This Bacon and Brown Sugar Arkansas Green Beans recipe uses soy sauce and garlic in its sweet, buttery glaze, coating the green beans to create a delectable side dish.
I am a mother of three, and finding ways to make your kids want to eat vegetables is always a challenge.
I love vegetables and I think they are necessary for a healthy diet, so I was determined.
When my kids were younger, canned green beans were easy. As toddlers, I didn’t even have to heat them up. They could feed themselves and the beans were soft and easy to eat.
But as teens, they were no longer a fan. I didn’t know if this was a taste issue or a texture issue, but I knew I was thankful that their taste buds were maturing.
So I ditched the can and began working with fresh green beans. I tried adding onions and garlic; still they were not a fan.
Next, I tried adding new potatoes to them. Guess what, at the end of dinner, the potatoes were gone and I had a pan full of uneaten green beans. I needed more flavor!
When my oldest went away to college in Arkansas, I was introduced to a recipe with a sweet/savory glaze and BACON. That was a hit!
After tweaking this brown sugar green beans recipe to my liking, this became a family favorite!
My kids, and my husband, would always like me to add more bacon to this dish, but I’ll leave that up to your discretion. I still want this to be a ‘vegetable’ dish.
The dish is always empty after I serve this green beans with bacon and brown sugar recipe.
It’s easy enough to be in your regular meal repertoire but succulent enough to take to Thanksgiving dinner.
I’m sure you will find it to be a family favorite as well!
Bacon and Brown Sugar Arkansas Green Beans Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb. fresh green beans
- 6 slices of bacon
- 1/3 cup packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup salted butter - melted
- 3 teaspoons soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Trim off the ends of the green beans and then cut or snap the beans into 1 ½-2 inch pieces and place them in a large sauce pan.
- Add enough water to cover the beans. Bring the water to a boil.
- Reduce heat and cover the beans. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.
- Drain the beans and place them in a two-quart glass or oven safe ceramic baking dish, like a 9" x 9" Pyrex dish.
- Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the bacon to the pan, turning them over often until it is brown on the edges. Transfer cooked bacon to a baking rack or paper towel lined plate to cool.
- Once cool to the touch, crumble the bacon into pieces and sprinkle the bacon over the beans in the cooking dish.
- In a small bowl, stir together the melted butter, brown sugar, soy sauce, and garlic powder.
- Drizzle the mixture over the beans and bacon, coating evenly.
- Bake uncovered for 20 minutes and then gently stir making sure all the beans are coated with the sweet/savory sauce.
- Continue to bake for 15 minutes, and it’s ready to eat!
Can I use frozen green beans? If so, does this change the cook time? Thanks!
Hi Lisa, I haven’t made this with frozen green beans, but I would just thaw them out first. Thawing overnight in the refrigerator is the easy button.
Love this have only made it once but would not change anything. Question; would it be as good made the day before and heat prior to serving?
Hi Libby, this recipe does make good leftovers the next day. I wouldn’t say they are as good as fresh out of the oven, but they are good. – Linda
Hey Super Mom….You did it.
This recipe looks so inviting. I am sure this will get my kids to eat vegetables again.
Can I leave out the garlic powder or use onions powder instead?
Hi Chinazor,
Sure, I would try leaving it out instead of using onion powder.
– Linda
It turned out amazing. We totally loved it.