Grandma’s Southern Crockpot Green Beans are always a crowd pleaser, and they’re the perfect easy side dish to make for Thanksgiving or for Christmas. It also makes a great BBQ side dish!
Slow Cooker Green Beans With Bacon
After I shared my super popular Grandma’s Southern Green Beans recipe post last year, I got lots of emails asking for instructions to make them in the slow cooker. So, this recipe is for all of you that would prefer to make your green beans in the Crockpot instead of on the stove.
These are Chantelle’s (my sister-in-law) FAVORITE side dish. She loves them so so so much. Here’s what she had to say about them, “These green beans are like nothing you’ve had before. They’re bursting with flavor with every bite. They have this lovely combination of a little sweet and salty, and then the garlic and onions. If I had it my way, I would take the whole dish and hide in the closet and not share. I know the kids would, too, if they could (because I could barely get it onto a plate because they were so excited to have some). It was so quick and easy to get together, and what’s even better is the Crockpot basically does all the work. Another win in my books.”
So, if you’re looking for a fool-proof vegetable side dish that even kids will like, this is the recipe for you!
Southern Green Bean Ingredients
For having so much flavor, these green beans with bacon have a surprisingly short ingredient list. You’ll need thick but bacon, yellow onion, garlic cloves, chicken broth, garlic salt, black pepper, paprika, granulated sugar, crushed red pepper flakes, fresh green beans, and butter.
How To Cook Fresh Green Beans in Crockpot
The trick is to arrange all of the green beans so they’re facing the same direction, and tightly pack them in the slow cooker. This helps make sure that they all cook evenly. It’s also important to saute the bacon, onions, and garlic cloves before those ingredients go into the Crockpot for maximum flavor. You can cook the green beans for either 6 – 7 hours on low, or 4 hours on high.
Can You Use Frozen Green Beans?
Yes, you can! Just be sure to use the frozen extra fine whole green beans (the thin kind of green bean). You’ll also have to cook it for a bit longer, but I’m not sure exactly how much longer, so use your best judgement.
Can You Use Canned Green Beans?
You could, but you’d have to drastically lower the cooking time because the canned green beans are already soft. I don’t know what the right amount of time would be, but you’d basically just be heating the green beans until they’re warm. It won’t taste as good as cooking them from fresh, because they won’t have as much time to absorb all of the flavors.
How To Make Crockpot Green Beans Vegetarian
To make this recipe vegetarian, you’d have to omit the bacon, use olive oil to saute the onions and garlic, and swap the chicken broth for vegetable broth.
Optional Adaptations
For the most part, the meat is the best place to play around with this recipe. Instead of bacon, you could use ham, sausage, smoked turkey, or you could add a ham hock in with the green beans while they cook. A couple of other popular additions are:
- Potatoes (red potatoes are my favorite).
- Adding a bit of vinegar to the chicken broth.
- Swapping the granulated sugar for brown sugar.
- For a totally different flavor profile, you could add a packet of onion soup mix.
Keep In Touch
I’d love to hear what you thought of this recipe in the comments or on Instagram! @KeyToMyLime #KeyToMyLime
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Thanksgiving Recipes
This is one of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes! Some great recipes you could serve it with are Copycat Honey Baked Ham, Colcannon (mashed potatoes with kale and green onions), and 5 Cup Salad.
Side Dish Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out our entire side dish recipe section! Some reader favorites are:
- Southern Green Beans
- Honey Glazed Carrots
- Italian Green Beans
- Carrot Salad
- Green Bean Casserole With Fried Onions
Grandma’s Recipes
My Grandma’s recipes have started to get popular here, so if you’d like to check out some more of her recipes, some reader favorites are:
Best Southern Crockpot Green Beans Recipe
Grandma’s Southern Crockpot Green Beans are always a crowd pleaser, and they’re the perfect easy side dish to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Ingredients
- 5 slices thick cut bacon
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced)
- 2 medium cloves garlic (minced)
- 2 cups chicken broth (plus more if needed)
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon paprika
- 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh green beans (washed with the ends trimmed)
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Cut the bacon into 1/4 inch pieces, and cook them in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until they’re crispy. Remove the bacon from the pan and set aside, but reserve the bacon grease.
- Add the onions to the pan with the bacon grease and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes, add in the garlic and cook for another 1 minute, or until aromatic. Remove the onions and garlic from the pan and place into the crockpot, then discard the remaining bacon grease.
- Add the chicken broth, garlic salt, black pepper, paprika, sugar, and red pepper flakes to a 6 quart crockpot, and stir to combine. Add in half of the bacon and mix.
- Place the green beans into the crockpot, making sure they are all laying in the same direction and are tight together, this will ensure they cook evenly. Put additional chicken broth in if needed. The beans don't need to be fully submerged, but they do need to be about 90% covered.
- Cook on low for 6 - 7 hours (or on high for 4 hours). If cooking on the low setting, check to see if they are at your desired tenderness after 6 hours. If not, continue to cook until tenderness is reached.
- Once the string beans are done, drain them from the chicken broth. Toss with butter, the remainder of the bacon, and add salt and pepper to taste.
Notes
The green beans in the photographs were cooked on high for 4 hours, but I prefer this recipe cooked on low.
If you'd like instructions to make this on the stove, you can find them in my Southern Green Beans recipe.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/6Amount Per Serving: Calories: 131Total Fat: 7.1gCarbohydrates: 10.8gNet Carbohydrates: 7.8gFiber: 3gSugar: 5.3gProtein: 6.8g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
If you’ve never tried tender Southern style green beans with bacon, you’re in for a treat! Make them easily with this Crockpot green bean recipe.
29 thoughts on “Crockpot Green Beans Recipe”
There seems to be an ingredient not mentioned in the recipe in the photos. It appears to be a chopped pepper (not the flakes). Is this a regular red pepper or a chili 🌶?
Hi Lillian, I don’t think there are any ingredients in the photos that aren’t in the ingredient list. Could it the sliced bacon that you’re seeing? -Alexa
Can you double the recipe? Would it be the same cooking time?
Hi Tami, I haven’t tried doubling this green bean recipe, so I can’t say for sure. I think it would work with the same cooking time though. If you try it, please let me know how it turns out! -Alexa
Can you use frozen green beans?
Hi Joy, I haven’t tried it, but I think it would work with the whole fine green beans (not the cut wider green beans). If you try it, please let me know how it turns out! -Alexa
Trying recipe as we speak!
I was excited to try this but when I try to print the recipe (using your “print” button on the page)…it loads ads onto the print pages so it’s 5 pages long. Just wanted you to know so that you can correct it! Thanks 😊
Hi Stephanie, Thanks so much for letting me know! I’m working on a fix now, and hopefully it will be fixed in the next day or two. -Alexa
Thanks! Works great now!
Tell your browser or printer to not print background images
What breed of green beans do you use? Not all will get soft and country yummy.
Hi Teresa, You’re so right about that! I used haricots verts in this recipe. I have tried it with large thick green beans from the farmers market and the texture was nowhere near as good as it was with the thinner haricots verts. -Alexa
Did you ever find out if the recipe can be successfully doubled in the crockpot? I have 12 people coming for Easter and was hoping to double the recipe. Thanks.
Hi Cynthia, I haven’t tried doubling the recipe, but I’ve heard from other people that had success with it. -Alexa
I have doubled the recipe several times. It’s always a success!
Have you ever tried this in an instapot?
Hi Shannon, I haven’t tested making this in an Instant Pot. If you try it, please let me know how it goes! -Alexa
Made the non-crockpot version; used 1 T of brown sugar and 2 T apple cider vinegar and it tastes just like my mother’s Kentucky green beans. Great!!!
Hi Mary, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed these green beans! Thanks so much for sharing which adaptations worked for you. -Alexa
Hello thank you for the recipe. Can I add carrots to the recipe?
Hi Bonnie, I haven’t tried this recipe with carrots, but I think it would work. I’d just make sure that the carrot pieces aren’t much larger/thicker than the green beans (so they have similar cooking times). If you try it, please let me know how it turns out! -Alexa
Could i make this the day before and reheat?
Hi Meg, I’ve made these 6 hours in advance and then reheated them, and that worked well. So I think it would work to make them a day in advance and reheat them. I would reheat them by simmering them in chicken broth so that they don’t dry out. If you try it, please let me know how it works out for you. Hope that helps! -Alexa
Delicious! Thanks for posting.
I make my green beans with canned green beans, uncooked bacon, and pepper. Cook in a crockpot for 10 hours. PERFECTION. So, yes you can definitely use canned and cook a long time. When it cooks along with the bacon it is amazing! I will be trying your recipe sometime soon!
I had this as a side with my pulled pork stuffed potatoes. It was so delicious and officially became part of my weekly menu.
I have a insta pot with a lift out pot. When my beans are cook to desired doneness I place in refrigerator promptly so not to over cook. Next day I reheat on warm. I have done this many time with no issues.
My coworker brought a smoked pulled pork to our potluck so I brought these beans and added small potatoes to the mix (same time I added the beans). Our combo was such a hit we were told we needed to bring these dishes for every potluck, it is a delicious recipe!! I live in Michigan and we have local butchers on every corner, when adding bacon it really makes a difference to add some premium bacon, thank you for this recipe!