Garlic and Bacon Green Beans sautéed in olive oil and butter in a large skillet on stove top – an easy and delicious way to prepare the green beans for the holiday menu. The beans are crispy and crunchy. Perfect recipe for the Fall and the Winter.
I love garlic with just about anything, and the green beans are no exception! Sauteed garlic tastes GREAT with green beans and bacon!
This is a great side dish for many grilled meats, and it’s especially good for holiday menu on Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s Eve.
Thanksgiving Main Courses to serve with this side dish:
- Roast Duck – an ultimate Thanksgiving main course! This Roast Whole Duck has tender and juicy meat, crispy skin, and it’s glazed with the honey-balsamic glaze to give the duck a beautiful roasted look.
- Roasted Cornish Hen – roasted paprika Cornish hen with root vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes) and onions.
- Roasted Turkey Breast (Boneless) with Garlic Herb Butter – this is a rolled turkey breast recipe and is a great alternative when you don’t feel like cooking the entire turkey.
Other green Thanksgiving side dishes:
- Roasted Butternut Squash Salad with Brussels Sprouts, Pecans, and Cranberries – colorful Thanksgiving salad with lots of veggies and nuts!
- Creamy and Crunchy Salad with Peas, Bacon, and Pecans – easy and beautiful side dish for Thanksgiving!
- Dijon Mustard Brussels Sprouts with Bacon, Apples, and Gorgonzola cheese – Brussels sprouts smothered in heavy cream and mustard with bacon, apples, Gorgonzola cheese and nutmeg. Cooked on stove top.
How to make green beans with bacon:
- Bring a large pot of water to boil, add 1 pound of fresh green beans and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. The water should be just above the beans.
- Boil on medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain the beans.
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet on medium heat.
- Add 6 cloves of minced garlic and saute, constantly stirring, for about 30 seconds.
- Add chopped cooked bacon (drained of fat) and green beans (cooked and drained).
- Saute on medium heat for about 1 minute to combine all ingredients.
- Remove from heat. Season with more salt, if needed.
Ideas for Thanksgiving Salads
- Winter Fruit Salad with Maple Lime Dressing – the ingredient list includes red apples, pears, clementine oranges (or mandarin oranges), kiwi fruit, dried cranberries, and pomegranate seeds.
- Butternut Squash and Spinach Salad with Pecans, Cranberries, Pomegranate – perfect healthy Thanksgiving salad with Poppy Seed Honey-Lime Dressing.
- Honey Mustard Brussels Sprouts Salad with Cranberries and Pecans – this holiday salad is all about crisp, shredded Brussels sprouts tossed with slightly sweet honey mustard vinaigrette, dried cranberries and chopped pecans.
- Warm Quinoa and Brussels Sprout Salad in Honey Mustard Vinaigrette – this salad is loaded with pecans and cranberries. It is a nutrient-packed salad that is high in fiber and antioxidant properties. A perfect addition to a healthy menu!

Garlic and Bacon Green Beans sauteed in olive oil and butter - an easy and delicious way to prepare the green beans for the holiday table!
- 1 pound green beans , fresh, rinsed, ends trimmed
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 6 garlic cloves , minced
- 6 bacon strips , cooked, drained of fat, chopped
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Bring a large pot of water to boil, add green beans (water should be just above the beans), and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook on medium-low heat for 5 minutes, drain the beans.
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Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet on medium heat. Add minced garlic and cook it, constantly stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add chopped cooked bacon (drained of fat) and green beans. Saute on medium heat for about 1 minute to combine all ingredients. Remove from heat. Taste and add more salt, if needed.
Wondering how to transport these to my mom’s for Thanksgiving. Do you think they’d be okay if I cooked ahead of time and put in the crockpot on warm until ready to eat?
Yes, these would be really easy to make ahead and reheat. You could even refrigerate them and then reheat them in the skillet on the stovetop.
Thank you! I appreciate your feedback and the recipe! Happy Thanksgiving!
You are very welcome! Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
Looks delicious! Do you need to do the boiling step if you use the microwave-ready packaged green beans?
Can you use canned beans? It’s hard to find fresh in the winter.
I believed canned beans are usually already cooked? That will definitely result in a different texture than using fresh green beans. I would recommend using fresh green beans for the best flavor.
Could you use frozen green beans?
Hi Tammy! If those are FRESH frozen green beans (uncooked, frozen as-is, without any liquid) – yes, you could use them.
Very easy prep and short ingredient list. These green beans are the best, retain their bright green color, and a “snap” to prepare. I’ll def make these again and again. Loved them and didn’t modify the recipe at all. Thank You!
Delicious! Everyone in my family loved it, including 3 children. Next week and in the future I will double the batch!
Made this recipe and was delicious and so easy and have made it several times and everyone lives it and have shared
Can this be reheated/prepared the day before? I dont have a microwave so dont know how I would reheat. Thank you
Yes, you can reheat it. Reheat it in a large skillet on the stovetop, on medium heat.
Why wouldn’t you just saute the garlic in the bacon fat?
I cook the bacon separately, in the oven, and then discard bacon fat.
Amen! Never ditch this fat. Cook the bacon first and then saute the green beans in the same pan.
This looks great but we’re going to probably have 8 people for Thanksgiving should I just double this?
Yes, you can double this recipe.
Supposed to bring green beans to family Christmas dinner. This looks great, but now I find the main dish will be HoneyBake Ham. Maybe too much bacon all at once? Think maybe green beans with slivered almonds would be a better match?
I don’t think it’s too much bacon, but green beans with almonds sound delicious, too!
Great idea! I love this recipe but wondered how I might adjust for those who don’t eat bacon.
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“won” not “win”
Thank you! Do you eat prosciutto? Prosciutto is an Italian dry-cured ham, it’s quite different from the bacon in flavor and is very delicious!
If you don’t eat meat at all, you can add roasted pecans or roasted slivered almonds.
UNCURED TURKEY BACON!
There is no such thing as too much bacon
I love bacon!
No such thing as too much garlic! LOL