This Green Beans with Bacon Cranberries and Almonds is a perfect holiday side dish. It’s fresh, crunchy, salty and sweet and so colorful. So appropriate for Christmas, well, look at the colors. It’s also perfect for Thanksgiving. Speaking of Thanksgiving, we usually get invited to our friends’ but this year they were out of town and I found out the day before Thanksgiving. Not gonna say that I wasn’t panicked, I was! Because 1) there’s nothing open other than Starbucks and Boston Market on Thanksgiving 2) probably too late to make a dinner reservation at a restaurant 3) we have another friend, P’Pete, who doesn’t have a family here so who would feed him? I needed the menu to be awesome but simple. After all, it’s my all time favorite holiday and I don’t want any stress.
So, the game plan: Sun-Died Tomato Basil Cream Cheese Stuffed Turkey which is an adaptation from Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Cream Cheese Stuffed Chicken, Green Beans with Bacon Cranberries and Almonds, Cranberry Orange Relish and some Pumpkin Panna Cotta. Oh, and of course some wine!
Back to the green beans…
Let’s cook some food!
In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook about 5 minutes or until bright green in color and crisp-tender.
Drain the beans and shock in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
Drain the beans again and pat dry.
Cook the bacon in a large saute pan until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
Add the garlic to the pan. Cook for a minute.
Add cooked green beans, stir to mix everything together.
Season with salt.
And pepper.
Add dried cranberries, stir a few times until combined. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper.
Turn off the heat. Serve in a big platter family style, sprinkle crispy bacon and top with sliced almonds.
There you have it, fresh, crunchy, salty, sweet Green Beans with Bacon Cranberries and Almonds. Hope you give this recipe a try, the recipe card is below. Happy Holidays!
- 2 lbs. green beans, trimmed
- 2 slices bacon, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ¼ cup dried cranberries
- ¼ cup sliced toasted almonds
- salt and pepper
- In a large pot, bring salted water to a boil. Add green beans and cook about 5 minutes or until bright green in color and crisp-tender.
- Drain the beans and shock in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. Drain the beans again and pat dry.
- Cook the bacon in a large saute pan until crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
- Add the garlic to the pan. Cook for a minute.
- Add cooked green beans, stir to mix everything together. Season with salt and pepper.
- Add dried cranberries, stir a few times until combined. Taste to see if it needs more salt and pepper. Turn off the heat. Sprinkle crispy bacon and top with sliced almonds.
Delicious
Awesome. Glad you liked it! 🙂