Listen, we know what you are thinking. Green beans? Bo-ring! Well, here is where you’d be wrong. Cracker Barrel green beans are utterly delicious and are one of our favorite side dishes. They are jam-packed full of good things. Today we have assembled a great guide on how to make them, along with some tips and tricks to give you a result that’s every bit as delicious as the original
How To Make Cracker Barrel Green Beans
Before we begin, let us tell you one of our favorite things about this recipe (aside from the taste, of course)…
Are you ready?
It has a grand total of six ingredients. Six? Yup, that’s not much considering the mountain of taste within these delicious beans! However, there is a teeny little bit of prep involved, but it is still really easy.
In fact, Cracker Barrel green beans are a true one pot meal. Although we serve them as a side, you can also treat this as a main dish if you are after a quick supper on the go!
We start by cooking a few rashers of salty and streaky bacon. This bacon will eventually become crispy, but not at this stage. We just want to make sure that it is cooked through.
From there, we add our beans, along with some seasoning and a little sugar…
Wait, what? Sugar?
Yes, you heard us right. This is an important ingredient that you can’t afford to miss. It really brings out the flavor of the beans!
We then add a small handful of finely diced white onion, give the entire mixture a stir along with a tiny splash of water, and then cover. We let the entire mixture slowly bubble away for around 40 minutes. As it cooks, the onions break down and release all of their savory goodness into the pan. The bacon continues to cook and adds a salty and slightly sweet taste to the beans.
You might be worried that the beans will over cook and turn mushy. We’ve thought about this, we cook the beans on a really low heat, so there is no danger of them being overdone or losing any of that texture.
Once they are cooked, we normally pile out Cracker Barrel green beans high in a large bowl and place them in the middle of the table so everyone can take a helping.
Cracker Barrel Green Beans
Course: SidesCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy6
servings5
minutes40
minutes80
kcalOur copycat Cracker Barrel green beans recipe is just like the original you might be used to from their chain.
Ingredients
5 5 rashers back or streaky bacon
3 cans 3 green beans
1 small 1 white onion, finely diced
½ tablespoon white sugar
Large pinch of salt
Large pinch of pepper
Directions
- Take a high sided saucepan and place over medium heat. While the pan is heating, slice your bacon into smallish cubes. Add this to the pan and stir until it begins to sizzle. Cook until it is lightly browned.
- Add your green beans along with your onion, sugar, and seasoning. Give the entire mixture a stir and add three tablespoons of water. Turn the heat down to low.
- Cover the pan with a tight fitting lid and cook for 40 minutes stirring every ten minutes or so.
- Remove the beans from the heat and serve in a large bowl.
- Watch the kids fight over their greens. Enjoy!
Notes
- Your choice of bacon will influence the taste of this dish. We like our Cracker Barrel green beans to be authentic, so we use unsmoked bacon. If you want a variation in taste, give smoked a go!
- It is vitally important that you don’t cook these beans over too high a heat. A low simmer is more than adequate.
Like this recipe?
Follow us @recipefairy on Pinterest
Tips and Tricks
You might notice something when looking at our list of ingredients. It’s what makes this recipe super convenient. We actually use canned green beans in this recipe. If you want to go fresh, that is absolutely fine. You might need to add a few minutes to the cooking time, though, and cook over a slightly higher heat.
Don’t cook your bacon until it is crispy at the outset. If you do, the remaining cooking time will burn it. Just the right side of cooked is good enough. Lightly brown is perfect! Remember, it has another 40 minutes to go until it is ready!
Nobody wants to be biting into large chunks of onions. Take your time chopping the onion and make those tasty little slivers as fine as possible.
The key to this recipe is actually in the seasoning. Don’t skip the black pepper, as this transforms the dish.
If you are vegetarian or even vegan, then you can leave the bacon out of the recipe. The texture of the dish won’t be quite the same, and you may need to add a little oil to make up for the fat that has been lost from the absence of the bacon
Depending on which canned beans you use, you may find that additional water is not necessary. Be sure to include all of the contents of the can. This bubbles away and poaches the rest of the ingredients. If it is looking a little dry, add water as suggested in the recipe.
Related:
Copycat Cracker Barrel Carrots
Meatloaf recipe from cracker barrel
Conclusion
Cracker Barrel green beans have to be one of our favorite side dishes. Aside from being utterly delicious, it is also really good for the waistline as green beans are really low in calories (we are going to ignore the bacon). Be sure to cook over a low heat and take your time to get a result you can be proud of. What are you going to serve them with? Any Cracker Barrel favorites? Let us know in the comments!
