Nana's Famous Green Bean Recipe (2024)

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My Nana’s Famous Green Bean recipe! Made with just a handful of ingredients including bacon, this easy green bean recipe make a delicious addition to any meal! One of the most requested recipes from my family – year-round! Enjoy these tasty green beans with the ultimate Chicken Fried Steak and the BEST dinner rollsfor a family dinner you won’t forget!

Nana's Famous Green Bean Recipe (1)

Green Bean Recipe

Growing up, my Nana was my biggest supporter of my efforts in the kitchen. Almost every day after school I would go to her house and we would make something. Usually involving chocolate. My Nana had a sweet tooth just like me.

Green Beans with Bacon

So much of my time is spent developing new recipes that I often forget to share family recipes that totally rock my world. I’ve shared my Nana’s To-Die-For Carrot Cake, her Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Crunch Balls and her Sausage Gravy and I just couldn’t wait another day to share this one with you all.

One of my Nana’s recipes that is near and dear to my heart is Nana’s famous green beans. My Nana would serve up these mouth-watering green beans for all sorts of special occasions.

What my Nana never realized was how much more special each of those occasions became with the addition of her famous green beans to the menu.

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Fresh Green Bean Recipes

I’m always on this lookout for fresh green bean recipes or string beans recipe because that is one of my favorites to grow in the garden each summer.

We love to make these green beans in the slow cooker too.

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Can I Add Potato?

You’ll notice that in my slow cooker version of this recipe above, I have potatoes in with the green beans. That’s something that my Nana would do on occasion and I love the additional flavor and texture the potatoes add to this side dish.

They also help to stretch it when needed.

You can absolutely add potatoes to this dish – you really only need one russet, diced. Stir it in with the green beans.

Green Bean Recipe Ingredients

Four ingredients you guys. That’s it. Each plays a critical role so don’t leave any of them out!

  • Fresh green beans – canned green beans can also be “doctored” up using this recipe
  • Bacon
  • Onion
  • Chicken broth or water (use the broth os stock if you can)

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To this day, they are frequently requested and often enjoyed throughout the year by my family. They never fail to make it to my sister’s birthday dinner, our Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners, and any other time we have fresh green beans available.

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What Makes These Green Beans the Best?

The beans are cooked with bacon and onions for as long as possible until they become so tender and flavorful that it’s hard to resist snatching one or two each time you check on them. Green bean recipes with bacon are the BEST because the smokiness of the bacon adds so much flavor to the dish.

We frequently serve a “real” vegetable or salad with these green beans because they are just too good to count. My Nana’s Green Beans will be served at our Thanksgiving meal and again at Christmas this year, and every year.

Enjoy!

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More Must Make Side Dishes

  1. Twice Baked Potatoes
  2. Twice Baked Potato Casserole
  3. Best Ever Broccoli Salad
  4. Best Ever Cranberry Sauce – just read the reviews!
  5. The Best Turkey Gravy recipe – complete with all my tips and tricks for silky smooth gravy
  6. Stuffing Recipe with Sausage Cranberries and Apples

How To Make The Best Green Beans

Nana's Famous Green Bean Recipe (7)

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4.98 from 92 votes

My Nana’s Famous Green Beans

My Nana's Famous Green Beans! One of the most requested recipes from my family - year-round! Made with just a handful of ingredients, this easy green bean recipe make a delicious addition to any meal!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword green bean recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Total Time 50 minutes minutes

Servings 6 servings

Calories 146kcal

Author Trish - Mom On Timeout

Ingredients

  • 6 slices of bacon
  • 2 pounds of rinsed and trimmed fresh green beans
  • 1/2 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
  • salt and pepper to taste I usually don't add salt because the bacon is plenty salty

Instructions

  • Cut the bacon into small pieces and cook over medium heat in a heavy 3 qt saucepan until the bacon is fully rendered.

  • DO NOT remove any of the bacon grease - it's what makes these green beans so amazing!

  • Add the onions and saute with bacon until transparent.

  • Add green beans and pepper and stir making sure the bacon drippings are getting mixed in well.

  • Add chicken broth and reduce heat to low.

  • Cover and continue cooking the green beans for 30 minutes up to two hours, stirring occasionally. Make sure there is liquid in the bottom of your pot so that the beans don’t get scorched.

  • Check for seasoning levels and add salt and pepper if necessary.

  • Enjoy!

Video

Nutrition

Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 12g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 9g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Cholesterol: 14mg | Sodium: 370mg | Potassium: 429mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 5g | Vitamin A: 1045IU | Vitamin C: 23.5mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1.8mg

Originally published November 22, 2013.

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Nana's Famous Green Bean Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the Chinese dish green beans called? ›

Gan bian si ji dou—Sichuan-style dry-fried green beans with chiles and pickles—are one of the best and most mistranslated vegetable dishes in the world.

How to make Paula Deen green beans? ›

Add green beans to pan and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add boiling water to pan and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, just until beans are tender. Add vinegar, butter and salt and pepper and stir.

What do green beans do for the body? ›

The vegetable helps fight inflammation and is a good source of folate and potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure. Green beans also are a good source of protein and fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, Vadiveloo said. "Fiber is underconsumed by U.S. adults and children, and it's good for gut health," she said.

What is green bean in Chinese traditional? ›

We call green beans 四季豆, which means four season bean or year bean! It's the most common name for this bean in the southern region of China.

What are Japanese green beans called? ›

It is said that the Japanese name for green beans, "ingen," comes from a Zen Buddhist monk named Ingen from China who came to Japan in 1654 and taught for a year at Kof*ckuji Temple in Nagasaki.

How to fancy up green beans? ›

Then, I toss the blanched beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and salt to pep up their flavor. Serve them just like that, or dress them up more with toasted almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme.

How to cook green beans Jamie Oliver? ›

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, trim the the beans. Once the water is boiling, steam or boil the beans until tender. Drain well, then tip the cooked beans into the bowl with your dressing and toss everything together, making sure all the beans get coated.

Why cook green beans in baking soda? ›

Your Beans Will Cook Faster

Well, creating an alkaline (or basic) environment by adding a small amount (about 1 teaspoon per cup of dry beans) of baking soda to your soaking/cooking water can actually help your beans cook faster.

How do you can green beans the old fashioned way? ›

directions
  1. Pack beans loosely in sterilized jars, leaving an inch of headroom.
  2. Bring remaining ingredients to a boil in a large pot.
  3. Pour over beans, to within 1/2 inch of the top. ...
  4. Process in hot water bath for 30 minutes.
  5. Can be served heated in the liquid from the jar or drained and rinsed, then heated.

Should you soak green beans in water before cooking? ›

Should I Soak Green Beans Before Cooking? Fresh green beans do not need to be soaked. To help tenderize the beans, blanch them in a large pot of salted water.

What happens if you eat a lot of green beans? ›

Yet, if you eat them, lectins are resistant to digestive enzymes. Thus, they bind to the surface of cells in your digestive system, causing symptoms like nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, and bloating if consumed in high amounts ( 2 ).

What do green beans do to your stomach? ›

Protect gut function: The fiber in green beans helps keep the digestive system healthy and run it smoothly.

Which is healthier, green beans or broccoli? ›

Broccoli is a great source of Vitamin K and calcium. Green bean has more alpha-carotene than broccoli, however, broccoli contains more lutein + zeaxanthin than green bean. Both green bean and broccoli are high in Vitamin C, dietary fiber and potassium. Broccoli has more pantothenic acid.

What is the difference between French style green beans and regular green beans? ›

French green beans (also called Haricots Verts) are slightly longer and skinnier than regular green beans and may be a little bit more expensive. They are harvested earlier then regular green beans, so they are thought to be more tender and more flavorful.

What is the difference between green beans and Italian green beans? ›

Italian, or Romano, are flat and wide with more of a nutty flavor. This roasted green beans and tomatoes recipe works with either variety, but the Italian part refers to the flavors created by all of the ingredients.

Why do French cut green beans taste better? ›

The main different is the texture. Because French cut green beans are sliced so thinly they cook up silky and tender. The slicing also turns the veggie from a tube to a strip, which helps the beans absorb the flavors they're cooked with (more on that below).

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