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Smothered Green Beans

Smothered green beans in a Southern-style, glossy brown sugar butter sauce with smoky bacon and tender results after baking in a 9x13 dish. Perfect for saucy sides—stir halfway so every bite gets coated.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 55 minutes
Servings: 8 servings
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Southern American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Canned cut green beans
  • 4 can (14.5 oz) cut green beans drained
Bacon and aromatics
  • 8 bacon sliced and chopped
  • 0.5 small onion diced
Brown sugar butter sauce
  • 0.5 cup brown sugar packed
  • 0.25 cup butter melted
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 0.25 tsp black pepper

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 Dutch oven

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. Chop the bacon and dice the onion so they’re ready for the skillet.
Cook bacon and onion
  1. Cook bacon and onion in a skillet for 8 minutes, until bacon is mostly crisp, and do not drain.
Assemble in baking dish
  1. Place green beans in a 9x13-inch baking dish, then top with bacon, onion, and drippings.
  2. Whisk brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce, garlic powder, and black pepper until smooth, then pour over the beans.
  3. Cover with foil.
Bake until glossy
  1. Bake covered for 35-40 minutes, stirring once during baking, until the sauce is glossy.
Serve
  1. Stir and serve warm.

Notes

For the stickiest, glossiest sauce, keep the foil on for most of the bake time, then let it bubble uncovered only if your oven browns quickly. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge up to 4 days and reheat in the oven at 325F until hot; freeze is not recommended because the canned beans can soften further. For a lower-sodium option, use reduced-sodium soy sauce while keeping the rest the same.