Chef notes

Most of the sides that accompany a traditional holiday roast are often dense and rich, so it’s always a good idea to have a few colorful dishes that are a little lighter and less heavy. Green bean casserole may be a fan favorite for Thanksgiving, but we tend to be partial to this lighter take on the classic year-round. All of the familiar flavors of green bean casserole can be found in this recipe. And with just four ingredients, this is a great side dish to make if the rest of your Thanksgiving prep is going to be a little hectic (which, let’s be honest, it will be).

When green beans are in season during the winter, they offer a nice balance of sweet, earthy and fresh flavors. They don’t need much to make them taste even better, but who is going to turn down a salty bacon garnish? For this recipe, start out by frying a few thick slices of bacon, allowing all of the fat to render and the meat to get nice and crisp.

While the bacon cools, sauté a sweet shallot in the same pan (that’s right, we’re not letting any bacon grease go to waste here!) As soon as the shallot has softened, add the green beans and cook them until they are just tender. You don’t want them to be mushy, so turn off the heat when they still have a slight bite to them. This recipe serves about four people, so if you have a lot of mouths to feed on Thanksgiving, double the recipe. And if you end up with leftovers, no one will be upset.

Get Ingredients: If you don’t have everything you need on hand, you can easily purchase all of the ingredients (just click the orange button below that says ‘Get Ingredients’). You can pick and choose exactly what ingredients you need based on what’s in your pantry and they’ll be on your doorstep before you know it.

Ingredients

3 slices bacon, roughly chopped
1 large shallot, minced

1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into halves or thirds
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

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Preparation

In. a large skillet set over medium heat, add the bacon and cook until it's and has rendered its fat, about 8 minutes. Scoop the bacon bits out of the pan and set aside.

Add the shallot to the pan and cook until translucent and just starting to brown, about 3 minutes.

Stir in the green beans to coat in the shallot and bacon fat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the green beans are tender, 8 to 10 minutes.

Toss the green beans and shallot with the reserved bacon and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve warm.