‘Tis the season for making delicious holiday side dishes. For Thanksgiving, our family loves having a fun turkey veggie tray and the cranberry apple salad has become a family tradition. Roasted potatoes and cinnamon brown sugar squash are also good options. Last year, instead of the traditional green bean casserole, we opted for something a little less calorie-laden. These sauteed green beans with bacon, cranberries, and almonds are delicious and absolutely perfect for your Thanksgiving and Christmas meals. 
This side dish is SO easy to make and tastes great with the flavor combination of the bacon, cranberries, and slivered almonds. You start with cooking a few slices of bacon in a pan until it’s nice and crispy. Then, you sauteé the green beans in the pan (without draining) for some extra flavor. Yum! Just toss in some dried cranberries & slivered almonds and you have a lovely side dish!
- approx. 2 pounds whole green beans (ends removed)
- 4-5 bacon slices
- ½ to 1 cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup slivered almonds
- salt and pepper to taste
- In a large pan, cook the bacon until crispy. Remove bacon from pan and cut/crumble. Set aside.
- Place green beans (if frozen, thaw in microwave first) in the pan with the bacon grease and sauteé until heated through (don't overcook).
- Transfer green beans to a medium baking dish. Toss in bacon, cranberries, and slivered almonds.
- Serve warm immediately or place in the oven for about 10-15 minutes to warm before serving.
Super tasty! Now, how about 11 more super side dish recipes for holiday mealsl! It’s the 12 of the month, so that means it’s time for another #12bloggers post! 12 themes, 12 bloggers’ recipes with 12 ingredients or less, posted on the 12th of the month! We’ve already shared some great themes like quick & healthy meals, fresh fruit desserts, cookout favorites, food in jars, after school snacks, tasty tailgating recipes, and pumpkin palooza! Now we’ve got your Thanksgiving side dishes covered! Enjoy!! 
- Roasted Kabocha Squash with Balsamic and Feta from Betsylife
- Bacon-Parmesan Spaghetti Squash from Home Cooking Memories
- Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan from The Rebel Chick
- Cheesy Garlic & Herb Pull Apart Bread from†Million Moments
- Easy Sweet Potato Casserole from†A Night Owl Blog
- Garlic Knots†from†Bless This Mess Please
- Twice Baked Potatoes from Pink Cake Plate
- Glazed Sweet Potato Fingerlings from See Vanessa Craft
- Herbed Sweet Potato Biscuit Recipe from Around My Family Table
- Cranberry Sauce with Orange and Pineapple from East Valley Mom Guide
What’s side dish recipe would you most enjoy for Thanksgiving?
Stay tuned for the 12th of December when we’ll all be back for the final #12bloggers post of 2014!! (Where did the year go?!?!)
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We normally have a green bean casserole at Thanksgiving, but it’s so HEAVY! I love this fresh, healthier take on a green bean dish!
made a vegan version of this tonight using vegan butter instead of the bacon. It was delish!! I will make this again!
Great idea, Elissa! Thanks for commenting!