Crockpot Green Beans

Crockpot Green Beans are the perfect EASY side dish, made with fresh green beans coated with olive oil and seasoning, topped with butter and slow cooked in a savory broth until tender, then topped with crispy bacon!

I love easy side dish recipes for the holiday season, because they free up valuable oven space! For more ideas, check out these Instant Pot Green Beans, Instant Pot Steamed Broccoli, and Air Fryer Broccoli! 

Crockpot Green Beans is a simple side dish that requires only a handful of ingredients, and minimal prep time on a busy weeknight! You’ll need about 2 pounds fresh green beans for this recipe. I also use a 6-quart slow cooker for most of my recipes, you may need to adjust the recipe depending on what size you have. 

This will be a new family favorite, and one of your go-to favorite side dishes for holiday meals, or even regular weeknight meals! Slow cooking helps free up oven space, dinner table space, and also makes keeping the food warm a lot easier during holiday meals. I also like serving these green beans with bacon, but you can leave the bacon out if you want to lighten this up. 

Ingredients You’ll Need

Green Beans. I recommend using fresh green beans for this recipe, because they will hold up the best. You can also use canned or frozen green beans, but they will end up much softer at the end. 

You’ll need about 1 1/2 – 2 pounds fresh green beans for this green beans recipe.

Olive oil. This adds some healthy fat, and also helps the spices stick to the green beans so they are evenly dispersed.

Butter. This adds a lot of flavor to the green beans. You could technically leave the butter out and just stick with the olive oil, but if I’m making these for a holiday like Thanksgiving, I would definitely use the butter. 

Spices. You can use whatever combination of spices you like here. I like to use some basic spices like onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, kosher salt, and ground black pepper. You can also add some red pepper flakes for heat.

You can also try using my Homemade Ranch Seasoning, or Rotisserie Chicken Seasoning. 

Broth. This adds a lot of flavor to the green beans as they cook. You can use whichever broth or stock you have that matches the rest of your meal, just make sure it’s gluten free. Chicken stock or chicken broth, beef stock, and vegetable broth all work well for this recipe. 

Bacon. Cook the bacon until crispy, and add this on top of the green beans right before serving. The crispy savory salty notes go perfectly with green beans, and help add to the presentation of the dish, especially if you’re serving this for the holidays. 

I use 3-4 slices of thick cut bacon, but you can add more or less depending on your personal preference. Use smoky bacon if you like the smoky flavor, just make sure it’s gluten free. 

How to Make Crockpot Green Beans

1. In a medium bowl, whisk together the olive oil and all of the spices. Add the green beans to the bowl and toss everything together until evenly coated. 
2. Pour the broth into the slow cooker, then add the green beans on top. Place the butter in pieces on top of the green beans evenly. 
3. Cook on low for 4-5 hours, or on high for about 3-4 hours, until green beans are cooked through. They should be soft but not soggy, and still have a slight crunch. When the beans are just about done, cook the bacon until crispy and break into pieces. 
4. Remove green beans from the slow cooker using a slotted spoon and top the beans with bacon before serving. 

Frequently Asked Questions

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes

• Air Fryer Cabbage Steaks
• Roasted Potatoes and Broccoli
• Creamed Peas and Potatoes
• Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole
• Instant Pot Sweet Potatoes

Storage

Refrigerate slow cooker green beans for 3-4 days in an airtight container. 

Freeze crockpot green beans in an airtight container for 1-2 months. If you’re planning on freezing, don’t top the green beans with the bacon. Instead, wait and add freshly cooked bacon later, right after reheating.

Keep in mind that the green beans will be best when just cooked, and will be much softer when frozen and reheated. 

Recipe Variations

• Use any seasonings that you like for this crock pot recipe. You could keep it simple with just salt and pepper, or add something more interesting like Homemade Taco Seasoning!
• Use a pinch of cayenne pepper, hot sauce, or red chili flakes to make these spicy. Personally, I like to add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes.
• Add in a chopped onion, sautéing it in a skillet over medium heat, using the bacon grease after cooking the bacon pieces, for even more bacon flavor. A yellow onion or white onion would work, or even a sweet onion like Vidalia. Add the cooked onion in with the bacon right before serving. Sautéed onions will have a lot more flavor than adding them directly to the slow cooker. 
• This recipe goes great mixed with leftover ham pieces! 
• You can also add back the bacon drippings for added flavor, mixing everything together before topping with the cooked bacon and serving. This would be ideal for a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas, but I don’t usually add the bacon fat back for regular weeknight dinners.
• For more of a southern style comfort food, try adding 1/4 – 1/2 cup of tomato sauce, or crushed tomatoes to the slow cooker. 
• Add a small amount of brown sugar. Using just a small amount of sugar helps balance out the savory notes in this dish. Brown sugar also adds some deeper molasses notes, but you can also use a teaspoon granulated sugar. 

Cooking Tips

•  Make sure to trim the green beans if they don’t come pre-trimmed already. 
• If you use frozen green beans, you don’t have to defrost them first. But you may need to increase the cook time. Try to use a thinner cut, so they don’t have to cook that much longer. 
• Make the crispy bacon pieces in the oven! Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the uncooked bacon slices on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Thick cut bacon will work best for this method. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until bacon is cooked through and crispy. Place the cooked bacon pieces on a paper towel to remove some of the bacon grease, before chopping into pieces. 

If you loved this recipe, be sure to leave a 5 Star review below, and tag me with a photo of your finished recipe on Instagram @Jacqui_DishingDelish!

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