These Fresh Green Beans with Bacon, Dijon Maple Sauce, Caramelized Pecans, and Feta aren’t your grandmother’s green beans – no offense grandma.

In need of a quick and easy Thanksgiving side dish? These green beans and bacon are a total winner! Plus, they can be made in advance.

top view of fresh green beans with bacon in a white serving dish


 

Fresh Green Beans with Bacon

I was in charge of making the “green bean casserole” for Thanksgiving a couple times back in the day so I whipped up my momโ€™s green beans that have been passed down for generations.  They were comforting and homey but there is a reason they are only made once a year.  Isn’t it funny how we only make certain foods only once a year because itโ€™s an obligatory Thanksgiving item?

But what if green beans werenโ€™t canned?  What if green beans werenโ€™t smothered in mystery โ€œcream-of-something-soup?  What if green beans werenโ€™t bland and boring but fresh, exciting and exploding with flavor and texture? I give you such green beans.

While these Dijon Maple Green Beans might sound like another Thanksgiving recipe, they are not just a Thanksgiving recipe.  They are going to become a year-round favorite dinner side, favorite side to impress company and favorite side when you simply crave crisp tender green beans sauteed in butter, garlic, shallots and red pepper flakes, infused with a sauce of Dijon, pure maple syrup, and balsamic vinegar topped with the crunch of bacon, sweet caramelized pecans and creamy Feta cheese.

Tangy, salty, sweet, crunchy, crispy, creamy – AKA, in my humble opinion, “the best green beans ever,” or at least that’s what I repeatedly exclaimed to myself when I tried to stop eaten them long enough to take pictures.

Move over, green bean casserole, there is a new exquisitely beautiful and exquisitely delicious green bean side in town.  And it goes by Dijon Maple Green Beans with Caramelized Pecans, Bacon and Feta.  Not your grandmother’s green beans.

front view of green beans recipe with bacon and pecans with a wood serving spoon

ingredient icon

Bacon Green Bean Recipe Ingredients

Despite the long recipe title, these sautรฉed green beans with bacon have a fairly short ingredient list:

  • Fresh green beans: Trim the ends before blanching and sautรฉing them.
  • Butter: Just 2 tablespoons adds lots of flavor to these beans.
  • Shallot: I prefer using a shallot because it has a light garlicky-onion flavor. But a small, mild onion may be substituted.
  • Garlic: Don’t be tempted to throw in extra garlic as it can easily overwhelm this dish.
  • Maple syrup: Use pure maple syrup, NOT pancake syrup.
  • Dijon mustard: Has a wonderful depth of flavor that regular mustard lacks.
  • Balsamic vinegar: Adds some tanginess to the dish.
  • Caramelized nuts: You need just 5 minutes to make my favorite caramelized nuts.
  • Bacon: Needs to be cooked until crisp and then crumbled.
  • Feta cheese: Adds extra saltiness the perfectly complements the sweet dressing.

How to Pick Fresh Green Beans

With the abundance of green beans in season, our Dijon Maple Green Beans boast fresh green beans instead of canned.   You will need 1 ยฝ pounds fresh green beans for this recipe.  Here are some helpful tips to select the freshest and therefore the most flavorful fresh green beans:

  • Color:  Green beans should be vibrant green.  They should not be yellowish or brownish and should be free from brown blemishes.
  • Texture:  The skin of the green beans should be smooth and tight.  It should be free from bumps, bruises and blemishes.  These can indicate overripe green beans.
  • Structure:  Fresh green beans should be firm and not limp or flabby.  The green beans should snap when bent.
  • Size.  Select, thin, small green beans.  This indicates they will be tender and flavorful.  Large green beans that are excessively thick can be tough or stringy.
showing how to boil green beans then how to sautee green beans wiith  Dijon maple sauce

What is the best way to cook fresh green beans?

There are several ways to cook fresh green beans from sautรฉing, roasting, or steaming.  No matter the method, the most important part of cooking fresh green beans is to not OVER-COOK them.  We want crisp-tender green beans and never mushy green beans.

My preferred method of cooking fresh green beans is to blanch them for tenderness and then sautรฉ them for flavor.  To do this:

  • Add water to a large stock pot and bring to a boil.
  • Add about ⅛ teaspoon salt.
  • Carefully add green beans using a slotted spoon or strainer so the water doesnโ€™t splatter and burn you.
  • Boil green beans for 2 minutes. Make sure you set a timer.
  • Drain green beans in a strainer.
  • Immediately add green beans to an ice bath.
showing how to caramelize pecans for green bean casserole

How to make Green Beans with Bacon

I’ve given detailed instructions below on how to make this green bean side dish, but here’s an overview of the process:

  1. In a small bowl, mix together the mustard-maple sauce. Set aside.
  2. Blanch green beans in a large stock pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer beans to a large bowl of ice water.
  3. In a saucepan, sautรฉ the shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes n some melted butter.
  4. Add beans and Dijon-maple sauce and continue to cook until beans are evenly coated in the sauce and beans and cooked to desired crisp-tenderness.
  5. Garnish with caramelized nuts, bacon and Feta.

Fresh Green Beans and Bacon Tips

  • Double the sauce: I tend to like more Dijon Maple Sauce than some, so you might want to Double the Dijon Maple Sauce and add to taste.
  • Use fresh green beans: Make sure your beans are green all over and aren’t soft or spotty.
  • Use plain bacon: You don’t want to use flavored bacon for this dish since there are already so many wonderful flavors in this green bean dish. Plain bacon is the way to go!
up close of fresh green beans with bacon in a white casserole dish

What to serve with this Green Bean with Bacon Recipe

These green beans are an excellent side to Thanksgiving Turkey as well as:

fresh green beans with bacon, pecans and feta in a white serving dish

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ยฉCarlsbad Cravings by CarlsbadCravings.com

Fresh Green Beans and Bacon

Dijon Maple Green Beans with Caramelized Pecans, Bacon and Feta are tangy, salty, sweet, crunchy, crispy, creamy AKA, โ€œthe best green beans ever.โ€ They aren’t just for Thanksgiving but a year round company pleasing, delicious side.
Servings: 6
Total Time: 16 minutes
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 6 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 lbs fresh green beans, trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 shallot, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • dash of red pepper

Dijon Maple Sauce

Garnish

Instructions

  • In a small bowl, mix together the Dijon Maple Sauce ingredients. Set aside.
  • Blanch green beans in a large stock pot of salted boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain and transfer beans to a large bowl of ice water.
  • Melt butter over medium heat in a large skillet. Add shallots, garlic and red pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute. Add beans and Dijon Maple Sauce and continue to saute until beans are evenly coated in the sauce and beans and cooked to desired crisp-tenderness.
  • Taste and season with additional red pepper flakes and freshly cracked salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with caramelized pecans, bacon and Feta.

Notes

I tend to like more Dijon Maple Sauce than some, so you might want to Double the Dijon Maple Sauce and add to taste.

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49 Comments

  1. Heidj says

    This looks amazing, gonna give it a try this Thanksgiving. Thanks for addressing the all-too-important question of, “Can it be made ahead of time?”

    • Jen says

      Haha it is definitely a need to know when it comes to Thanksgiving recipes! I hope you enjoyed!

      • Cheryl says

        Can you use thawed frozen green beans?

        • Jen says

          Hi Cheryl! Yes you can use frozen green beans without thawing them. Hope that helps!

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