Cajun Smothered Green Beans
Smothered green beans is a simple side dish with an incredible amount of flavor. This cajun version has tender green beans simmered with onions, garlic, bacon, and smoked ham to soak up all the rich and savory flavor. It’s a vegetable side dish that is melt-in-your-mouth good.
Southern Green Beans
If you’re tired of eating green beans in the same boring way, you have to try these smothered green beans. They are one of my favorite green bean recipes, alongside Blackened Green Beans (another Cajun spiced green bean dish). The bacon and ham make them so rich and meaty, they are like a main course by themselves. They would make a great alternative to green bean casserole for the holidays!
Growing up in New Orleans, we ate smothered green beans often, usually served with Pot Roast, Homemade Cornbread, and perfectly cooked rice to soak up all those savory juices. If you’re in need of a slightly healthier green bean recipe, try Roasted Green Beans and Carrots or Roasted Green Beans and Brussels Sprouts.
What is Smothering?
“Smothering” is a classic technique in Louisiana and Cajun cooking. Generally smothered means food that has been cooked down until it’s tender and flavorful. Food is first browned to add a depth of flavor, then simmered in broth in a covered pot. It is usually protein that is smothered, like smothered chicken or smothered pork chops, but you can smother vegetables too. Smothered cabbage, smothered green beans, and smothered potatoes are all popular side dishes on a Louisiana dinner table.
Recipe Quick Notes
TLDR: Rich and savory green bean recipe that is just as much a meat dish as it is a vegetable one. Meant to be served as a side dish, but pour it over rice for a main course. The rice soaks up the rich broth in the most delicious way.
Lauren’s Take: Smothered green beans were a staple growing up in New Orleans. We always made ours with ham and bacon, but feel free to make it with andouille sausage! If you think you don’t like green beans, I am sure this dish will change your mind.
Taste: Super savory green beans with a slight smoky flavor from the bacon and ham. Cajun spiced, but not spicy. They are rich, well salted, and unctuous.
Texture: Green beans should be tender, but not mushy, studded with bites of bacon and ham. Together the green beans and sautéed onions will melt in your mouth.
Time: Ready in about an hour.
Testing Notes: I tested this recipe with my homemade cajun seasoning, as well as Tony Chachere’s Creole Seasoning. Store bought seasoning can be pretty salty, so start with a little and add more as needed.
Expert Tips
- Don’t salt till the end. I teach you to salt in layers in my recipes so the final dish is properly salted, but not in this recipe. Since bacon is already salty, you can skip adding salt when sautéing the onions. Taste at the very end and add salt or cajun seasoning as needed. I find I will rarely need more salt when making this recipe.
- Don’t skip the parsley. I know parsley can be seen as an afterthought and “just a garnish” in a dish, but I promise it serves a purpose! This dish is rich and meaty, and the fresh parsley at the end adds just a bit of herbaceousness to balance it out.
- Don’t overcook it. The green beans should be tender and cooked down, but not complete mush. This is why I like using fresh green beans as opposed to canned or frozen, since they will hold up better to the longer cooking time required for “smothering”.
- Save some crispy bacon for topping. The bacon pieces in this recipe will cook down and become soft in the smothering process. Cook off a few extra strips of bacon and set them aside to crumble on top before serving for some texture contrast.
Ingredients & Substitutions
See the recipe card below for the complete list of ingredients and measurements.
- Fresh green beans – You can also use frozen green beans or canned green beans. If using canned, see the notes in the recipe card to reduce cook time.
- Onion – Use a yellow or sweet onion. A white onion will even work in a pinch!
- Bacon – Starting this dish with bacon adds umami and a smoky flavor. It also adds bacon grease to sauté the vegetables in.
- Smoked ham – I love the meaty bite that ham adds to the dish. You can also throw in a ham bone or a ham hock if you have one! Andouille sausage can be used in place of smoked ham.
- Stock or broth – Both chicken broth and vegetable broth will work for this recipe.
- Seasonings – I use dried basil, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and cajun seasoning. I am partial to my homemade cajun seasoning recipe, but you can use store bought as well.
Need more recipes for fresh green beans? Check out green bean casserole for two, prefect for an intimate holiday celebration or when you’re just craving some Thanksgiving style green beans!
Equipment needed
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Buy Now → How to Make Smothered Green Beans
Step One: Sauté
Sauté bacon and onions together until bacon is crispy and onions are translucent, then stir in garlic.
Step Two: Roux
Sprinkle flour over the bacon and onions and stir. Cook for 1-2 minutes while stirring.
Step Three: Whisk
Slowly whisk in vegetable broth and stir, scraping up any fond that has formed on the bottom of the pot.
Step Four: Simmer
Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Step Five: Reduce
Simmer for another 5-10 minutes uncovered to thicken the sauce.
Step Six: Finish
Stir in the remaining parsley and add cajun seasoning as needed to finish seasoning.
Serve warm as a side dish, or over rice or potatoes as a main course. Add a dash of hot sauce for some extra heat.
Storage & Make Ahead
How to store leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days.
How to freeze: I don’t recommend freezing this recipe, as the green beans are likely to get mushy when defrosted.
How to reheat: This recipe reheats just fine in the microwave.
Make ahead: You can make this recipe a day in advance, and reheat it before serving. The leftovers are just as good as when fresh, maybe even a little better!
What to Serve With Smothered Green Beans
Smothered green beans is one of those dishes we had at least a few times a month growing up in New Orleans. It was often served with pot roast, mac and cheese, and cornbread for Sunday dinner.
- Serve it over perfectly cooked rice as a side or main dish. The rice soaks up the gravy and it is so so good.
- Blackened Chicken
- Smothered Pork Chops
- Fried Chicken
- Homemade Cajun Cornbread
- Southern Braised Pot Roast
- Smothered Chicken
Variations
Smothered green beans and potatoes. You will often see green beans smothered down with potatoes too. To make this dish with potatoes, wash and peel 1 pound of red potatoes. Cube the potatoes into 1 inch pieces. After the green beans have simmered covered for 15 minutes, add in the potatoes and stir. Continue simmering with the pot covered for another 15 minutes and continue the recipe as directed.
Creole version. Cajun and Creole cooking in New Orleans are pretty closely intertwined, but one of the main distinctions is Creole food often contains tomatoes, whereas Cajun food does not. If you want to make a creole version of this dish, add a can of diced tomatoes, or 1 pound diced fresh tomatoes, when you add the green beans. Reduce the amount of broth by ½ cup.
More Louisiana Recipes
Classic Louisiana recipes like Red Beans and Rice and Gumbo.
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Cajun Smothered Green Beans Recipe
Equipment
- Knife
- Large heavy pot or dutch oven with a lid
- Whisk
Ingredients
- 1 ½ pound fresh green beans trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 1 large onion diced (about 1 ½ cup)
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 4 ounces bacon chopped (about 4-5 thick cut strips)
- 4 ounces smoked ham ½ inch cubes
- 1 tablespoon all purpose flour heaping tablespoon
- 2 cups vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon dried basil
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ¼ cup finely chopped fresh parsley divided
- Cajun seasoning or salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- PREP: Trim green beans and cut them into approximately 2 inch pieces. Chop onion and mince garlic. Chop bacon into bite sized pieces, and chop ham into approximately ½ inch cubes.
- SAUTÉ: Heat a heavy bottomed pot with a lid over medium heat. Add bacon and onions and cook for about 15 minutes until bacon is crispy and onions are translucent. Stir occasionally. Add garlic and cook until fragrant, about a minute, while stirring.
- ROUX: Make a light roux by sprinkling flour over the bacon and onions and stir until well combined. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
- WHISK: Slowly whisk in vegetable broth and stir, scraping up any fond that has formed on the bottom of the pot.
- SIMMER: Add green beans, ham, dried basil, dried thyme, cayenne pepper, and half the parsley to the pot. Stir to combine. Bring up to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- FINISH: Uncover the pot and simmer for about another 5-10 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and reduced. Stir in the remaining parsley. Taste and add cajun seasoning or salt and pepper if necessary.
- SERVE: Serve warm as a side dish, or over rice or potatoes.
Notes
- Substitute ham for andouille sausage.
- Cook a few extra strips of bacon to crumble on top before serving.
- If using frozen green beans, throw them in frozen. No need to thaw.
- If using canned green beans, cut the simmering time by half so you don’t end up with mushy green beans.
- To make this dish with potatoes, wash and peel 1 pound of red potatoes. Cube the potatoes into 1 inch pieces. After the green beans have simmered covered for 15 minutes, add in the potatoes and stir. Continue simmering with the pot covered for another 15 minutes and continue the recipe as directed.
- Serve it over perfectly cooked white rice for a meal.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4-5 days. I don’t recommend freezing, as the green beans are likely to get mushy when defrosted.
- This recipe reheats just fine in the microwave.
Nutrition
Meet Lauren
I’m the blogger, recipe developer, food photographer, and otherwise food obsessed gal behind Lauren From Scratch. I was born and raised in New Orleans and lived in South Louisiana most of my life. Growing up around Cajun country has instilled a love of food that runs deep in my bones. I am passionate about food and teaching you how to make mouth-watering Louisiana inspired dishes in your own kitchen!
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