slow cooker on low for about 4-6 hours, or until the beans are tender and flavorful.

What can I substitute for bacon grease in this recipe?

If you don’t have bacon grease, season the beans with other fats like butter, olive oil, or even rendered sausage fat for a unique flavor. You can also use smoked turkey necks or ham hocks.

More Of My Favorite Green Bean Recipes

Metal spoonful of green beans cooked with bacon.

What To Serve With Southern Green Beans

There’s nothing like a home-cooked meal with these green beans, baby red potatoes, and Crock Pot Chicken Thighs. They’re also perfect for a Sunday supper buffet with Slow-Cooker Beef Roast, Stuffed Baked Potatoes, Southern-Fried Corn, and Garlic Rolls.

More Classic Southern Recipes

If you tried this Southern Style Green Bean Recipe or any other recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. Thanks!

Southern style green beans and perfectly cooked chopped up bacon all sitting inside of a square serving dish sitting on a blue and white kitchen towel.

Southern Style Green Beans

4.83 from 40 reviews
Author: Donya Mullins
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 4
Calories: 155kcal
Print Pin Rate
Savory, and full of Southern flavor, these green beans are a classic side I turn to again and again. Simmered with bacon and simple seasonings, they’re easy to make and always a hit at the table—whether it’s Sunday supper or a holiday meal.

Ingredients

  • 3 slices bacon – cut into ½″ pieces
  • 1 ½ pounds green beans – washed, trimmed and snapped into about 2″ lengths
  • 1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken stock
  • ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

Instructions

  • Cook bacon pieces in a heavy bottom pan until done. Remove the bacon from the pan and place on a paper towel to drain. Set aside.
  • Add green beans to the pan and cook on medium-high heat. Toss beans in bacon drippings to coat. Continue to cook until beans turn bright green.
  • Carefully pour in the stock and add garlic powder, salt and pepper. Stir to incorporate. Add bacon pieces back to the pot with beans.
  • Turn burner to low, cover beans with lid – slightly off center, and cook for about 1 hour until beans are tender, stirring every 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

Leftovers:
  • Store any leftover seasoned green beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
Slow Cooker Cooking Time:
  • A slow cooker is a great tool for making Southern Style Green Beans. You can follow the same recipe, setting your slow cooker on low for about 4-6 hours or until the green beans are tender and flavorful.
Bacon Substitutions:
  • If you don’t have bacon grease, you can season the beans with other fats like butter, olive oil, or even rendered sausage fat for a unique flavor. You can also use smoked turkey necks or ham hocks.
Nutritional values provided are an estimate and will vary depending on the brands used.
 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 · Calories: 155kcal · Carbohydrates: 16g · Protein: 8g · Fat: 8g · Saturated Fat: 3g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3g · Trans Fat: 0.02g · Cholesterol: 14mg · Sodium: 830mg · Potassium: 492mg · Fiber: 5g · Sugar: 7g · Vitamin A: 1184IU · Vitamin C: 21mg · Calcium: 68mg · Iron: 2mg
Southern style green beans and perfectly cooked chopped up bacon all sitting inside of a square serving dish sitting on a blue and white kitchen towel.
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42 Comments

  2. 5 stars
    This is a wonderful dish and is similar to my grandmother’s recipe, except she would carmelize onions with the bacon and add ham pieces she kept frozen to use with beans. She would crush and add the crispy bacon to the dish just before serving to add texture and contrast. The crisp bacon also added amazing flavor.

    Reply

    1. Bacon sounds like a great addition to this dish! Thanks for sharing that story with me, and thanks for cooking with me! I’m so happy you’re here. ~Donya

      Reply

  3. 5 stars
    My family and I love these. I cooked exactly per the recipe, except I let them cook for about an hour and a half. They were still a bit too crunchy for us at one hour. Still, a great recipe. Very tasty and a great side for any meat.

    Reply

  4. I made this recipe for Thanksgiving this year (instead of roasted Brussels sprouts) and it was a BIG hit! It’s now going to be part of my regular rotation. I think next Thanksgiving I’ll need to double the recipe, though It was gobbled up way too quickly this year.

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Don! I’m thrilled this recipe was a hit and so happy you are cooking with me.
      Merry Christmas,
      ~Donya

      Reply

  5. Love it!! After years in NYC, LA, Europe & now The OC, This recipe really was a wonderful southern Reminder of home cooking with my grandma in the downhome kitchen, after picking fresh green beans in the garden & getting fresh bacon from a friend’s Hog farm in Arkansas! We always put Louisiana Gold Pepper sauce on the beans at the table to kick up the flavor just a touch! Thanks for your attention to so many details & giving options for lots of other ways to do this great side dish!

    Reply

  6. 5 stars
    We have made beas very similar to this for ever. I’m 70 and it came from my mom’s family. We cook the bacon , remove it, and then cook diced onions in the fat drippings. We then add beans, raw or canned or frozen, and the broth, and cook until tender. In the last 10-15 minutes we add a 2-4 tablespoons of vinegar and then add the bacon just before serving.

    Reply
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