Southern-Style Green Beans
Dress up your green beans with this Southern-Style Green Beans recipe! Tender and melt in your mouth green beans that are seasoned and paired with salty bacon. One incredibly easy green bean recipe that will leave everyone reaching for one more scoop. Grab your slow cooker and let’s get to work on these green beans.
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I’d been craving green beans ever since I made Green Beans Almondine. I saw a recipe for Southern-Style Green Beans in my copy of Cooking Light Slow Cooker Tonight! and made myself this delicious side dish on the weekend. It ended up being the main course for me since I was by myself all weekend with my kids in Ontario at my parents. I didn’t mind at all eating alone…more for me!
Southern Style Green Beans
These beans were so good! The bacon and onion flavor really came out in the beans. I’ve never tried or even heard of Southern-Style Green Beans, but this is a recipe I will be making again. You can count on that!
Now one thing I want to note is that depending on where you live depends on how you grew up eating these beans. So, know there are a handful of ways to make green beans.
What Are Southern Green Beans
Southern Green Beans are a wonderful side dish that has been around for years. You take fresh cut green beans and pair with a savory broth, onions, and garlic and even sometimes meat. Then slowly cook your beans low and slow all day for that smokey, tender green bean.
How to Prepare Fresh Green Beans
To be honest I just rinse and clean my beans and then with a knife cut the ends off and then cut down to the size I need. It is rather quick to do and you still are left with incredible green beans. You can leave the tails on and just cut off the stems if you want. Or if you prefer the look get rid of the tails and stems so each side is a fresh cut.
Variations for Southern Green Beans
Depending on what recipe you come across will vary what the ingredients and method are. I wanted to share a few variations you can consider!
- Instead of bacon do smoked ham or ham hocks
- If you cook your bacon in the beans hold some back to top the beans when done to offer that crispy texture.
- Add a splash (1 teaspoon) of white vinegar for acidity flavoring.
- Some love sweetness so they add like 1 teaspoon to 2 teaspoons of sugar to the mixture.
Depending on where you live will depend on the type of recipe you grew up eating.
What to Pair with Southern Green Beans
Truthfully these beans are versatile in flavor and truly can pair with almost any main dish. Let me share a few recipes I like to use this recipe as a side dish.
How to Make Slow Cooker Southern Style Green Beans
Start by cooking your bacon in a skillet until it is cooked through. Then remove from the pan and chop it up into crumbles. Remove all but a teaspoon of the grease, and add in your onion to saute until tender. This takes around five minutes.
Then in your slow cooker pour in your broth, salt, onion, green beans, and cover and cook on low for 8 hours. You know when it is done because the beans will be tender.
Top with crumbled bacon and serve hot.
Can You Use Canned Green Beans for Southern Green Beans
I have not tried using canned for this recipe. I think if you were to cook canned green beans for 8 hours they would be complete mush. You would probably want to drop down cook time to like 2-4 hours. But you might also lack some flavor since it is a low and slow cooking.
How to Store Your Leftover Green Beans
You can place all leftover green beans in the fridge for 2-3 days. To reheat you can warm up in the microwave or on the stove. If you do stove top add in some chicken stock to help add moisture to the beans as they warm up on low heat. Then serve as is, or dice up some fresh bacon and crumble on top if you want a slight crunch.
As you can see this recipe is really so easy to make. A handful of ingredients is all you need to get it cooking in your slow cooker. I have made this recipe for potlucks, family dinners, summer cookouts, and it is never a disappointment. Feel free to try this recipe and let me know what you think.
Have you ever made Southern green beans before?
You’ll also like these Green Bean Casserole and Chili Buttered Green Beans.
Southern-Style Green Beans
SAVE THIS RECIPE!
Ingredients
- 3 slices bacon
- 1 yellow onion chopped
- 1 cup chicken broth
- ¼ tsp salt
- 1 ½ lb green beans trimmed
Instructions
- Cook bacon in a skillet until crisp. Remove bacon from pan and reserve about 1 tsp of bacon grease in the pan. Add in onion and saute for another 5 minutes or until tender. Crumble the bacon and set aside.
- Combine broth, salt, onion and green beans in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or until beans are tender. Transfer beans to a serving dish with a slotted spoon. Sprinkle with the crumbled bacon and serve hot.
Video
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Can these be made ahead and frozen? Perhaps not adding the bacon until you defrost and reheat?
Either way should be fine. I think you’ll have more flavor if you make the bacon after you defrost and heat.
I made these for my parents 50th wedding anniversary last Saturday using four 101 oz cans of green beans and four big, raw onions. I cooked the 5# bacon enough to render the fat, added six cups of broth and a light layer of salt to the electric roaster, then let them cook for 6-7 hours. They were a crowd pleaser!
That is not much liquid
I was really hoping these would be awesome and they just weren’t. Followed the recipe to the letter.
Do you think they would be done in 6 hours on low or should they be cooked on high?
Check it at 6 hours and see what they are like. If you do high, only do for 4 hours.
Why do you cook the onions in advance if you are putting in for 8hrs and they can cook in the crock pot?
For the carmelized flavour.
That is not much liquid.
This recipe reminds me of my Grandma’s green beans. She was born and raised in Tennessee but moved to Michigan as an adult. She usually cooked them with hocks or salt pork. They were so good! She would serve them with the best fried corn bread. Yum!
I used beef bone broth, and extra bacon and these turned out great! Cooked on the stovetop for about 1.5-2 hours, easy peasy!
Hi, can I use canned green beans for the casserole. Can I also put it in the oven? Ant ideas? Thanks, Sandy
It’s not truly Southern style until you add a cut up white potato or wo according to the amount of green beans. Everything else is good. You’ll be surprised at how a little potato will change the taste and make them that so much better
This sounds amazing and how convenient to have them in the Crock-Pot. I was wondering if I could put them in on high for a shorter amount of time?
I would cut the time in half and try 3 to 4 hours and see.
Did it work ok on high for a few hours?
This recipe looks delicious, I especially like how this recipe has bacon because I love bacon.
I’ve never seen this recipe before but I love it especially because I’m sick of having them just steamed. The ingredients sound great
It sounds like a delicious full meal by itself, tempted to try other variations of this dish.
Looks delicious! Thanks for sharing at Merry Monday!
This sounds like a perfect side dish for Thanksgiving or any time of the year! 🙂
Looks delish!