Easy Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar (Arkansas Green Beans)
These Easy Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar (also called Arkansas Green Beans) are sweet, savory & delicious. The green beans are baked with a sweet soy sauce and crispy salty bacon that makes for a perfect combination and this recipe is absolutely a crowd-pleaser!
Originally published March 2016, updated September 2026
Green Beans with Soy Sauce and Brown Sugar
The weather shifted midday yesterday and it went from a muggy 70°F+ to around 55°F in a matter of minutes. And I love it!
Cooler weather means we’re nearing the holidays, and that means all the best food will be eaten over the next couple of months.
Granted, it probably won’t stay cool for long but I’m going to relish every minute of it and the holidays are coming no matter what!
This recipe is perfect for all of your holiday gatherings – including Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter. Serve these green beans along side a Cajun Turkey or a Ribeye Steak or anything in between. You cannot go wrong!
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Feeds a crowd – this recipe makes a full 9×13 pan, perfect for holiday gatherings and potlucks.
- No wrapping required – unlike the traditional bacon-wrapped bundles, you just chop and sprinkle, which saves a ton of time.
- Baked, not fried, bacon – crispy bacon without standing over popping grease or stinking up the kitchen for a week.
- Sweet, salty & smoky – the brown sugar, soy sauce and bacon combination makes even canned green beans taste incredible.
- Great make-ahead side – it holds up well prepped the day before, so it’s one less thing to worry about on the big day.
Easy Step-by-Step Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar
I originally made this recipe for our big family Easter get-together. My Mama called a few days before and asked what I’d be bringing and I immediately knew I wanted to make these Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar. I hadn’t tried a new green bean recipe in a long time, but this one is a keeper for sure!
Growing up, canned green beans were my husband’s favorite vegetable. So pretty much any way I cook them, he loves them.
For Thanksgiving dinner, we usually have the more traditional Green Bean Casserole… but I love trying new recipes and this one has become a family favorite.
It started a few years back when someone in our family made something like this delicious side dish – except they used the whole green beans and wrapped the bacon around them, then poured the sauce over the top of the green bean bundles.
My friend Susan said she makes them the same way. But this recipe sounded so much easier… no wrapping required! The main flavors are sweet brown sugar, salty soy sauce, and smoky bacon!
Green Beans with Bacon, Brown Sugar & Soy Sauce
is made with canned green beans. Did you know you can get canned green beans on Amazon by the case (example here)?
Sometimes they’re even cheaper than Walmart and they’re shipped to my house for FREE with Amazon Prime! That’s my kind of shopping for sure! (Try Amazon Prime for FREE here!)
Ingredients
- Green Beans – I use canned green beans for this recipe – I have not tested it with fresh green beans
- Cooked Bacon – I bake my bacon slices in the oven on a baking sheet for the most crispy bacon
- Light Brown Sugar
- Butter
- Soy Sauce
- Garlic, minced – you could use garlic powder in a pinch but I much prefer minced garlic
How can you go wrong with bacon and brown sugar? Another thing I really love is that the recipe makes a huge pan, perfect for a crowd! It was perfect for our family of 24 for our Easter dinner!! Actually, we ran out of beans, so it might not be quite big enough.
Find the complete recipe with ingredient measurements in the recipe card below.
How to Make Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar
- Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet (with edges) with foil.
- Place the bacon pieces on the lined baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until crispy.
- While the bacon is cooking, open and drain the cans of green beans then spread them out evenly in a 9×13 baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together then brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce, and minced garlic. Pour the butter mixture over the green beans.
- After the bacon is crispy, remove it from the oven and drain it on some paper towels. Then chop it up and spread it over the green beans.
- Reduce the oven temp to 350°F and bake the beans for 40 minutes.
- Enjoy with your holiday meal!
Storage Instructions for Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Brown Sugar
Storing leftovers: Store any leftover green beans in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 4 days. Reheat in a skillet or microwave until warmed through — a splash of water or bean liquid helps loosen the glaze back up.
Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Brown Sugar. Canned green beans are already soft, and freezing tends to make them mushy once thawed.
Make-ahead tip: If you want to prep this the night before, assemble everything but hold off on the bacon until the day you bake it — it can get soggy sitting overnight. Or bake with half the bacon mixed in, then top with fresh crispy bacon right before serving.
Crockpot: Works well for keeping warm at a gathering — an hour or two on low is plenty since everything just needs to heat through.
Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon
Arkansas? Yep. This recipe is also called Arkansas Green Beans. I’m not sure where that recipe title came from if you’re looking for an Arkansas Green Beans with Bacon recipe, you’ve found it!
Or at the very least, you’ve found a similar recipe green beans with bacon and brown sugar. There are quite a few variations out there, but this sweet and savory green beans recipe is close to all the ones I’ve read and no matter what you call it, this recipe should be on your Thanksgiving table.
You’ll also see this recipe called Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Brown Sugar – and if that’s what led you here, you’re in the right place! It’s the same sweet, savory, bacon-topped green beans, just going by a different name.
One more thing – every recipe I saw fried the bacon. But I really don’t like frying bacon and having the whole kitchen smell like bacon grease for a week, so instead, I baked the bacon like my friend Shelly taught me and it works so great for these green beans with brown sugar.
Baking it in the oven means a lot less clean-up and no standing over popping grease for 20 minutes! Win-Win! Find out How to Cook Bacon in the Oven here!
More Popular Side Dish Recipes:
- Instant Pot Black-Eyed Peas
- Maple Candied Bacon (Million Dollar Bacon)
- Broccoli Cheese Cornbread
- Cream Cheese Corn
- Corn & Mac Casserole
- Classic Deviled Eggs (the BEST recipe!!)
- Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar
- Easy Beer Bread (One Bowl + No Kneading!)
- Bacon, Parmesan & Cream Cheese Crescent Pinwheels
- German Cucumber Salad
- Easy Crockpot Collard Greens
Okay – without further delay… here’s the amazing Old Fashioned Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar recipe.
Easy Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar
Description
These Easy Green Beans with Bacon and Brown Sugar are delicious. The green beans are baked with a sweet sauce and crispy salty bacon that make for a perfect combination and this recipe will feed a crowd!
Ingredients
- 5 (15 oz.) cans green beans
- 10–12 slices of cooked bacon
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup butter, melted
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 2 tsp minced garlic
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet (with edges, like this one) with foil. then spread out the bacon and bake it for 20 minutes, or until crispy. Find the full recipe for How to Bake Bacon here.
- While the bacon is cooking, open and drain the green beans, then spread them out in a 9″x13″ baking dish.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, melted butter, soy sauce and minced garlic . Pour it over the green beans.
- After the bacon is crispy, remove it from the oven, drain and chop it. Spread it over the green beans. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, then bake the beans for 40 minutes.
- Enjoy!!
Notes
If you’d like to use frozen green beans, you’ll need approximately 8-9 cups to replace the 5 cans of green beans. The measurements do not need to be exact for this recipe.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/2 cup
- Calories: 121
- Sugar: 11.8 g
- Sodium: 213 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Carbohydrates: 16.8 g
- Fiber: 3.3 g
- Protein: 4.3 g
- Cholesterol: 12.3 mg
I have never fried bacon before. How did you do yours? I think I would prefer that better, much healthier than eating all that grease.
The instructions for baking the bacon are included in the recipe box at the bottom 🙂
I need a gradients you have butter as one of the ingredients but it’s not listed in the directions of when to add the butter I just twisted in with the brown sugar and everything else.
You drain it on paper towels after the bacon has cooked while it is still hot. Blot the bacon with a paper towel before chopping it up.
Hi Rose can I substitute the bacon since I don’t eat pork,if yes what isa good substitute for this recipe
Printed the Bean/Bacon recipe. This will be a hit with my family, I’m positive!
YAY – I hope so!
Sounds delicious.Thank you for linking with us at #HomeMattersParty. We would love to have you again next week.
Best green beans EVER!!! So easy and delicious!
I have been making this recipe for many years. They are delicious and always a hit with guest. We call them Arkansas Green Beans. I use the Allen green beans. I always fry bacon in the oven.
This is the only way I will cook green beans ever again. Yummy
This recipe looks so yummy!! Could I use frozen French cut green beans instead?
Hi Nancy! Thanks for stopping by the blog. You certainly can! I’ve also used fresh green beans when making this recipe and they all turn out delicious.
Did you have to do anything different when using fresh green beans?
I’m so sorry I missed this earlier – I’d boiled them 5-7 minutes to soften them first, then follow the instructions.
I had a friend bring these to a potluck, she soaked hers over night in the fridge and then baked them the next morning. Have you tired this before?
Plus I was wondering if you could do this in a crock pot??
I have made them the night before and I’ve also done them in a crock pot – both work just fine!
How long/what instructions would be used for the crockpot??
Since they really don’t need to cook, I’d think an hour or two tops would be good. They just need to heat through.
Hi! I’m so looking forward to trying this recipe for Thanksgiving! I hoped to use fresh beans and I’m happy to see that you’ve tried that with success. Just wondering – I assume I need to cut and cook (boil) the fresh green beans completely before assembling them into the casserole to bake?
Yes, you’d want to cook them first… unless you like them crunchy 😉
If you assemble and refrigerate the night before, then bake the next day, do you think the bacon still be crispy?
I was also wonderung about the bacon if you cook them in the crockpot.
I’m planning to make this for my second Thanksgiving I always make a second Thanksgiving meal on the Saturday following Thanksgiving for my nuclear family. P.S. FAT BEING BAD FOR YOU IS A LIE! Google “false lipid hypothesis” for the truth about fat, knowledge can change your life!
can you make this in a crock pot after crisping the bacon?
I don’t see why not!
Put the bacon on top of the casserole right before serving.
If I’m only doing 2 cans of green beans, how much of everything else would I need?
I made these for Christmas and am going to make again tomorrow for Easter. We grow and can our own green beans and I need to use them up before new crop so this is a perfect way to share with the whole family!
If using fresh green beans, what amount In pounds should I use?
I don’t know for sure but my best guess would be around 5 pounds fresh.
Made this for Thanksgiving side dish. Wonderful! Will use for church pot luck too.
(I did omit soy sauce)
So happy to hear it!
I made these delicious green beans for Thanksgiving and my family and friends could not stop eating them! My sons said to always make them like this! Will be making them for my family’s “Christmas Dinner Party”!
That’s so great to hear Debra!!
My entire family and other guests loved these! Thank you!
I’m not fond of soy sauce because it is too salty for me. Would the low sodium work as well?
It works great! That’s what I use, too.
Some in family will not eat pork would leaving it out spoil the flavor?
It won’t ruin the flavor but they will not be the same because the bacon provides a lot of the seasoning for this recipe.
Can I use bacon pieces rather than fresh bacon? If so, how much?
Yes. It’s around 3/4 cup.
Why would anyone use green beans from a can?? They are already mushy and then they’re cooked another hour. If I can’t get fresh for some reason I know I can always find frozen.
I actually don’t mind them from a can. I’ve had this recipe and green bean casserole with canned green beans for most of my life and like them just fine. But I also like it with fresh or frozen beans.
Hey! Could I make ahead and freeze this? I like to meal prep to make things easier! Thanks!
I haven’t tried it but I’d worry that the green beans would be terribly mushy after freezing.
If using frozen green beans, about how much would I need?? Thank you!
My best estimate is 8-9 cups.
I am not sure if I read if it would be ok to make this up the night before and put in the fridge. Then warm it up the next day.
I’d wait to add the bacon the day of so it won’t get soggy. Or maybe add half the bacon for the baking time, then add fresh crispy bacon the day you warm it up.
Last year your recipe was a hit. Making it again for Thanksgiving!
YAY – this makes my day! Happy Thanksgiving!
Making this for our family thanksgiving tonight and I’m so excited! I added a Tbsp of ginger to the sauce, I saw it in another recipe and it sounded good! I’ll report back!
If you do these in the crockpot, should you still drain all of the juice?
My brown sugar hardened when I pored the mixture on the green beans… is that ok?
Yes! It’ll melt in the oven.
Found this recipe today & it was terrific. I didn’t have any soy sauce on hand but did substitute with Worcestershire sauce & it turned out great. Thanks.
What a great substitution! So happy to hear this!
Hi Rose can I substitute the bacon since I don’t eat pork,if yes what isa good substitute for this recipe
Hi Lungi! The recipe is still just as delicious without the bacon!
OMG I made these last night and it turned out great. I sautéed some onions in the bacon fat that’s the only thing different thing I did. It was to much for us so I gave some to my neighbor and they asked for the recipe. Thanks for sharing this with us.
I’m so happy to hear this!!
Can you use with Allen’s Kentucky wonder green beans??
I’m not familiar with those beans, but I don’t see why they wouldn’t work!
This sounds great. I’ve never tried green beans with maple or brown sugar. Thanks for sharing at the What’s for Dinner party. Have a fabulous weekend.
So good! We really enjoyed the flavor and kid friendly too.
Is there anything I could substitute for soy sauce? I am allergic to soy.
I haven’t tried it but I feel like Worcestershire sauce would be a great substitute!
Do you bake covered with foil or uncovered ?
I do not cover with foil.
I added a chopped sweet onion the second time I made these. They were a great addition, if you like onions.
Wow that was strange. I just wrote an incredibly long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyhow, just wanted to say great blog!
Your post is a ray of light in the darkness. Thank you for brightening my day in a unique way. Keep shining!
thank you!
Thank you for the article, it is very useful for us.
If making with frozen green bean (thawed) should I cook them a little bit first or do you think 40 minutes is enough cooking time?
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“These green beans with bacon and brown sugar sound delightful! Perfect for adding flavor to holiday meals!”
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Best Beans Ever!!
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These Easy Green Beans with Bacon & Brown Sugar are the perfect balance of sweet, savory, and smoky flavors. Tender green beans are baked in a rich blend of brown sugar and soy sauce, then topped with crispy bacon for an irresistible side dish that everyone loves. Whether you’re planning a holiday feast, family gathering, or weeknight dinner, this simple recipe delivers restaurant-quality flavor with minimal effort. Its combination of comforting ingredients and crowd-pleasing taste makes it a standout addition to any meal.