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Get ready to dive into the heart of comfort food with this simple Southern Green Beans recipe. Tender, flavorful, and steeped in tradition, green beans Southern style 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.
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 Are Southern Style Green Beans?
Southern Style Green Beans are a cherished recipe known for their rich, savory flavor and melt-in-your-mouth texture. Unlike their crisp, quick-cooked counterparts, these green beans are slow-cooked on the stove, allowing them to soak up the mouthwatering blend of flavors from ingredients like onion and garlic, and often, a touch of red pepper for a hint of warmth.
A standout element in this Southern recipe is the use of bacon grease, which infuses the beans with an irresistible smoky note. This traditional approach to preparing green beans results in a dish that’s more than a side—it’s a celebration of Southern hospitality and home-cooked comfort.
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Scroll Down For Measurements And Instructions
Ingredients Needed To Make The Best Green Beans
- Bacon
- Fresh Green beans
- Vegetable or Chicken stock
- Garlic Powder
- Salt
- Pepper
How To Make Green Beans With Bacon
- Place a heavy bottom pan or cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the sliced bacon to the skillet and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and place it on a paper towel to drain. Set aside.
- Add green beans to the pan and cook over 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 a lid, and cook for about 1 hour until beans are tender, stirring every 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning. Serve immediately
What Kind Of Green Beans Are Best To Use?
It’s important to choose beans that can withstand the long cooking process without turning mushy.
- Blue Lake Bush – known for their 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.
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, for the most flavor-infused results, you’ll want to simmer the beans on a low heat setting for about an hour. This cooking duration allows the ingredients, like onion, garlic, and the smoky hint of bacon grease, to thoroughly cook into the green beans, resulting in terrific flavor and great to serve with any main dish.
Commonly Asked Questions
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.
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.
Store any leftover seasoned green beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
More Of My Favorite Green Bean Recipes
What To Serve With Southern Green Beans
- Crock Pot Pulled Pork
- Best Roasted Pork Tenderloin
- Air Fryer Baked Potatoes
- Crock Pot Country Style Pork Ribs
- Brown Sugar Mustard Baked Ham
- Scalloped Potatoes Recipe
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.
Notes
- Store any leftover seasoned green beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to three days.
- 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.
- 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.
Nutrition
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Reader Interactions
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[…] say that my boys will eat with every meal, it’s green beans. We love them fixed a number of different ways and when I cook them, I most often start with blanching. This quick, gentle cooking method brings […]
My go-to for green beans – they remind me of my grandmother’s and hers were my favorite.
Thank you so much!
~Donya
I made these today but want to serve tomorrow. Do I keep them in the juice overnight or separate the beans from the juice overnight and add the juice back in to reheat????
Keep everything together and reheat. They will turn out great. Thank you for the terrific rating.
~Donya
I have made my green beans just like this for years. Its got to be a southern comfort food! Especially at Thanksgiving!
Hey there Rubye!
I couldn’t agree with you more, these green beans are a classic southern comfort food and they’re ideal to serve around the holidays! I am so glad to hear that you’ve been enjoying this recipe, thank you so much for your kind words and your terrific rating, I really appreciate your support!
~Donya
My family loves the green beans – it is a favorite!
Hey there Elaine!
I am so thrilled to hear that y’all enjoyed this recipe! These green beans are a southern staple and a favorite in my house as well, so I am overjoyed that it’s become a favorite in your home. Thank you so much for your fantastic rating and your kind words, if you ever have any questions about a recipe please don’t hesitate to reach out!
~Donya
Will this dish reheat okay/still taste fresh the next day? I would love to make it the night before.
Hey there Leah!
Thanks for your interest in this recipe, I think you’re really going to like it! You can absolutely reheat this dish, personally I think these green beans taste better the next day. I really hope you enjoy the recipe, let me know how it turns out!
~Donya
These were the very best green beans I have ever had. My husband just raved and raved on these. I have cooked green beans many times but these were the best. You have got to try this recipe. The only change I made was I added some minced garlic right before I put the broth in. Delicious!!
Hey there Terry!
Thank you so very much for your rating! Let me just tell you, I am thrilled you and your family liked this recipe, it is always a hit in my house too! The addition of minced garlic sounds delicious, thank you so much for your kind comment and your support!
~Donya
We love green beans fixed this way…..I add some onion to the bacon grease…..and we like to sprinkle a little vinegar on them at the table.
I like the three way green beans, and adding onions is a must, I love onions also together withe the bacon/beans.
Pole beans are what you need for this recipe, with a longer cooking time, but pole beans are awfully hard to find. Grandma Ollis would die if you put garlic in green beans. I don’t think she ever heard of garlic, let alone used it in anything. I love to add a chopped up potato or two. Cook ’em down, put them in the fridge overnight (the potatoes absorb much of the bacon grease) and re-heat for a feast fit for a queen!.
These are the green beans my family expects at Thanksgiving! It’s another of those recipes that brings out the “These are so good why don’t we have them more often?” comments.
You are so right Daryl! My boys love these beans. They will be on my Thanksgiving table too.
Thanks so much for stopping by.
~Donya
This is how I cook my beans most of the time….but if I don’t have bacon, I just cut up a whole onion and cook with the beans, add garlic, salt near the end of cooking, and maybe just a teaspoon of what ever oil I have….. they are better for you than with the bacon grease,,,,but I agree not as good tho….but still good….this is what I call country cooking….. I don’t buy green beans in the winter….I only like certain kind of fresh green beans….have never cooked any that I liked in the winter….we use to can beans or dry them…but I don’t do that anymore…..
I did dry a few strings of green beans couple of years ago….Do you know what those are ? they are yummy cooked…..
I use to love to help my mom snap “the mess” of green beans after we picked them out of the garden. I’ll definitely try this recipe. I’ve never been able to make anything as well as she did even though she never used recipes.. She would sometimes add new potatoes to her green beans. Thanks for the recipe!
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner link party!
Thanks for hosting a great party!
XO,
~Donya
I do them this way sometimes and they are great! My family likes them best with some finely diced onion cooked in the bacon grease before you put the “bean beans” in, as my grandbaby calls them. She loves her Nana’s bean beans!
Sounds so good, Mama Jane. Thank you for stopping by. I love to hear from my readers and enjoy the stories of great food memories.
XO,
~Donya
Nom nom this reminds me of childhood!
I know, Paula. Brings back great memories for me too.
Thanks for stopping by!
XO,
~Donya