This simple side dish is a great choice for your Thanksgiving holiday buffet. Crisp-tender green beans with buttery almonds and a crumbled bacon topping.
Most of the thought and planning for the Thanksgiving menu tends to revolve around the turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, and, of course, the PIES! But, let’s not forget a vegetable side dish or two.
With all the meat and carbs happening on our plates, it’s important to include a super fresh veggie side like these Green Beans with Almonds and Bacon. The recipe may sound decadent but in reality it’s very light with only 1 tablespoon of butter and a couple of slices of bacon. The green beans are the star, as they should be, but it’s the holidays so let’s have a little butter and bacon!
The recipe calls for 1 to 1-1/2 pounds fresh green beans. If you’ve got a great big group, double it. Prepare the beans by snapping off one end and pulling away the tough string if it’s there. Sometimes there is a string and sometimes not so don’t stress about it. Just keep snapping ends off. You can snap both ends off if you’d like, but it’s not necessary and I kind of like the tapered look of the beans when you leave one end intact.
Bring a big pot of water to a boil and drop in the prepared beans. Let them boil for only 3 to 4 minutes, just till crisp-tender. You do not want to over cook them at this point so get them off the heat as soon as they begin to soften.
Transfer the beans to a colander and rinse them with very cold water to stop the cooking process and lock in that vibrant dark green color.
In a large saute pan, melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat. Add 1/3 cup sliced almonds and cook, stirring, until lightly golden brown.
Add the partially cooked and drained beans back to the pan with the almonds. Cook and stir just until the green beans are warmed through. Squeeze the juice from 1/2 lemon over the beans and season to taste with salt.
Transfer the green beans to a platter, scraping out all the buttery almonds along with them. Garnish with crumbled bacon. and you are ready to serve.
Green Beans with Almonds and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 to 1-1/2 pounds green beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1/3 cup sliced almonds
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 2 to 3 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
Instructions
- Rinse and drain the green beans and snap off one end, removing the tough string if it is present (some will have them, some won’t).
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and allow to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, just till slightly softened. Remove from heat and transfer to a colander to drain. Rinse with very cold water to stop the cooking process and lock in the bright green color. Drain well.
- In a 12-inch skillet, melt the butter with olive oil over medium heat. Add the almonds and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes or until lightly golden brown, stirring often. Return green beans to pan with the almonds and cook stirring just until green beans are warmed through. Add lemon juice and season with salt. Transfer the beans to a serving platter, scraping out all the buttery almonds. Garnish with crumbled bacon.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated using generic ingredients, and is an estimate not a guarantee. For more accurate results, please refer to the labels on your ingredients at home.
I totally just made a dish almost identical to this one. I used the bacon fat (from pastured pigs) to coat it. I have no fear of healthy fat if it is from animals raised as they should be. A very healthy and delicious dish.
looks delicious
What a terrific holiday side dish! Easy, yummy and, best of all, healthier than most anything else on the table!
Thanks, Liz! It’s all about balance, right? 🙂