Old fashioned Southern style green beans and potatoes are super easy and full of flavor. These are the most flavorful green beans because they’re cooked in chicken broth, topped with crispy bacon, and coated in melted butter. This is a side dish that everyone will ask you to make again and again.
Green Beans And Potatoes
Oh my goodness, I love a good green bean recipe, and this another one that I can’t get enough of!
The fork tender potatoes and string beans are simmered in chicken broth and absorb so much flavor. As it cooks it soaks up the seasoning from the creamy butter, fresh garlic, sauteed onions, and a pinch of red pepper flakes that don’t really add any heat, just a lovely taste.
After you drain the extra broth, the boiled green beans and potatoes are coated in a bit more butter and tossed with salt, pepper, and crispy bacon.
This is definitely one recipe where I can easily guess that there won’t be any leftovers – at least there weren’t in our house! Everyone loved this dish so much. Try serving it with smothered chicken or baked boneless pork ribs.
Ingredients
Green Beans: I prefer using Haricots Verts because they’re delicate and more tender. The only green beans I would really avoid are the extra long and large ones you sometimes see at the farmers market (I’ve found that they’re tougher and my green bean recipes don’t turn out as well with them).
I definitely prefer making this recipe with fresh green beans, but frozen will also work. I wouldn’t recommend using canned because they will be too soft and mushy by the time the potatoes finish cooking.
Potatoes: New potatoes (or baby potatoes) are the best for this recipe. They’re perfectly sized and boil well without becoming too soft. You could also cut up red potatoes or Yukon golds and use those if that’s what you have on hand.
Bacon: I love adding bacon to this dish because of the level of umami it adds. It adds a savory and salty component that really brings this side dish to the next level. I also love using the bacon grease to saute the onions because that helps develop the flavor profile.
If you don’t have bacon, you could also use ham, ham hock, crumbled sausage, kielbasa, or smoked sausage. Alternatively, you could leave it out if you’d prefer to make this dish with no meat.
Onion and Garlic: The cooked onions add a delicious subtle layer of sweetness while the garlic adds tons of flavor.
Spices: Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes are the only spices you need to season these green beans. There aren’t enough crushed red pepper flakes to make it spicy, just enough to add a level of flavor.
Butter: Adding butter into this side dish adds a level of creaminess and richness that makes it taste so much better.
Chicken Broth: Cooking the green beans and potatoes in chicken broth (instead of water) allows them to be seasoned from the inside out, which adds so much more flavor.
How To Make Green Beans And Potatoes
Start by slicing the bacon into smaller pieces and place it in a Dutch oven. (See the recipe card below for the full printable instructions.)
Saute the bacon pieces until they’re crispy, then remove the pieces and leave behind 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease (discard the rest).
Saute the onions in the bacon grease until they’re translucent and tender.
Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and saute until they’re aromatic. Add in the washed and trimmed green beans, quartered baby potatoes, chicken broth, half the bacon, and half the butter.
Place the lid on the Dutch oven, then bring the chicken broth to a boil. Once it’s boiling, turn it down to a simmer. Simmer with the lid on until the potatoes are fork tender.
Reserve 1/4 cup of the chicken broth before draining the remaining broth.
Add the reserved chicken broth back to the pot. Add in the salt, pepper, remaining butter, and remaining bacon. Gently stir until the butter is melted and the green beans and potatoes are coated in the seasonings. See the recipe card below for the full written instructions, including ingredient amounts, cooking times, and helpful tips, etc.
What Goes Well With Green Beans And Potatoes
This is a super versatile side dish since it has both carbs and vegetables in it. I love serving it with some kind of protein. Chicken (especially this easy panko chicken), seared steak, meatloaf, and smoked turkey all taste amazing served with it.
What Flavors Go Well With Green Beans
To make green beans taste better it’s important to season them. I love seasoning them from the inside out, which is why I always boil them in chicken broth. Garlic and onions add lots of depth of flavor. Salt and pepper are a must, too. Crushed red pepper flakes is such a good spice on green beans. Finally, I love melting some butter into the green beans to give it a rich flavor. If you want to add a note of freshness, try adding a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
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Side Dish Recipes
If you like this recipe, be sure to check out all of our side dishes! Some reader favorite green bean recipes and potato recipes are:
- Crockpot Green Beans
- Green Bean Casserole with Bacon
- Southern Green Beans
- Paula Deen’s Green Bean Casserole
- Microwave Baked Potato
- Roasted Baby Potatoes
BEST Green Beans and Potatoes Recipe
Southern style green beans and potatoes are super easy and full of flavor. Cooked in chicken broth, topped with crispy bacon, and coated in butter.
Ingredients
- 6 slices thick cut bacon ( cut into 1/2 inch pieces)
- 1 medium yellow onion (diced, about 1 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
- 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes (quartered)
- 1 pound green beans (washed with ends trimmed)
- 4 Tablespoons butter (divided)
- 4 cups chicken broth
Instructions
- Lightly spray the bottom of a large dutch oven with cooking spray, then spread the bacon slices over the bottom of the pot in an even layer. Turn the heat to medium and cook the bacon until crispy (about 8-10 minutes). Remove the bacon from the pot using a slotted spoon. Leave about 2 Tablespoons of bacon grease in the pot, and discard the rest.
- Add the diced onion to the pot and cook it in the bacon grease until the onion is soft and translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the minced garlic and red pepper flakes to the onion and cook until aromatic (30-60 seconds).
- Place the trimmed beans and quartered potatoes in the pot, and pour in the chicken broth. Add half of the cooked bacon pieces (reserve the rest for later) and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Stir to mix (moving the beans and potatoes around so that everything is covered with broth).
- Cover with a fitted lid and turn the heat up to bring to just a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Keep covered and simmer until the beans are tender and the potatoes are fork tender (about 25-30 minutes).
- Reserve 1/4 cup of the broth, then carefully drain the remaining broth (leaving the green beans and potatoes in the pot).
- Add the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter, the reserved bacon, salt, pepper, and the reserved broth to the pot. Gently toss the beans and potatoes to coat in butter and seasonings. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy.
Nutrition Information:
Serving Size:
1/8Amount Per Serving: Calories: 210Total Fat: 10.7gCarbohydrates: 20.7gFiber: 5.4gSugar: 4.6gProtein: 9.6g
Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.
If you’re looking for a quick and easy side dish that’s packed full of flavor, these Southern style green beans and potatoes are perfect!
7 thoughts on “Green Beans and Potatoes Recipe”
I try and its very delicious, thank you
This is one of the best green bean recipes I have ever tried. Highly recommend, I wish I wouldve made meat loaf now! Perfect!
As I said, my grandmother used this same method for making this dish when I was growing up and we all absolutely love it. Thanks for sharing. Rick
We eat it as a main course…then have another bowl for dessert!
Making as we speak and it looks and smells amazing
This is a 5 star keeper! Sooooo delicious, thank you for the recipe, I’ll be making it again! Served it with meatloaf.
My go to for fresh green beans. A little liquid smoke instead of bacon for us vegetarians. The pot liquor is medicine!