Green Beans with Crispy Shallots and Bacon
Green beans with crispy shallots and bacon is a very simple, but sophisticated side dish.
Green beans are a classic side dish, and while my buttery garlic green beans are great for any night of the week, this dish is perfect for more special occasions.
After cooking bacon slices in a skillet, thin shallots are fried in the bacon grease until golden brown and crispy. Next, the green beans are cooked in a little bacon grease and some butter for additional flavor till tender. Finally, we toss everything together. The combination is delicious!
While a little bit fancy, these green beans are still easy to make, with just a few ingredients and less than 30 minutes needed. Serve this dish at your next dinner party or holiday gathering!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here’s everything you need for these green beans (full recipe at the end of this post):
- Bacon
- Shallots
- Green beans (fresh is preferred but frozen will work too)
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
How to make green beans with crispy shallots and bacon
- Cook bacon. Cook bacon pieces over medium-high heat until crispy, stirring often. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
- Fry shallots. Cook shallots in bacon fat until golden and crispy. Stir often and make sure they don’t burn. Set aside with the bacon.
- Cook green beans. Cook green beans in butter until tender and slightly browned.
- Combine and serve. Top green beans with the crispy shallots and bacon and serve immediately.
Enjoy!
A few tips for making this recipe
- Instead of just grabbing handfuls of green beans at the market, be more picky in selecting green beans without brown or wrinkly spots. Try to get green beans that are roughly the same size so they’ll cook evenly.
- Cut off the woody ends on both the top and bottom of the beans easily by lining them up one way, slicing them with a knife, and then lining them up on the other side (like this!).
- Once the shallots start browning, they’ll burn quick if you’re not careful. Stir often so they cook evenly, and remove them from the pan when they’re a nice amber color.
- This recipe is best with fresh green beans, but frozen green beans will work as well. Increase cook time to about 15 minutes.
- This dish is best served immediately, but it is possible to cook bacon and shallots ahead of time and reheat with the beans during the last minute or two of cooking.
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Green Beans with Crispy Shallots and Bacon
Ingredients
- 3 strips bacon , chopped
- 2 medium shallots , thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 lb fresh green beans , ends trimmed
Instructions
- In a large skillet, cook bacon pieces over medium high heat until crispy, stirring often, about 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain.
- Fry shallots in bacon fat until golden and crispy, about 10-12 minutes. Stir often and make sure they don't burn. Set aside with the bacon.
- Drain most of bacon grease from the pan, leaving about 1 teaspoon. Add butter to the pan and let it melt.
- Add green beans and cook until tender and slightly browned, about 8-10 minutes. Stir often.
- Top green beans with shallots and bacon and serve.
Thin slices of meat will make our taste better. Compared to pieces of meat that are too thick. I find them very boring.