As tasty as they are pretty, these green bean bacon bundles with their buttery, sweet glaze and a hint of warmth are a dinner-time treat.
Green Bean Bacon Bundles
I’ve had a bit of a love-hate relationship with bacon-wrapped foods in the past. While we all love what bacon contributes to many different recipes, often when wrapping things in bacon, you lose that terrific bacon texture and things don’t always cook through the way we like best.
I’m happy to tell you that I’ve finally solved this one and the result is crispy, awesome, bacon-wrapped vegetable deliciousness. Admittedly, it takes a few extra minutes, but let me tell you it is worth that effort.
First things first, do not slap raw bacon around raw vegetables and expect everything to cook through perfectly. It sounds good in theory, but in my experience, it rarely works out that way.
Green Bean Bundles
I like to pre-cook the bacon for about 10 minutes in the oven while I’m blanching the green beans. You want it to still be plenty soft enough to wrap easily around the green beans.
Take care not to cook it all the way through. It sounds like a fussy extra step, but you’ll be waiting on the green beans anyways, and it really is worth it.
Blanching the beans makes sure they’re cooked through without becoming too soft in the process. To blanch them, you’ll drop them into rapidly boiling water and let them cook for just a couple of minutes before draining them and placing them in ice water to stop the cooking process.
Pat the green beans dry with a paper towel before tossing them with a little bit of oil and seasonings. Then wrap a few beans in each half piece of bacon, brush them with the irresistible buttery brown sugar mixture, and pop them back in the oven.
Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Bundles
Green beans and bacon are made the star of this dish with a few simple seasonings.
- bacon
- green beans
- olive oil
- granulated garlic or garlic powder
- kosher salt
- ground black pepper
- butter
- light brown sugar
- cayenne pepper
Pre-Bake the Bacon
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the bacon strips out across a foil-lined baking sheet and place them in a cold oven. Place the bacon on the middle rack and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Blanch the Green Beans
- While the bacon is roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and salt to the boiling water. Cook the beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water while the beans are cooking. Set it next to the sink. Use tongs to transfer the beans to the ice water to stop cooking. (You can also drain beans in a colander and plunge them immediately into ice water.) Once cooled, drain the beans in a colander.
Make the Green Bean Bundles
- Pat the green beans dry with a paper towel before tossing them with the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then wrap four beans in each half piece of bacon. Place the wrapped bundles on the same baking sheet used for the bacon.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, and cayenne in a small bowl and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the butter. Stir to combine and then brush the bacon wrapped beans with the sugar mixture.
- Roast for 10-12 minutes, until the green beans are lightly browned and the bacon is crisp.
Green Bean Recipes
Fresh green beans are a tasty dish no matter the time of year. They are easily a week night favorite when it comes to something quick cooking and flavorful.
Herbs and lemon work together to give the green beans a light fresh taste. Just before serving top with little pats of butter and allow it to melt ever so slightly.
Asian Green Beans are seasoned with soy sauce, garlic, and ginger before being roasted until crispy, these green beans are so tasty, that you’ll be eating them straight from the pan.
Tender crisp Thai Green Beans with peanut sauce can be made as mild or as spicy as you like – in under 15 minutes!
Simple Skillet Green Beans are warm and crisp, mixed with slivered red onions and bacon.
Savory and garlicky, your family will be asking for these pepper garlic green beans all year round. This is a whole new layer of deliciousness for your next batch of sauteed green beans.
Fresh green beans with a buttery, cheesy sauce and a crispy breadcrumb topping will get rave reviews and clean plates every time.
Holiday family gatherings just don’t seem complete if there isn’t a homemade green bean casserole on the table. Lucky for all of us, this is quite possibly the easiest side dish to make.
Green Bean Bacon Bundles
Ingredients
- ½ lb bacon cut in half
- 1 lb green beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper optional
Instructions
Pre-Bake the Bacon
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Spread the bacon strips out across a foil-lined baking sheet and place them in a cold oven. Place the bacon on the middle rack and cook for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.
Blanch the Green Beans
- While the bacon is roasting, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add green beans and salt to the boiling water. Cook the beans until bright green and crisp-tender, about 3 minutes.
- Fill a large bowl with ice water while the beans are cooking. Set it next to the sink. Use tongs to transfer the beans to the ice water to stop cooking. (You can also drain beans in a colander and plunge them immediately into ice water.) Once cooled, drain the beans in a colander.
Make the Green Bean Bundles
- Pat the green beans dry with a paper towel before tossing them with the oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. Then wrap four beans in each half piece of bacon. Place the wrapped bundles on the same baking sheet used for the bacon.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, and cayenne in a small bowl and warm in the microwave for 30 seconds to melt the butter. Stir to combine and then brush the bacon wrapped beans with the sugar mixture.
- Roast for 10-12 minutes, until the green beans are lightly browned and the bacon is crisp.
Notes
Nutrition
Mindy says
Nice flavor and turned out great. Will definitely make again.
Mary says
I’m glad the recipe was a hit, Mindy!