Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans

Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans is easy to make, and it makes a perfect side dish for a BBQ meal. Cooked on the BBQ, these beans make it easy to add a side of vegetables with no hassles.

Originally posted in March 2021, updated with new information in May 2026.

Our favourite time to serve this dish is when green and yellow beans are in season, which is late July to September in our province of Ontario. But we have also made this dish for Thanksgiving and Christmas because it can also be made in the oven.

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to consumers. Some of the links in this post are affiliate links. If you click these links and make a purchase we may earn a commission. Keep in mind that we link these products because of their quality, not because of the commission we may receive from purchases.

Ingredients For Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans

To make this dish, you need these simple ingredients:

• Green and yellow beans. We use fresh beans to make this recipe.
• Butter. Salted or unsalted. Use what you have on hand.
• Bacon. Usually, we use reduced-salt bacon.
• Garlic. Fresh garlic is best for this recipe.
• Salt and pepper.

Fresh or Frozen Beans?

During the summer when beans are in season, we make this recipe with freshly picked beans from the garden. Or we pick up fresh beans when we visit local Farmer’s Markets. Check when beans are in season in Canada.

In winter months it is harder to find fresh vegetables, or fresh is expensive, so we use frozen beans.

Canned beans have not been tested with this recipe.

French-cut green beans are not recommended since they turn to mush in this recipe. Whole green and yellow beans work best.

Do The Beans Have To Be Parboiled First?

Yes, the beans should be parboiled first to make sure they cook through completely.

Without parboiling first, the beans will cook unevenly and could become hard instead of cooking through.

Can You Use Only Green Beans?

Yellow beans are sometimes harder to find than green beans. Although the recipe calls for both green and yellow beans, it can be made with just green or yellow beans. Any combination of the two can be used.

Sometimes we use only ½ pound of yellow beans just to add colour and one pound of green beans.

Easy to make for any occasion

This dish makes a great side for any occasion. We like to make this dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter, but we also serve it for a regular weeknight dinner.

For an added flavour, we add freshly grated Parmesan to the top of the finished product.

When making this dish for a weeknight dinner, we make only half the recipe. That’s what is great about Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans, it can be halved, doubled, or tripled very easily. When altering the size of the recipe, we use different-sized pans. For a half recipe, a bread pan is all you need.

What Kind Of Pan Is This Recipe Made In?

For a regular recipe, we use an 8×8 inch pan, and for larger batches a 13×9 inch pan. A casserole dish also works well for fancier occasions to go from oven to table.

When it comes to making this on a BBQ, we sometimes use disposable foil pans to cook the beans. This means less clean-up and the pans go right into the recycling.

Cast-iron pans are also a great choice to make this dish.

Smoking Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans

When smoking the beans, you can use your favourite wood. Maple is our choice for vegetables but apple wood also is a good choice.

It will take longer to smoke this recipe than it does in the oven or on the BBQ since the smoking temp should be set at 200°F.  Smoke, uncovered, for 30-45 minutes, then finish cooking at 350°F for 10 minutes with smoke.

Serving Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans

Garlic Bacon Green and Yellow Beans should be served hot, while the butter is still melted and can be poured over the beans as they are served. 

These beans complement just about any BBQ meat, especially beef buts such as brisket or steak. 

To complete a meal, serve these beans with meat and another side dish like our Copycat Kraft Macaroni Salad.

What To Do With Leftover Beans

Any leftovers can be refrigerated for up to 3 days in an air-tight container. Reheat in the microwave. These beans are great for topping a salad for lunch. I have also served this dish with rice and grilled chicken when meal planning for the week. (A chicken recipe that pairs well with this recipe is Sweet Chili Lime Chicken Breasts.)

If you’ve made this recipe, leave a comment below to let us know what you think.