Bacon green beans almondine are the perfect side dish. Fresh green beans are sauteed with garlic, almonds, bacon, and lemon juice then topped with fresh lemon zest.
Serve these green beans and bacon with any main dish – from tuscan chicken pasta to cilantro lime chicken – for an easy and flavorful dinner!
Bacon green beans almondine are always a hit with turkey dinner too. We love serving them next to jiffy corn casserole and cornbread stuffing!
We always make this classic green beans almondine recipe during autumn and winter, it’s the perfect Thanksgiving or Christmas side dish, served next to jiffy corn casserole! I love elevating this dish with bacon, and adding chili flakes to give it a delicious kick.
How To Trim Green Beans
Green beans only need to be trimmed on one side, the side that is picked from the vine. To do this quickly, line the green beans up with the stem side, and slice them all at once to save some time.
Blanching Green Beans
Blanching is a process that involves partially cooking and then shocking your food. This prevents them from being undercooked in green beans almondine, and gives your more control over how cooked the green beans are.
To blanche green beans:
- Add trimmed green beans to a pot of water with a rolling boil
- Cook for 4-5 minutes or until tender crisp
- Immediately remove the green beans from the pot and place them into a bowl of ice water, or run them under cold water until they are completely cooled.
This will stop them from continuing to cook once removed from the boiling water.
How To Make Green Beans Almondine
Now for the fun part! To make green beans almondine with bacon:
- Blanche: blanche the green beans by boiling them and immediately immersing them in cold water.
- Brown: cook the bacon, then drain on a paper towel, leaving the bacon grease. Add butter and almonds, and toast them until browned. Add garlic and lemon juice.
- Toss: add the bacon and green beans back to the pan, tossing and reheating everything. Stir in chili flakes and pepper, then add lemon zest before serving.
Storing The Leftovers
Have leftovers? Green beans almondine with bacon are the perfect leftover food! I seriously enjoyed these cold the next day, but they reheat easily on the stovetop.
If you are doing a big dinner, you can definitely get away with making this ahead of time too! Just add them back to a pan and saute until reheated over medium heat.
I suggest not freezing this to avoid losing texture in the cooked green beans.
More Delicious Side Dishes
- Kung Pao Brussels Sprouts
- Cilantro Lime Rice
- Skillet Cornbread
- Parmesan Lemon Orzo
- Crispy Parmesan Roasted Potatoes
Bacon Green Beans Almondine
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans trimmed
- 5 slices bacon chopped
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2/3 cup almonds sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice fresh
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon chili flakes to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest from 1 lemon
Instructions
- Boil a pot of water over high heat. Add green beans, and cook for 3-5 minutes or until tender crisp. Remove from water and immerse in ice water immediately to stop cooking.
- Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add bacon, and cook until crispy. Remove bacon, reserving bacon grease.
- Reduce heat to low, add butter. Add in almonds, and cook until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about another minute.
- Add lemon juice, then add green beans. Stir in salt (if desired), pepper, and chili flakes to taste. Cook until heated.
- Garnish with fresh lemon zest when serving.
Tried this recipe? Let me know how you liked it below!
Don’t forget to pin it for later!
