Bacon Wrapped Green Beans are easy enough for a weeknight meal and pretty enough to prepare for guests!
Tender green beans are wrapped in smoky bacon with a hint of brown sugar and roasted (or air fried) until golden.
Green Beans Made Special
- Every dinner needs a veggie side, but bacon-wrapped green beans can also be served as an appetizer!
- As they roast, the beans and bacon caramelize adding lots of flavor.
- You can use frozen green beans in this recipe, they will need to be thawed first.
- We love these because they can be prepared ahead of time and roasted before serving.
Ingredients
We love to serve green beans with almost any meal from a Classic Green Bean Casserole to these bacon-wrapped green beans.
GREEN BEANS: Choose fresh or frozen long green beans as they’re easier to wrap. Frozen green beans should be thawed.
BACON: Choose regular cut bacon. Thick cut bacon needs longer to cook which will cause the beans to overcook. Pre-cooked bacon can be used.
VARIATIONS: Add some asparagus to the beans or a few slices of red pepper for a festive dish. Try different flavors of bacon like maple or smoked pepper!
How to Make Green Beans with Bacon
- Slightly cook bacon (we air fryer or pan fry for about 3-4 minutes) & reserve drippings.
- Boil green beans for a few minutes (per the recipe below) and then place in ice water.
- Wrap bacon around bundles of green beans & sprinkle with brown sugar.
- Roast in the oven or the air fryer. Garnish with sliced almonds, if desired.
Blanching the Beans
Blanching means boiling vegetables quickly and then putting them into ice water to stop the cooking.
Blanching green beans helps them keep their bright green color, preserves their ‘snap’ texture, and improves their flavor.
PRO TIP: A little trick I learned at our local culinary school is to add a little pinch of baking soda to the boiling water. This keeps them a bright green color and works for almost any green veggie.
Recipe Tips
- Pre-cook the bacon so that a lot of the fat is removed. This will help it crisp without overcooking the beans.
- These can be oven roasted or cooked in the air fryer.
- Pre-cooked bacon can be used in place.
- Blanch (boil and then ice bath) the green beans for the best texture. Be sure to dry them well before wrapping.
- Prep ahead and bake at the last minute.
More Veggies and Bacon
- Bacon-Wrapped Brussels Sprouts – sweet, salty, & savory
- Bacon Green Bean Casserole – from scratch
- Green Peas with Bacon – fresh, frozen, or canned peas
- Bacon Rosemary Mushrooms
- Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus – a make-ahead dish
- Fried Cabbage with Bacon
- Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon – the perfect combination
Did you make these Green Bean Bundles? Be sure to leave a rating and a comment below!
Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Ingredients
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 ½ pounds green beans 6-8 beans per bundle
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F.
- Cook bacon on the stovetop until slightly cooked (not crispy), about 3-4 minutes. Reserve any drippings.
- Trim and wash green beans. Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add baking soda. Add green beans and cook 3 minutes until tender-crisp. Remove from boiling water and place in a bowl of ice water to stop cooking.
- Dab beans dry and toss with reserved bacon drippings (about 2 teaspoons) or olive oil if you don't have drippings, garlic powder, and salt & pepper to taste.
- Cut each slice of bacon in half and wrap around about 6-8 green beans, secure with a toothpick, and place on a parchment-lined pan.
- Combine brown sugar with 1 tablespoon of water and lightly brush over each bundle.
- Roast 20-22 minutes or until bacon is crisp and beans are lightly roasted.
Notes
- Pre-cook the bacon so that a lot of the fat is removed. This will help it crisp without overcooking the beans.
- These can be oven roasted or cooked in the air fryer at 380°F for about 11-13 minutes.
- Pre-cooked bacon can be used in place of raw bacon.
- Blanch (boil and then ice bath) the green beans for the best texture. Be sure to dry them well before wrapping.
- Prep ahead and bake at the last minute.
- Reheat in the oven at 375°F on a parchment-lined pan until heated through.
Nutrition Information
Nutrition information provided is an estimate and will vary based on cooking methods and brands of ingredients used.
Course Appetizer, Side Dish
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I definitely want to try this.
Fast, easy and delicious! Blanching with the baking soda – great tip!
Made this as a side dish yesterday – OH MY GOODNESS! It was beyond tasty, easy to make and turned out perfectly. The tips shared on the baking soda, ice bath and pre-cooked bacon made this a dream recipe. Thank you so much!
You’re welcome Elize! So happy to hear that!
I have made this dish several times for family and guests and I always get rave reviews. I do all the prep ahead of time and just pop it in the oven before mealtime. Thank you for your wonderful recipes!
Can I roast ahead of time and reheat in microwave?
Hi Charlie, that should work well for this recipe, but I haven’t personally reheated to say for sure.
Made these as a side to our Thanksgiving Turkey yesterday and were enjoyed by all! Hubby suggests next time we try maple syrup instead of brown sugar.
Looks good and Tastes great
This recipe looks like a keeper!!!
I used turkey bacon instead so not much bacon drippings. Is there something I can use as a substitute?
You can use regular bacon as well. The bacon is partially cooked and then can be dabbed with a paper towel to reduce drippings. You could also try prosciutto.
These look amazing! I’m going to try brushing with a little maple syrup instead of the brown sugar!
How many days in advance can these be made? Planning on making them for a family gathering. Thanks!
These can be made up to 48 hours before baking.
Recipes are great look awesome and easy to make great job thank you so much luv thesd
Enjoy Alta! I’m sure you’ll find a lot of great recipes here at Spend With Pennies!
These green beans are fantastic- I now get asked to bring them for all family gatherings. My grandsons love them
Can you post a recipe for chillie green beans, if you could pl? I’m referring to the ones you get in the Chinese restaurants.
Thx
Hmm, we don’t have a recipe for those yet Shar. I hope you are able to find one that works for you!
Loooking so forward to trying some of your tips on Food.
Thanks Lucille! We can’t wait for you to try them out.
Holly,
First, thank you for publishing these great recipes!
I can’t wait to try the green beans wrapped in bacon.
Question..why put baking soda in the water for the green beans?
Hi Terry, Adding baking soda to the water helps the green beans to keep their bright green coloring when boiled.
It makes the water slightly alkaline, which helps to preserve the chlorophyll in the green vegetables. Acid on the other hand, and also overcooking vegetables breaks down the chlorophyll.