Homestyle Cast Iron Skillet Green Beans
Everyone at the table will love this recipe for green beans with bacon and shallots. Always popular for Christmas and Thanksgiving dinner.
Table of contents
❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
One-pan prep – You’ll cook the beans, onion, and bacon all in one easy-to-clean skillet.
Loaded with flavor – Plenty of salt and pepper with bacon makes the humble green crave-able.
Versatile! – Yummy enough for a holiday meal but easy enough for Thursday night dinner.
🧂 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You’ll find the full measurements and instructions in the printable recipe at the bottom of the page.
- Bacon
- Fresh green beans
- Small onion
- Chicken broth or stock. (Either kind is fine!)
- Salt and pepper
🥣 Equipment
- A large cast-iron skillet with a lid. (If you don’t have any cast iron, any heavy large skillet will do)
- Paper towels
- Serving dish
🍴Instructions
Step One
Cook the bacon on low heat, until crisp and browned in a large heavy-bottomed skillet. Remove to a paper towel- don’t clean it out of course! Add the onion and cook until softened.
Step Two
Add the green beans and stir, almost like you are stir-frying, until they turn a brighter green.
Add the salt, pepper, chicken broth, and cover the skillet for a few minutes to soften the green beans. How long you cook them at this stage is totally personal preference! I like mine crisp-tender, so I let them cook for about 3 minutes. If you like them soft, leave them a few minutes more.
Step three
Then add the bacon back in and serve right out of the hot skillet!
🥫 Storage instructions
Any leftovers can be stored in the fridge in an airtight container for 3-5 days.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Wash and trim the green beans ahead of time or while the bacon is cooking. You want them ready to go when the time comes.
- Use the freshest beans you can!
- You can add fresh garlic with the onions and a splash of lemon juice at the end for more fresh flavors.
- If you don’t feel like dicing up the bacon, just cook it and crumble it up.
🔍 FAQs
Nope, the bacon makes sure they don’t need any oil or butter.
It’s totally up to you. Some people like them softer, some firmer. Taste and decide.
🍽 Serve it with
- All the traditional Thanksgiving dinner dishes
- White cheddar scalloped potatoes for a special occasion.
- Any main course that needs a veggie dish to make it more exciting.
📘 Related Recipes
- Bacon Brussels Sprouts are another delicious choice.
- Home fries in cast iron come out perfectly browned and crispy.
- Pressure Can Green Beans that you can keep fresh all year round.
- And baked beans bake up perfectly in cast iron too!
📖 Here’s the recipe
Homestyle Green Beans In a Cast-Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon diced
- 1/4 cup onion minced
- 1 pound fresh green beans washed and trimmed
- 1/4 cup chicken broth or stock
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Instructions
- Crisp the bacon. Cook the bacon on low heat, until crisp, in a large, heavy bottomed skillet. Remove to a paper towel to drain. Do not clean out the skillet
- Cook the onion. Add the onion and cook until translucent and slightly browned, on medium-low, for about 5 minutes.
- Cook the beans. Add the green beans and stir fry on medium until bright green but still crisp. Add the chicken broth and cover for 2-3 minutes until green beans are crisp-tender. (If you prefer them softer, cook an additional 2-5 minutes.)
- Season. Add the salt and pepper. Check for seasonings and add more if needed. Serve immediately.
Notes
Hope you enjoy this recipe!
By Katie Shaw
Katie lives in Virginia with her husband, three daughters, a chocolate lab, and over thirty chickens. She loves creating simple tutorials for sourdough, bread, and soap. Her recipes, articles, and YouTube videos reach millions of people per year.