Best Cranberry Bacon Green Beans Recipe

It takes just a little effort to take eating your vegetables from a “have to” to a “want to,” and this green beans recipe is a perfect example. Some crispy bacon, sweet cranberries, and creamy goat cheese enhance super-nutritious green beans into a Thanksgiving side dish that your family will be cheering for. The festive flavors and colors are ideal for the holidays and colder months. It would be so beautiful as part of a holiday feast on the side of a centerpiece roast. Here are some tips on how to make it:

The beans:
A well stocked supermarket may have a few different choices when it comes to green beans. They’ll have a big bin of straight-up green beans, bags of snipped or trimmed beans, and they might even have haricots verts or French green beans. Which one to choose? It’s really up to you, but here are a few things to consider. You’ll need to trim the stem end off of each green bean, and if this feels like too much work, you can always opt for the trimmed beans. They just might be a little more expensive. Haricots verts are thinner and therefore would require less cooking time, so maybe start checking them at 3 to 4 minutes versus 5 minutes for traditional green beans.

The bacon:
We like thick-cut bacon for this, so that when you get a bite of bacon, it’s substantial and super-flavorful. If you can’t find thick-cut bacon, regular will be just fine. Be sure to adjust the cooking time as it’s not as thick. Pancetta is also a good substitute and would give the dish a bit of an Italian spin. If pork isn’t your thing, turkey bacon would be a good swap.

The shallot:
We love shallots because they aren’t quite as strongly flavored as garlic and have a more delicate bite than an onion. It adds the allium flavor to this dish that it needs and is the perfect complement to the bacon. If you can’t find shallot, you can use thinly sliced red onion or 2 garlic cloves.

Did you try making this? Let us know how it went in the comments!