I am a total side person. I’d eat just sides and skip the meat all day long if I could. Pretty sure I did that exact thing at a barbecue restaurant a few days ago. Oops. So I think it’s fun to come up with different side dishes, gourmet ones even, for fancier meals like Easter, Christmas, and Thanksgiving! These bacon wrapped green bean bundles are just that – a perfect fancier side dish that’s still super easy. Or you could even make them an appetizer if you prefer. Plus, they’re so easy to make – they’re just green beans wrapped with bacon and topped with brown sugar. Then they’re roasted in the oven to get the bacon nice and crispy. They’re one of my favorite sweet and salty side dishes and the perfect addition to piece of glazed ham (of a ham sandwich made with these crescent rolls) and mashed potatoes! Plus, these are great to make ahead – just roll them ahead of time then bake right before serving to save time on the day of the meal! So when you’re planning out your Easter menu this year, try these (and these honey roasted carrots) instead of the regular green beans.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
3-ingredients – three simple ingredients you can grab at your favorite grocery store (or maybe you already have them) make these great for any occasion! Easy – these aren’t only short on the ingredient list, they’re short on the actual work too! It’s just wrapping, brushing, and baking. There’s not a lot you can mess up here unless you just forget to take them out of the oven (don’t do that!). Gourmet – even though these are literally just bacon wrapped green beans, they feel slightly more gourmet than just eating a side of fresh green beans. And sometimes you just need to add a little fancy to your meals, whether for holidays or not!
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
Green beans – these are best made with fresh green beans – either loose or a package of fresh green beans works as well. I do not recommend frozen or canned! Bacon – just choose your favorite kind of bacon for this as long as it’s real pork bacon, not turkey. Turkey bacon doesn’t crisp up in the same way that you’ll want for these bacon wrapped green beans!
You’ll also need salt and pepper, but I just assume everyone has those and don’t really include them as an “ingredient.”
How to make bacon wrapped green beans
These are simple to make – it’s just bundle, roll up the bacon, and bake! To start, preheat your oven to 350°F and line a large, rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. The parchment paper will help these not stick and not burn while baking. Take seven green beans and wrap a slice of bacon around them. Then place the bacon wrapped bundle seam side down, on the baking sheet. Repeat until all green beans are wrapped in bacon. Now sprinkle brown sugar over top of each of the green bean bundles, trying to divide it evenly across all of the green beans. Once that’s done, sprinkle each bundle with a little salt and black pepper to finish the seasonings. Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake in the preheated oven for 30 – 40 minutes, flipping half way through baking, until the bacon gets cooked and the green beans get tender. Remove from the baking sheet and serve warm. They’ll be very hot (especially the bacon part) right away so let them cool for just a minute but then I recommend eating while they’re warm for the best taste. Fresh green beans are never as good when they’ve cooled down. Serve these alongside your favorite meat dish. My favorite pairings would be this almond chicken, this balsamic chicken recipe, or these lemon chicken thighs.
Expert Tips
Use toothpicks to keep the bacon wrapped around the green beans if you’re having problems with it staying wrapped. Sometimes smaller (like nitrate free bacon) pieces won’t get quite as far around as you’d like and a toothpick can help keep them together. Just remove before serving. Make these bacon wrapped green beans without brown sugar if you need something less sweet. They won’t have the same sweet glaze on top but they’ll still be okay to eat. It’s a good option if you want a keto or Whole 30 choice. Store any leftover green bean bundles in the fridge for up to five days. To reheat, just place them in a cold oven and set the oven to 350 degrees. Let the bacon wrapped green beans warm up with the oven then serve when hot.
More Easy Side Dishes
If you’re a side dish lover like me, make sure to check out these other side dish recipes!
Cauliflower puree – this delicious cauliflower puree combines cauliflower, butter, and cream in a dish that’ll make you never need potatoes again. Roasted root vegetables – a delicious mix of veggies roasted to perfection, these make the best side dish for any fall meal! Easy smashed potatoes – the most amazing garlic and butter smashed potatoes, way better than regular mashed potatoes or twice baked potatoes! Corn and zucchini succotash – this summer side dish combines all sorts of summer veggies in one decadent side dish! Strawberry fluff – a creamy and delicious strawberry fruit salad, great for Easter dinner!
