Green Beans and Potatoes With Bacon

Fresh green beans cooked in a skillet with onions, potatoes and bacon.  So delicious, yet so simple to make.  Perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish. 

I grew up eating lots of fresh green beans and other fresh vegetables because my grandmother grew everything in her garden. I loved most of the vegetable the she grew except for tomatoes and a couple other vegetable. These days, I love tomatoes! If you love tomatoes then you have to try my baked tomato Parmesan, or my  7 ingredient Italian dressing chicken with roasted grape tomatoes.

One of  my favorite vegetables was and still is, string beans/green beans. Back then it was my duty to trim the string beans. I didn’t mind it at all because I enjoyed my every minute of my grandmothers company. Today, string beans are  now called green beans because the strings was bred out of them over 30 years ago.

My grandmother and my mother made their traditional southern style green beans. They were pretty darn good. Back then, my grandmother only used water, butter, sauteed onions and salt and pepper to make her green beans and potatoes. She cooked her green beans and potatoes  longer than I normally would.

My recipe is simple and not much different than my grandmothers.  I love a bit of heat,  so I always add a pinch or two of Cajun seasoning, a bit of balsamic vinegar, a teaspoon or two  of sugar (to balance out the flavors) red onions and beef broth (instead of water) , salt and pepper (lots of  pepper is  great on string beans)  and bacon crumbled on top.

I prefer my green beans a bit firm,  so I cook them for about 10-15 minutes. Plus, less cooking helps to retain nutrients.  Depending on your preference, you may want to cook your green beans and  potatoes for a shorter period of time or longer. Once my potatoes and green beans are done, I add my seasonings.

Ingredients:
1 lb green beans ends trimmed
1 lb red potatoes or creamer potatoes quartered or halved or diced
6 slices of cooked bacon crumbled (pork or beef bacon. I used beef)
2 tbsp unsalted butter
1/4 cup diced red diced
1 cup beef or chicken broth (I used Better Than Bouillon Beef Base)
2 tbsp of reserved bacon fat ( do not get rid of all the fat from the bacon you cooked)
pinch or two of cajun seasoning (optional)
1-2 tsp of balsamic vinegar (optional)
1-2 tsp white sugar (optional but if you are adding the balsamic vinegar sugar will help balance out the flavors)
salt for taste
pepper for taste

Directions:
Cook the onions in the 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon fat and butter until softened about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, balsamic vinegar and beef broth. Let it come to a boil then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until desired tenderness.  Add the string beans, cover and simmer for 15-20 longer or until desired doneness, stirring ocassionally. Add all of the seasonings and mix. Add more seasonings for taste if needed.  Add crumbled bacon on top. Serve with cornbread.

Note: You can use canned green beans if that is all you have. Although they are still good, canned green beans will not taste the same as fresh green beans.  Once the potatoes are done, add the canned green beans and cook until the green beans are heated through.

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Pan Fried Green Beans and Potatoes With Bacon

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

25 mins

Total Time

35 mins

 

Fresh green beans cooked in a skillet with onions, potatoes and bacon.  So delicious, yet so simple to make.  Perfect as a Thanksgiving side dish. 

Course: Dinner, Side Dish

Cuisine: Southern

Author: April

Ingredients

• 1 lb green beans ends trimmed
• 1 lb red potatoes or creamer potatoes quartered or halved or diced 
• 6 slices of cooked bacon crumbled pork or beef bacon. I used beef
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter 
• 1/4 cup diced red diced
• 1 cup beef or chicken broth I used Better Than Bouillon Beef Base
• 2 tbsp of reserved bacon fat do not get rid of all the fat from the bacon you cooked
• pinch or two of cajun seasoning optional
• 1-2 tsp of balsamic vinegar optional
• 1-2 tsp white sugar optional but if you are adding the balsamic vinegar sugar will help balance out the flavors
• salt for taste 
• pepper for taste

Instructions

1. Cook the onions in the 2 tablespoons of reserved bacon fat and butter until softened about 2 minutes. Add the potatoes, balsamic vinegar and beef broth. Let it come to a boil then cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until desired tenderness.  Add the string beans, cover and simmer for 15-20 longer or until desired doneness, stirring ocassionally. Add all of the seasoning and mix. Add more seasonings for taste if needed.  Add crumbled bacon on top. Serve with cornbread. 
2. *See notes below

Recipe Notes

Note: You can use canned green beans if that is all you have. Although they are still good, canned green beans will not taste the same as fresh green beans.  Once the potatoes are done, add the canned green beans and cook until the green beans are heated through.  I prefer my green beans a bit firm,  so I cook them for about 10-15 minutes. Plus, less cooking helps to retain the green beans nutrients.  Depending on your preference, you may want to cook your green Omit the sugar if you like, but it does help balance out the flavors.

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