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Slow Cooker Smothered Green Beans

Thanks for sharing!

Slow cooker smothered green beans are the perfect side dish for almost any meal. They are easy to make, have a great sweet and sour sauce and plenty of bacon to make them extra tasty!

Serving bowl filled with shiny green beans and bacon smothered in sweet and sour sauce ready to eat.

We took our favorite recipe for sweet and sour smothered green beans and adapted it for the slow cooker. So now there is no need to turn on the oven.

That means making tasty green beand won’t heat up the kitchen during the summer. It also means there is one less side dish to take up oven space while making a big holiday meal.

Smothered green beans on plate with bacon wrapped quail.

Making the green beans in a crock pot makes them portable and easy to serve at parties as well. So it really is a great recipe for so many situations.

This easy recipe is one of the most popular vegetable dishes in our extended family. Little Dude gets excited every time he sees green beans because of it and is disappointed if they are used to make any other recipe.

What makes these green beans so good?

Of course the beans themselves and the bacon are important to the final dish. The green beans are the perfect vehicle to get all of the flavor onto your plate and into your mouth.

The bacon adds the savory smokiness that makes it such a good addition to almost any dish. It adds such great balance easy layers of flavor.

Slow cooker filled with sweet and sour green beans and bacon ready to serve.

But it is the sweet and sour sauce that really makes these green beans shine. The mix of umami rich and salty soy sauce with sweet brown sugar is a good base.

A little bit of garlic adds one more layer of flavor. And the butter helps it all to coat the beans and your tongue in flavor.

The combination of everything makes for a fantastic side dish. And the best part is it goes with everything from grilled meat to hot sandwiches.

Close bowl filled with sweet and sour green beans.

They go well with roasted chicken or turkey or a nice pork chop. They are perfect with burgers, bbq chicken or even slow cooker chicken and gravy.

So be sure to whip up a batch and see for yourself. It may just become your new favorite side dish.

More slow cooker side dish ideas

Slow cooker creamed corn is super simple and delicious. It is beyond creamy and is always a favorite.

For a more savory version of slow cooker green beans, try making these crock pot green beans. They have bacon and onion soup to make a simple but tasty side dish.

Make slow cooker macaroni and cheese with corn for another easy side. You don’t even have to boil the noodles first.

Or make some slow cooker loaded mashed potatoes for another family pleaser.

Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!

Yield: 8 Servings

Slow Cooker Smothered Green Beans

Serving bowl filled with shiny green beans and bacon smothered in sweet and sour sauce ready to eat.

Slow cooker smothered green beans are the perfect side dish for almost any meal. They are easy to make, have a great sweet and sour sauce and plenty of bacon to make them extra tasty!

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours
Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 4 (14.5 oz.) cans green beans, drained
  • 7 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • 3 Tablespoons brown sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons butter
  • 2 Tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 clove garlic, minced (or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder)
  • 1 Tablespoon dehydrated minced onion

Instructions

  1. Put all of the ingredients in a slow cooker and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
  2. Stir and serve.

Notes

The green beans can remain in the slow cooker for longer than 3 hours if desired.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 97Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 413mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 1gSugar: 5gProtein: 4g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

Slow cooker smothered green beans are the perfect side dish for almost any meal. They are easy to make, have a great sweet and sour sauce and plenty of bacon to make them extra tasty!

Thanks for sharing!

Susan

Sunday 31st of July 2022

I have an allergy to milk so I substituted the rendered bacon grease for the butter and cut the sugar in half. I'm just not a sweets person and others may like it on the sweet side. My family enjoys these beans.

Carlee

Sunday 31st of July 2022

Bacon grease is a great way to avoid the dairy. I reduce the sugar sometimes too, it depends on my mood. They are great both ways. I am glad you enjoy the recipe!

Leslie

Saturday 1st of January 2022

Delicious! Easy for a crowd!

Carlee

Saturday 1st of January 2022

I am so glad you liked them!

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