Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon and Onion – Green Beans Like Grandma Used to Make
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Old Fashioned Green Beans are a type of Southern style green beans similar to the way your grandma used to make them. They are bacon and onion green beans, which means they taste amazing.
Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon and Onion is the perfect garden recipe. These green beans like Grandma used to make will take you straight back to your childhood. Adding new potatoes to this recipe is recommended, but optional.
Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon and Onion
When I eat green beans from the garden, I want expect them to taste just the way Grandma (and Mom) made them. I want green beans with bacon and onions and loads of flavor. (Thanks Mom for collaborating to put this old, faithful recipe into writing.)
The process of making garden green beans on the stovetop takes patience, but it’s totally worth it. You have to be willing to let the green beans cook down and absorb all the delicious flavors of diced onion and bacon while they simmer.
I prefer my garden green beans to be very tender; however, you can stop the cooking process whenever the green beans are to your desired consistency.
Green Beans Like Grandma Used to Make
My Grandma had a secret ingredient for making green beans from the garden.
She always put in a cube or two of chicken bouillon in the pot with the green beans. Chicken bouillon adds depth of flavor without it there’s just something missing. It won’t taste like Grandma’s Green Beans.
Back when she was alive, the product Better than Bouillon wasn’t around yet, but I know she would have loved it and probably would have used it often in her dishes.
That’s why, I’ve tweaked Grandma’s Old Fashioned Green Beans with just one simple substitution.
Instead of using regular chicken bouillon cubes, I use Better than Chicken Bouillon instead. If you can’t find that product or you just have chicken bouillon on hand, that’s ok too. Just go ahead and use the regular chicken bouillon. It always worked for Grandma.
Ingredient List for Grandma’s Green Beans
- Bacon, chopped
- Onion, chopped
- Fresh Green Beans
- Baby Potatoes (optional)
- Water
- Chicken Base (or chicken bouillon)
- Salt
- Black Pepper
Green Beans with New Potatoes
Adding new potatoes to garden green beans is very traditional around these parts. I love those cute little potatoes; they also absorb all the tasty flavors or bacon and onions during cooking.
I even sometimes smash them with a little butter if I’m feeling extra because butter does make everything better. As much as I like the new potatoes, sometimes I leave them out. You can do the same, if desired.
How to Make Green Beans Like Grandma Made
Step By Step Instructions
- Prep fresh green beans by washing, snapping away the ends to discard and breaking into bite-sized pieces. Wash and set aside.
- In a large saucepan or large Dutch oven, add chopped bacon and begin to heat over medium-low heat to let the fat start to render out.
- Once the bottom of the pan is lined with bacon grease, add chopped onion and cook over medium low heat until softened but not brown. Stir often.
- Add prepared green beans, new potatoes, Better than Chicken Bouillon, salt and pepper. Cover with water until the beans are just barely covered.
- Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the beans are to your desired texture. This can take up to an hour. If the beans start to get dry, add a little more water. Do not let the beans burn.
- Serve with a slotted spoon next to your favorite entrée.
Equipment
Before making these old-fashioned green beans, take a look to see if you have the pantry ingredients and kitchen tools you need.
Storage Instructions
Let leftovers cool completely. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week. Warm up in the microwave or on the stove.
For the full ingredient amounts and recipe steps for old fashioned green beans with bacon and onions, scroll to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Recipe FAQs
- Start with fresh green beans.
- Add more bacon, if desired. I really like to use thick-cut bacon.
- Substitute 2 cubes of chicken bouillon or 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon for the Better than Chicken Bouillon, if needed. Chicken broth could also be used instead of water.
- New potatoes can be omitted, if desired.
- If you have a ham bone or ham hock, add it for more flavor.
- Southern green beans are done when they are cooked to your desired texture. My family likes them on the softer side, but you can eat them more firm, if desired.
Green Bean Recipes
Crock Pot French Style Green Beans
Pennsylvania Dutch Green Beans
Sweet and Sour Green Beans with Bacon
Favorite Recipes using Garden Vegetables
Summer is hands down our favorite time to cook with vegetables as we have so many available to us through our garden, farmers markets and grocery store. Here are some of our favorite recipes featuring vegetables from the garden.
- Kentucky Southern Squash Casserole
- Mom’s Perfect Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Eggplant Casserole
- Pickled Beets
- Mom’s Cucumber and Onions
- Grilled Marinated Vegetables
Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon and Onion – Green Beans Like Grandma Used to Make
Ingredients
- 6 – 8 cups fresh green beans (washed, snapped and broken into bite-sized pieces)
- 6 – 7 slices bacon, chopped
- 1 Medium onion, chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Better than Chicken Bouillon
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- Water, to cover
- 6 – 8 new potatoes (small) or 2 large new potatoes cut into smaller pieces
Instructions
- In a large skillet, add bacon and cook over medium/low until fat starts to render, and the bottom of the pan is covered with grease.
- Add chopped onion, and sauté until onions are softened but not browned.
- To the skillet, add prepared green beans, new potatoes, Better than Chicken Bouillon, salt and pepper. Add just enough water to cover beans.
- Cook over medium heat heat until the green beans are to your desired texture, stirring occasionally. Do not let all the water evaporate, if it becomes too dry, add a little more water.
Notes
- Start with fresh green beans.
- Add more bacon, if desired.
- Substitute 2 cubes of chicken bouillon or 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon for Better than Chicken Bouillon, if needed.
- New potatoes can be omitted, if desired.
- Southern green beans are done when they are cooked to your desired texture. My family likes them on the softer side, but you can eat them more firm, if desired.
- Looking for a shortcut green bean recipe? Try these Slow Cooker Green Beans starting with canned green beans.
- The nutritional information below is auto-calculated and can vary depending on the products used. It should NOT be used for specific dietary needs.
Nutrition
Thank goodness! Finally some one that cooks like me. I thought some thing was wrong everybody is bake them on a tray with olive oil and butter for 20 min. l won’t say what I think about all those other recipes. All I know if I cook all my Grand children eat. You are the only one that I know of that cooks them the same way I do. Its a great idea you are getting this recipe out so happy to see it. its the best and healthy. when my mom fix green beans I loved them so much. I can remember at the table when my back was turned my Dad would fill my plate back up till I caught on. I would be stuffed pretty funny. still makes me laugh. Mom was from Alabama, when I grew up We were in Ohio. Wondering where this way of cooking came from? Thanks
Awsome
Thank you!!
Awesome
THE BEST. So yummy. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for sharing!!
Please provide suggested adjustments for using frozen green beans. Thank you! Mmmm good!
My husband grew up in South Carolina on beans made like grandma used to make. His grandpa would make a whole mess of beans in a ginormous pot and let them cook for hours.
I, on the other hand, grew up as a very picky eater being served canned green beans in New Jersey until I was 15 when we moved down to North Carolina. By then, of course, as a teenager, my taste buds change, and my palate improved greatly. (Maybe if mom had your recipe for beans like this I wouldn’t have been so finicky. Ha ha ha. Just kidding. Mom was an excellent cook other than using certain canned vegetables—I was just a skinny little fussy thing.)
By the time I met my husband, I had tried and enjoyed many different dishes. Moving down South to an area that housed the world’s largest furniture market greatly improved the variety of choices available.
My husband is a self-taught, gourmet chef. I don’t even try to compare but stick with the good old fashion meals that I know are nostalgically pleasing to him. This is one of them.
We have a garden every year, and at this point, I’ve already canned or frozen almost all of our veggies until the next crops start ripening. Thus, this led to me checking out your recipe to decide how long I needed to let my frozen green beans cook. Thanks so much for your delightful website and your reply. ❤️
PS: I did not have the Better than Chicken Bouillon in the pot until I read your recipe. Yay! It’s a staple item in my refrigerator ready to use—I promptly added it! Thanks!
Follow up comment:
I didn’t adjust anything in using my frozen green beans except for the time. Oh my gracious! This recipe is fabulous! Using the Better Than Bouillon totally kicked old-fashioned green beans up a notch! Mmmm
Now I can’t wait to make them again!
Glad you enjoyed them. I make these with frozen garden green beans a lot and like you just adjust the cooking time a bit. Thanks for sharing!