THE Best Bacon and Date Green Beans.

These green beans are a little bit of everything and have a sweet, spicy, savory taste that adds a lot of flavor to a normally boring vegetable. They are so easy and one of my absolute favorite things to make when I’m craving a comforting veggie packed dish. Recipe yields 4 servings.

Enjoy and let me know what you think in the comments section! 

Ingredients:

• 12oz package of green beans, trimmed and cut into thirds

• 1 medium shallot, diced (can also use 1/2 a red onion diced)

• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped

• 2 pieces of bacon

• 1 tbsp of olive oil

• drizzle of maple syrup (about 1 tbsp)

• 1/8th tsp cayenne

• 3 chopped pitted dates

• salt and pepper to taste
  

Instructions:

1.       Place bacon pieces in a medium-sized frying pan (that has a lid- will need this later) and cook on medium heat until they are nicely browned and start to crisp around the edges, about 8-10 minutes, flipping once halfway through.

2.       Remove bacon, leaving the stove on medium heat with bacon grease still in the pan, add 1/2 tbsp olive oil, shallot and garlic, sauté until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes). Once bacon has cooled roughly chop and set aside.

3.       Add in dates, cooking again for about 2-3 minutes on medium heat until they start to get a soft, gooey texture, stirring frequently so they do not burn.

4.       Add in package of green beans, bacon, salt, pepper, cayenne, and 1/2 tbsp olive oil. For the salt and pepper, I personally sprinkle each over the entire pan once, try it, and add more according to my salt preference.

5.       Place lid on the pan and cook green beans on medium-low heat for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally until they become crisp-tender, adding more time if you like yours on the tender side. Once the beans are the texture you’d like, drizzle some maple syrup on top and give the beans one more stir. Make sure to scrape everything off of the bottom to incorporate any date/bacon pieces that got stuck to the pan.

That’s it, I hope you like them as much as I do!

Tips:

• Sometimes I add in 3-4 small portabella or button mushrooms for extra nutrients and they pair really well with the dish. I would sauté these with the garlic and shallot.

• For more spice, increase cayenne to 1/4 or even 1/2 tsp or add red pepper flakes.

• This recipe is so good that you will literally want to eat half the pan. Plan accordingly- sometimes if I’m cooking for a lot of people or want leftovers I’ll double all the ingredients and buy a 32oz package of green beans.