Southern Style Green Beans is a staple recipe here in the South. No Sunday supper or holiday meal is complete with out a steaming pile of tender, flavorful green beans somewhere in the side dish lineup. A bowl of bacon-covered green beans is usually in between the mashed potatoes and the deviled eggs as the one green vegetable that most people are excited to eat.
What are Southern Green Beans?
To be truly southern, a pot of green beans needs two things:
1 – some kind of cured meat such as bacon, salt pork, ham hocks, smoked turkey wings, etc.
2 – You have to cook the death right out of them. There’s nothing crunchy about a Southern style green bean. Not that they should be baby food either. “Tender” is really what we are shooting for here.
Are Southern Green Beans Keto?
The great thing about Southern cooked vegetables is that they are easily adaptable to a keto lifestyle. Now the recipe below calls for a pinch of sugar (lots of southern vegetable recipes do, especially any kind of cooked greens), but you can either substitute a sugar substitute (I like monkfruit sweetener for this application) or just leave it out all together.
Make Ahead Green Beans
The excellent thing about these Southern Style Green Beans is that you can totally make them ahead and either let them hang out in the fridge for a day or two before reheating and serving OR you can stash them in the freezer in a tip top bag for a month or two. I often make this recipe ahead of time to go with my Grandma’s Holiday Ham and heat them up in the crockpot on the day of our holiday meal!
Other Great Green Bean Dishes:
- From Scratch Green Bean Casserole
- Green Bean and New Potato Salad
- Parmesan Garlic Roasted Green Beans and Tomatoes
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons bacon fat
- 2 slices bacon chopped
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 2 cloves minced garlic
- 2 pounds fresh green beans trimmed
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
- Pinch of sugar
- 1 Tablespoon chicken base
- Water to cover
Instructions
- Heat bacon fat in a large pot over medium high heat. Add in the bacon and onion and cook until the onion is softened, about 8 minutes. Add in the garlic and cook for one minute. Stir in the green beans, butter, salt and pepper flakes, sugar, and chicken base. Add enough water to cover the beans and bring to a simmer. Cook for about an hour and a half or until the beans are soft and tender. Taste for seasoning and serve!
A crock pot white chicken chili? That sounds great, I’ll be looking forward to that recipe! The chicken hoisin rice bowls also sound amazing. I love getting recipe ideas from you.