Sauteed garlicky green bean salad with smoky bacon and cherry tomatoes. This green bean salad recipe is guaranteed to be a crowd pleaser at any gathering.
Serve it with my Thanksgiving Turkey recipe and easy turkey gravy!
My Favorite Green Bean Salad
This green bean salad is perhaps the most flavorful salad I’ve ever tasted. The bacon does all the work in providing such a bold and smoky flavor. If you love bacon, you will love love love this salad. It’s a very quick salad that doesn’t require much prep work and it still tastes amazing the next day. I almost want to say it tastes even better after it’s been sitting for a while because all the flavors blend together better. Although there is a handful of bacon in it, we can pretend it’s “healthy” since there are so many green beans. It sure makes me feel better about eating it 🙂
Ingredients:
- Olive oil
- Bacon
- Onion
- Garlic cloves, minced
- Frozen green beans
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Cherry tomatoes
How to Make Green Bean Salad
Here’s an overview of how to make my favorite green bean salad. You’ll find the complete recipe card with detailed instructions below.
1. Chop the bacon and onion, then mince the garlic.
2. In a large pan, cook olive oil and bacon over high heat. Or until the bacon is golden and slightly crispy.
3. Add the onion and garlic and cook on medium-high heat until the onion becomes translucent.
4. Add the frozen green beans and stir until they soften.
5. Add the salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Stir for another 2-3 minutes and remove from heat. Don’t over stir, stirring too much will cause the tomatoes to become mushy.
This green bean salad was featured by BuzzFeed, find the article HERE
Do I serve green bean salad hot or cold?
This is entirely up to your preference. My family and I prefer to eat it hot off the stove. We love how the hot salad really brings out the sweet flavor of the onions.
However, this salad also tastes just as delicious cold! You can refrigerate it and eat it throughout the week.
What goes well with green bean salad?
This is a classic American dish, so cookout and BBQ dishes go well with my green bean salad. Serve it with burgers, chicken, or even pork loin.
More Salad Recipes
Here are some more great salad recipes.
Full Recipe Instructions

Bacon Tomato Green Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 10 oz Bacon about 1 cup chopped
- 1/2 onion 1 cup chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 14 oz pkgs. frozen green beans
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 10 oz tub cherry tomatoes
Instructions
- Chop the bacon and onion, then mince the garlic.
- In a large pan, cook olive oil and bacon over high heat for about 4 minutes. Or until the bacon is golden and slightly crispy.
- Add the onion and garlic and cook on medium high heat until the onion becomes translucent.
- Add the frozen green beans and stir until they soften. About 5-6 minutes.
- Add the salt, pepper, and tomatoes. Stir for another 2-3 minutes and remove from heat. Don't over stir, stirring too much will cause the tomatoes to become mushy.
Nutrition
This recipe was originally posted on October 9, 2015, we’ve tweaked it a bit since then.
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Lily says
Can I use fresh green beans instead of frozen?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Lily, yes you can use fresh green beans for this recipe 🙂
Inna says
Is it better to serve this salad cold or hot?
simplyhomecooked says
Hi Inna, we usually make this and eat it hot and prefer it hot. But you can eat it hot or cold.