Description
Delicious and easy Crock Pot Green Beans recipe featuring tender green beans cooked slowly with crispy bacon, onions, and garlic in a flavorful broth. This comforting side dish is enhanced with butter, Worcestershire sauce, and optional brown sugar for a perfect balance of savory and slightly sweet flavors.
Ingredients
Scale
Meat
- 8 slices bacon, chopped
Vegetables
- ½ cup diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and cut into 1-inch pieces
Liquids & Sauces
- 1 ½ cups vegetable broth
- ¼ cup butter
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Spices & Sweeteners
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Cook Bacon: Cook the chopped bacon in a skillet over medium heat until crispy. Once done, remove the bacon pieces from the pan and set aside, leaving the bacon grease in the skillet.
- Sauté Onions and Garlic: Add diced yellow onion and minced garlic to the skillet with the bacon grease. Sauté for about 3 minutes until the onions become translucent and fragrant. Transfer this mixture to the crockpot.
- Add Remaining Ingredients: In the slow cooker, add the trimmed green beans, vegetable broth, butter, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar (if using), and season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine all ingredients evenly.
- Cook in Crockpot: Set the crockpot to high heat and cook the mixture for 2 ½ hours, allowing the green beans to become tender and absorb the flavors.
- Add Bacon and Final Cooking: After 2 ½ hours, stir in the cooked bacon pieces. Continue cooking for an additional 30 minutes on high to meld the flavors together.
- Serve: Once the cooking time is complete, give everything a good stir and serve the green beans hot as a hearty side dish.
Notes
- Storing: Store slow cooker green beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Reheating: Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop over medium heat. Alternatively, reheat in the crockpot on high for 30 minutes until warmed through.
- Freezing: Cool completely before freezing in freezer bags or freezer-safe containers. Can be frozen for up to 3 months.
- Trimming Green Beans: Trim stems and tough ends, or use pre-trimmed fresh green beans for convenience.
- Canned Green Beans: You can substitute with four cans of drained green beans. Omit broth and reduce cooking time to 1.5 hours since canned beans are pre-cooked.
- Alternative Meat: This recipe can also be made with ham or sliced link sausage for variation.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 180
- Sugar: 3 g
- Sodium: 450 mg
- Fat: 13 g
- Saturated Fat: 5 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 6 g
- Cholesterol: 25 mg
