Green beans have always been one of my favorite things to eat. When they’re fresh they have a wonderful crisp texture. And their taste is mild enough that you can practically serve them with anything. That being said I’ve always prepared my green beans one way. I stick them in a pot along with some water, salt, and pepper, and I boil/steam them until they are partially cooked. It’s a simple and fuss-free method, but that’s really about it. So in the pursuit of expanding my cooking repertoire, I decided to try something new. And what better recipe to try out than good old southern style green beans.
Now if you’ve never had southern style green beans before, all I can say is your missing out. It is an incredibly tasty way to prepare fresh green beans. Sure it might take a little bit of time along with some TLC to make, but trust me the end results are so worth it!
So how does one make southern style green beans?
It begins with a secret ingredient found in many southern dishes, bacon! You simply cut them up into lardons, and cook them until they are as crispy as you like. Then you toss in some onions, garlic, seasoning to build a strong flavor profile. And finally, you toss in some potatoes, green beans, and chicken stock, and let everything simmer for an hour until it is nice and tender. So which out further to say let’s get to making our southern style green beans!
Tips, Tricks & Suggestions
- Looking to make a vegan-friendly version of southern style green beans? Then simply omit the bacon and swap out the chicken stock with vegetable stock. Sure it won’t be as rich of a dish, but it will still taste great!
- Cajun seasoning or creole seasoning? Well, to be honest, they are similar enough that I think you should use whichever one you have on hand. That being said cajun seasoning tends to be spicer so you use that if you are looking for a little bit of heat in your southern style green beans.
- When picking out your green beans from the grocery store, always look for ones that are a vibrantly green color, and lack any sort of blemishes like black spots.
- These southern style green beans are perfect with either our apple juice brined smoked turkey, our dry-rubbed pork chops, our pulled pork, or some fried cat fish.
Southern Style Green Beans Recipe
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients
3 Lbs of green beans, snapped into 1 & 1½ inch sized pieces
8 Small red potatoes, quartered
1 Medium red onion, medium diced
½ Lb of bacon, cut into roughly inch-sized pieces
2 Cloves of garlic, minced
4 Cups of chicken broth
1 Tablespoon of either creole or cajun seasoning
1 Teaspoon of sugar
½ Teaspoon of black pepper
Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the bacon: Get out either a large pot or a dutch oven and place it over high heat. Toss in the bacon and let it cook until it starts to render some of its fat. Then turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking the bacon until it is done to your liking.
Remove the cooked bacon and set it aside until later.
- Sautee the onion and garlic: Return the heat to medium-high and toss in the diced onion. Sautee this until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Then toss in the garlic and continue to sautee everything for another minute.
- Sautee the potatoes: Toss in the potatoes and stir everything together. Continue to sautee everything for an additional 5 minutes
- Add in the sugar & seasonings: Toss in the sugar, cajan/creole seasoning, and black pepper. Stir everything together until the potatoes and onions are coated with the seasoning. Continue to sautee everything for another 3 minutes.
- Add in the remaining ingredients: Toss in the green beans, pour in the 4 cups of broth, and return the bacon to the pot. Stir this all together until everything is nicely incorporated. Then add enough water so that it comes just below the top of everything. Let this come to a boil.
- Lower the heat so that it comes to a simmer. Then cover the pot/dutch oven and let everything simmer for an hour.
- After an hour everything should be cooked, and the potatoes should be fork-tender. Taste the green beans and add salt if it is needed. Serve immediately and enjoy!
Southern Style Green Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 Lbs of green beans snapped into 1 & 1½ inch sized pieces
- 8 Small red potatoes quartered
- 1 Medium red onion medium diced
- ½ Lb of bacon cut into roughly inch-sized pieces
- 2 Cloves of garlic minced
- 4 Cups of chicken broth
- 1 Tablespoon of either creole or cajun seasoning
- 1 Teaspoon of sugar
- ½ Teaspoon of black pepper
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Cook the bacon: Get out either a large pot or a dutch oven and place it over high heat. Toss in the bacon and let it cook until it starts to render some of its fat. Then turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking the bacon until it is done to you liking. Remove the cooked bacon and set it aside until later.
- Sautee the onion and garlic: Return the heat to medium-high and toss in the diced onion. Sautee this until the onions become translucent, about 5 minutes. Then toss in the garlic and continue to sautee everything for another minute.
- Sautee the potatoes: Toss in the potatoes and stir everything together. Continue to sautee everything for an additional 5 minutes
- Add in the sugar & seasonings: Toss in the sugar, cajan/creole seasoning, and black pepper. Stir everything together until the potatoes and onions are coated with the seasoning. Continue to sautee everything for another 3 minutes.
- Add in the remaining ingredients: Toss in the green beans, pour in the 4 cups of broth, and return the bacon to the pot. Stir this all together until everything is nicely incorporated. Then add enough water so that it comes just below the top of everything. Let this come to a boil
- Lower the heat so that it comes to a simmer. Then cover the pot/dutch oven and let everything simmer for an hour.
- After an hour everything should be cooked, and the potatoes should be fork-tender. Taste the green beans and add salt if it is needed. Serve immediately and enjoy!
