Holidays & Occasions Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Recipes Thanksgiving Green Bean Recipes By Alana Al-Hatlani Alana Al-Hatlani Alana Al-Hatlani is an Assistant Food Editor at Southern Living. Southern Living's editorial guidelines Published on August 24, 2022 Share Tweet Pin Email Trending Videos Photo: Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn It wouldn't be Thanksgiving without green beans on the table. Your family might be firmly in the casserole camp and crispy onions are a non-negotiable. Or maybe they prefer sautéed green beans, for a brighter, lighter side to help balance out the richness of the mashed potatoes and macaroni and cheese. Quick or slow cooked, with or without bacon, these green bean recipes are the perfect side for any Thanksgiving menu, whether traditional or unconventional. With crunchy toppings, like crispy leeks and elevated flavors from lemon and browned butter, these Thanksgiving green bean recipes will make you want to eat your veggies and might even have the pickiest of eaters reaching for seconds. 01 of 13 Green Beans with Garlic Jim Franco; Styling: Leslie Siegel Recipe: Green Beans with Garlic Sometimes simple is best for Thanksgiving sides, and these green beans demonstrate why. Salt, pepper, olive oil, and garlic are all that's needed to make these simple but delicious green beans. 02 of 13 Green Beans with Bacon Breadcrumbs Greg Dupree; Food Styling: Chelsea Zimmer; Prop Styling: Ginny Branch Recipe: Green Beans with Bacon Breadcrumbs Homemade bacon bread crumbs are a flavorful twist on a holiday green bean side. They're so good, you may never top your green beans with commercial fried onions again. 03 of 13 Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole Caitlin Bensel/Southern Living Recipe: Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole Stovetop and oven space are tight on Thanksgiving. Free up some room with this slow cooker side. For a special twist, we've replaced the can of cream of mushroom soup with jarred Alfredo sauce for extra cheesy, savory flavor. 04 of 13 Balsamic Green Beans with Pearl Onions Photo: Hector Manuel Sanchez; Prop Styling: Buffy Hargett Miller; Food Styling: William Smith Recipe: Balsamic Green Beans with Pearl Onions This easy side requires little prep and just a handful of ingredients, but guests will never know, because it looks and tastes so sophisticated. The balsamic vinegar brings the right amount of tang and subtle sweetness to balance out the savory onions and garlicky beans. 05 of 13 Bacon-Brussels Sprout-Green Bean Casserole VICTOR PROTASIO; PROP STYLING: GINNY BRANCH STELLING; FOOD STYLING: EMILY NABORS HALL Recipe: Bacon-Brussels Sprout-Green Bean Casserole Why make two separate vegetable sides when you can roll them into one delicious dish? Plus, this Thanksgiving reen beans recipe can be made up to three days in advance for the ultimate stress-free side. 06 of 13 Green Bean Almondine Caitlin Bensel, Food Styling: Karen Rankin Recipe: Green Bean Almondine The term almondine may sound fancy or complicated but is a fairly simple way of making any vegetable taste great. It's the French cooking technique of garnishing something with crunchy almonds, a touch of fresh lemon, and browned butter. In this recipe, we use it to bring nutty flavor to green beans. 07 of 13 Southern-Style Green Beans Recipe: Southern-Style Green Beans If you prefer your Thanksgiving green beans cooked down with flavorful ham hocks, then this is the side dish for you. It's a no frills recipe that requires few ingredients and just a little patience as the beans slowly cook. 08 of 13 Smothered Green Beans Greg Dupree; Food Stylist: Emily Neighbors Hall; Prop Stylist: Audrey Davis Recipe: Smothered Green Beans For a recipe with so few ingredients, it really packs a flavorful punch on the plate. From the salty shallot-bacon topping to the tomato paste and chicken broth glaze that "smothers" the beans, this vegetable side is anything but boring. 09 of 13 Homemade Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Leeks Linda Puglies; Prop Styling: Kay E. Clarke; Food Styling: Torie Cox Recipe: Homemade Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Leeks No one will even miss the store-bought fried onions once they try these homemade crispy leeks, a real game changer on this otherwise classic green bean casserole. 10 of 13 Garlic Parmesan Green Beans Photographer: Isaac Nunn, Prop Stylist: Julia Bayless, Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn Recipe: Garlic Parmesan Green Beans Cheese and bacon will never fail to make a dish extra tasty. In this recipe, they team up to add tons of flavor to a straightforward side dish. 11 of 13 Lemon-Sauteed Green Beans Greg Dupree Styling: Caroline M. Cunningham Recipe: Lemon-Sauteed Green Beans Using both the lemon zest and juice ensures the crisp and crunchy green beans are a bright and refreshing palette cleanser among all the cheesy, buttery goodness on the Thanksgiving table. 12 of 13 Green Bean Lasagna Iain Bagwell; Styling: Heather Chadduck Recipe: Green Bean Lasagna This bold green bean side combines the best of green bean casserole and lasagna into one gooey, cheesy dish. We bet it will be the unexpected hit of the night. 13 of 13 Slow-Cooker Green Beans Iain Bagwell Recipe: Slow-Cooker Green Beans If you want to make green beans like Grandma used to, this is the recipe for you. Topped with crunchy bits of bacon and flavored with fresh thyme, this nostalgic side is bursting with flavor. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tell us why! Other Submit