Air fryer green beans with bacon is a quick and easy recipe that can be cooked in just 15 minutes! Made with fresh, frozen, or canned green beans, this delicious recipe makes an excellent side dish to chicken, steak or fish! You can even eat it as a meal if you want!
I love making these green beans because they are so good and my kids love them! These green beans are perfect for little toddler fingers. I usually pair these with some potatoes, rice or noodles, and a protein like chicken, steak, or salmon.
Serve these with my easy air fryer breakfast potatoes, Instant Pot baby potatoes, or my Southern fried potatoes.
Why You Will Love This Recipe:
- Its quick! This recipe can be made in just 15 minutes.
- It easy. Only 5 steps and you’re done.
- These are the best green beans ever! Why? Because BACON. Bacon makes everything the best, right?
- These green beans taste just like oven roasted green beans except they take half the time.
- Eat it as a meal. You can totally eat this as a meal if you want. It’s perfect for busy weeknights. It goes great over rice or potatoes, or you can eat it alone if you are wanting a low carb meal.
Watch How To Make This Recipe Here!
What To Serve With Green Beans And Bacon:
These green beans go great with potatoes like my air fryer breakfast potatoes, Instant Pot baby potatoes, or my Southern fried potatoes. Mashed potatoes go great with these green beans as well.
Here are some protein options that go well with green beans:
- Steak
- Salmon
- Hamburger Steak
- Pork Chops
- Chicken
- Meat loaf
- Salisbury Steak
- Smoked Sausage
Q&A:
Yes, you can use frozen green beans for this recipe. You will need to run the green beans under cool water, then pat them dry with a paper towel to remove as much water as possible so that they don’t steam in the air fryer. Once the green beans are dry, you can proceed with the recipe below.
Yes, just be sure to completely drain the green beans before putting them into the air fryer. Once the green beans are dry, you can proceed with the recipe below.
You can reheat these green beans in the air fryer at 400F for 1-2 minutes.
For this recipe I did not preheat the air fryer because I found it easier to add the ingredients to the air fryer without it being hot. Keep in mind that if you do preheat your air fryer before adding the ingredients, they will cook faster.
Equipment Needed:
- Air Fryer
- Mixing Bowl
- Tongs
Ingredients:
- Green Beans - I used bagged green beans that I purchased from Costco. They came washed and trimmed.
- Bacon - I used Kirkland bacon, center cut and thick. I recommend using a thick cut bacon, but if you use a thinner cut you will just need to reduce the cooking time by a couple of minutes.
- Yellow Onion - Sweet onion, shallot, or red onion will work too or you can omit altogether if you don’t like onion. I only used a quarter of the onion for this recipe and stored the remainder of the onion in a Ziploc bag in the fridge.
- Lemon - You will need half of a lemon to squeeze fresh lemon juice onto the green beans at the end. The lemon juice adds an amazing fresh flavor. I used the other half of the lemon to make lemon water.
- Olive Oil - Avocado Oil works great too.
- Salt
- Ground Black Pepper
- Garlic Powder
Instructions:
1. Cut green beans in half (wash and trim if needed), chop yellow onion, and cut bacon.
2. In a medium bowl, combine the green beans, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Stir until the green beans are well coated.
3. Add the green beans to the air fryer basket. Then top with the onion and bacon. Make sure the bacon and onions are spread out evenly over the green beans.
4. Air fry the green beans at 370 F for 10-12 minutes until the bacon is crispy and green beans are slightly brown and shriveled. Be sure to check on them halfway through at 6 minutes.
5. Remove the green beans from air fryer and place on a serving dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over top, serve, and enjoy!
Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans Instructions:
Rinse the frozen green beans under cool water then pat them dry with a paper towel. You'll want to get them as dry as possible so that they don't steam in the air fryer. Once they are dry you can proceed with instructions 1 through 5 of this Air Fryer Green Beans with Bacon recipe.
Air Fryer Canned Green Beans Instructions:
When using canned green beans, you will want to get the green beans as dry as possible before placing them into the air fryer. To do this, drain the water from the can of green beans, then place the green beans on a paper towel. Gently pat the green beans with a paper towel to soak up as much water as possible. Be sure not to press too hard on the green beans to avoid smashing them. Once they are dry you can proceed with instructions 1 through 5 of this Air Fryer Green Beans with Bacon recipe.
Customize Your Green Beans:
- Make it spicy by sprinkling on some red pepper flakes or adding a drizzle of sriracha hot sauce.
- Topping ideas: Try some shaved almonds, parmesan cheese, sautéed mushrooms, or chopped peanuts.
- Add some Asian flavor: Try adding a teaspoon or more of sesame oil to taste.
- Add some soy sauce: A teaspoon of low sodium soy sauce tossed in tastes great! If you use regular soy sauce then omit the salt from the recipe.
- Don’t want bacon? Leave it out to make this dish vegetarian.
- Don’t have a lemon? That's okay, you can leave the lemon juice out. It still tastes great without it!
- Don’t like onion? Leave it out.
Storage And Reheating Instructions:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
- Leftovers can be reheated in the air fryer at 400F for 1-2 minutes or in the microwave until desired temperature is reached.
Pro Tips:
- Put the bacon and onions on top. This helps the bacon and onion cook more evenly and prevents them from falling to the bottom of the air fryer basket.
- I used my Instant Vortex Plus 6qt to test this recipe. Cooking times could vary based on what air fryer you are using. Just be sure to check on the green beans around halfway through at 6 minutes to check for doneness. It is done when the bacon is crisp and the green beans are slightly shriveled and browned.
Try These Other Easy Air Fryer Recipes Next!
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Easy Air Fryer Green Beans with Bacon + Video
Equipment
- Air Fryer
- Mixing Bowl
- Tongs
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans washed and trimmed if needed
- 3 slices bacon cut into ½ inch pieces
- ¼ cup yellow onion chopped
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
Instructions
- Cut green beans in half (wash and trim if needed), chop yellow onion, and cut bacon.
- In a medium bowl, combine the green beans, olive oil, salt, pepper, garlic powder. Stir until the green beans are well coated.
- Add the green beans to the air fryer basket. Then top with the onion and bacon. Make sure the bacon and onions are spread out evenly over the green beans.
- Air fry the green beans at 370 F for 10-12 minutes until the bacon is crispy and green beans are slightly brown and shriveled. Be sure to check on them halfway through at 6 minutes.
- Remove the green beans from air fryer and place on a serving dish. Squeeze fresh lemon juice over top, serve, and enjoy!
Air Fryer Frozen Green Beans Instructions
- Rinse the frozen green beans under cool water then pat them dry with a paper towel. You'll want to get them as dry as possible so that they don't steam in the air fryer. Once they are dry you can proceed with instructions 1 through 5 of this Air Fryer Green Beans with Bacon recipe.
Air Fryer Canned Green Beans Instructions
- When using canned green beans, you will want to get the green beans as dry as possible before placing them into the air fryer. To do this, drain the water from the can of green beans, then place the green beans on a paper towel. Gently pat the green beans with a paper towel to soak up as much water as possible. Be sure not to press too hard on the green beans to avoid smashing them. Once they are dry you can proceed with instructions 1 through 5 of this Air Fryer Green Beans with Bacon recipe.
Tonia
What a simple, delicious, and beautiful dish! I went "whole meal" on your site last night and made these green beans with your air fryer potatoes. Everyone was fat and happy! Next time I may go extra and add one of your aioli dips for the leftover potatoes!
Jackie
I made this and it was very easy and delicious. I should have had more beans but I will next time.
Ivory
Yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed!
Joyce
My air fryer does not have a basket it has 3 shelves can I still cook the beans in it
Ivory
These can be cooked in an air fryer oven as well. You will just need to adjust the time as needed and check halfway through (usually, it takes a couple minutes longer).
Ryan
This was so good! I ate it as a meal. I add a little brown sugar to mine. Yum! Will be making this again.
Tammy
Can you make in the oven? I don't have an air fryer?
Ivory
Yes, you can make these in the oven (oven roasted green beans with bacon yum). It will take longer, but it will still be delicious! Follow the recipe above using your oven. Preheat your oven to 425 F. Place ingredients on a sheet pan. Once the oven has reached 425f, bake until the bacon is brown and crispy and they green beans are soft and slightly browned (18-20 minutes).