‘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!
Holiday Side Dish - Bacon Cranberry Almond Green Beans
Ingredients
- approx. 2 pounds whole green beans ends removed
- 4-5 bacon slices
- 1/2 to 1 cup dried cranberries
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 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.
Notes
Super tasty! Now, how about a few more simple side dish recipes for holiday meals?!
- 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
- 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
What’s side dish recipe would you most enjoy for Thanksgiving?
4 Responses
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!
Great recipe, Sara! I made it last year and it was requested again this year. Thanks for sharing!