Sweet and Spicy Green Beans - The Best Keto Recipes (2024)

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These Sweet and Spicy Green Beans will be your new favorite keto side dish! This easy recipe is ready in just 20 minutes and has just 5 net carbs per serving.

Sweet and Spicy Green Beans - The Best Keto Recipes (1)

Easy Green Bean Recipe

These delicious Sweet and Spicy Green Beans are quick, simple, and super flavorful! Crunchy bacon and tender green beans are coated in a delicious 4-ingredient sugar-free sauce that you’ll love. Top with sesame seeds and red pepper flakes for the perfect side dish for nearly any entree. With just 5 net carbs and fewer than 100 calories, this easy green bean recipe is the perfect side dish on a low-carb or keto diet.

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Ingredients for Sweet & Spicy Green Beans

Here’s a quick overview of what you’ll need for this recipe. Find exact measurements at the bottom of the page in the printable recipe card.

  • Bacon – I prefer thick-cut bacon in this recipe because it gives a meatier bite that perfectly complements the green beans.
  • Green Beans – Fresh with ends trimmed. I don’t recommend frozen or canned green beans as they won’t get that crisp texture we’re looking for in this recipe.
  • Garlic – Freshly minced garlic has the most flavor, but you can use the pre-minced jar from the store to make the meal quicker.
  • Soy Sauce, Brown Sugar Monk Fruit, and Apple Cider Vinegar – Makes the flavorful sauce. Coconut aminos is a great soy-free alternative to soy sauce. Brown sugar Swerve or other alternative sweetener could be used instead of monk fruit. If you don’t have apple cider vinegar, substitute champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar for a similar flavor.
  • Optional: Sesame Seeds & Red Pepper Flakes – These are for garnish and add a great texture and flavor! If you don’t enjoy spicy foods, feel free to leave out the red pepper.

You’ll also need a small mixing bowl, a skillet, a slotted spoon, a paper towel lined plate, and a stovetop or hot plate.

How to Make Sweet and Spicy Green Beans

In addition to the ingredients listed above you will need a large skillet, cutting board and knife. This is an easy side dish recipe that can come together in just 20 minutes! Here’s a step-by-step guide for making these tasty green beans!

Cook the Bacon

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Warm a skillet to medium heat. While that’s warming up, cut your bacon into small pieces. Place the bacon into the hot pan and cook until bacon is crisp. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a paper towel lined plate. Set it aside for now.

Add Green Beans

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Pour off almost all of the bacon grease, but reserve 1 tablespoon for cooking the green beans. Add your trimmed green beans to the hot skillet and cook for 6-7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cook until the beans have begun to char, and they reach your preferred level of tenderness.

Toss in Sauce

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In a small bowl, combine the garlic, soy sauce, sweetener, and vinegar. Pour this into the hot skillet and toss the green beans to coat. Add bacon, sesame seeds, and crushed red pepper, then serve immediately.

Serve

We love these delicious green beans with an easy entree like Sesame Shrimp or this Slow Cooker Ginger Garlic Pork Tenderloin. To stretch the meal, you can add Cauliflower Fried Rice or Roasted Cabbage without weighing yourself down too much. These amazing Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts would make the best appetizer… The dipping sauce would be excellent with these green beans, too! Some other entrees include:

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Store

Allow these green beans to cool completely, then transfer any leftovers to an airtight container. It’ll last 3-4 days in the fridge. If you’re trying to prep this ahead of time, feel free to just cook the bacon, reserve one tablespoon of oil, and mix together the sauce ingredients. When you’re ready to cook, you’ll save another 5-10 minutes!

I don’t recommend freezing this recipe. Cooked green beans don’t keep a very crisp texture in the fridge, so they’re likely to become soggy and a bit mushy after freezing and thawing.

Reheat

Fresh green beans are best reheated in a hot skillet (medium heat, 2-5 minutes, shaking or stirring frequently), in the oven (350 degrees, 5-10 minutes, cover if you’re concerned they’ll brown too much), or in the air fryer (350 for 2-5 minutes, preferably with a liner so you don’t lose the bacon in the bottom).

You can microwave them, but they do lose some crispness this way. If microwaving, consider blasting at 50% power to prevent them from changing texture too much.

If you like this easy side dish, check out these simple recipes!

  • Crispy Green Bean Fries – These are easily breaded and quickly crisped up in the air fryer! Just 5.6 net carbs per serving.
  • Foil Pack Green Beans – This recipe uses a similar sauce, but the green beans basically get steamed in the tightly secured foil pack. I love that the only cleanup required is throwing away the foil!
  • Air Fryer Green Beans – Ready in about 10-12 minutes, this is such an easy, healthy recipe! Lemon juice adds a ton of flavor and perfectly complements this crispy veggie.
  • Green Bean Almondine – Our favorite holiday side dish! The texture of slivered almonds on crisp, fresh green beans, all with a sugar-free, delicious sauce… It can’t be beat!
  • Keto Bacon Wrapped Green Beans – These are SO flavorful with just steak marinade, a sugar-free sweetener, and a sprinkle of blue cheese!
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Green Bean FAQs

How do you trim green beans?

When trimming green beans, you just want to focus on the ends. Grab a handful of green beans and arrange them so that all of the bottom end lines up together. Cut the ends off with a knife (usually just 1/4″ or so is needed). Flip the green beans, arrange so that the remaining ends are lined up together. Cut off those ends, rinse beans with water, and pat dry.

Do I have to blanch green beans?

No, this is not a recipe that calls for blanching. Blanching is a great way to parcook your green beans, perfect for freezing but not for this recipe. If you do use blanched green beans, you’ll have a very mushy dish that likely won’t stick to much of the flavorful sauce.

Can I use frozen green beans? Canned green beans?

No, using frozen or canned green beans will make it impossible to achieve the crisp texture we’re looking for in this dish. Frozen and canned options have already been blanched, steamed, or otherwise cooked, so they don’t hold up as well in the skillet. If you do use frozen or canned, you’ll get extremely soft green beans that struggle to soak up the sweet-and-spicy sauce.

Are green beans keto?

Yes, green beans are a great veggie option on the keto diet! One cup of green beans has 7 grams of carbs, 2.7 grams of fiber, 0.2 grams of fat, and 1.8 grams of protein. 7 grams of carbs – 2.7 grams of fiber = 4.3 net carbs in a cup of green beans.

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Sweet and Spicy Green Beans

Annie

These Sweet and Spicy Green Beans will be your new favorite keto side dish! This easy recipe is ready in just 20 minutes and has just 5 net carbs per serving.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Keto

Servings 4 servings

Calories 77 kcal

Ingredients

  • 3 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 12 ounces fresh green beans ends trimmed
  • 3 cloves garlic very finely minced
  • 2 teaspoons EACH soy sauce brown sugar monkfruit, and apple cider vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • Red pepper flakes optional garnish

Instructions

  • Cut the bacon into small pieces and brown over medium heat. When the bacon is crisp, remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside.

  • Pour off all of the bacon grease except 1 tablespoon. Add the green beans to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, 6-7 minutes until they have begun to char and reached your desired tenderness.

  • In a small bowl combine the garlic, soy sauce, sweetener and apple cider vinegar. Toss the green beans in the sauce until the beans are well coated.

  • Add the bacon, sesame seeds and crushed red pepper for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes

  • Brown sugar Swerve or another alternative sweetener can also work in place of the monk fruit.
  • If you are not low carb you can use regular brown sugar in this recipe.

Net carbs are 5 g per serving

Nutrition

Serving: 1/4 of skilletCalories: 77kcalCarbohydrates: 7.4gProtein: 5gFat: 3.6gCholesterol: 8.5mgSodium: 223.3mgFiber: 2.4gSugar: 2.9g

Keyword easy sides, green bean recipe, keto side dish, side dish recipe

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Sweet and Spicy Green Beans - The Best Keto Recipes (2024)

FAQs

How many green beans can I eat on keto? ›

One cup of green beans contains almost 7 grams of carbohydrates so they can easily fit into a daily allowance of fewer than 50 grams in a keto diet. Green beans are a low-calorie, nutritious vegetable that can be a part of your healthy diet.

Which beans are best for keto? ›

Among these, black soybeans and green beans have the lowest carbs, potentially making them better for a keto diet. On the other hand, chickpeas, pinto beans, and navy beans have high carbs. You might want to avoid these if you're strictly following a keto diet.

What beans have the least net carbs? ›

Green beans have the lowest carbohydrate content of any bean. With only 2.4 grams of net carbs in a 100g serving, it is a great choice for any low-carb diet. While they may not be a good replacement for beans like Kidney Beans and Black Beans, this low-carb bean is easy to prepare in a variety of ways.

Are green beans high in carbs and sugar? ›

Do green beans have carbs? They do, but they are fairly low. Carbs in fresh green beans clock in at 7g total carbohydrates for a 1-cup serving [*]. Since green beans also have a good amount of fiber, net carbs in green beans add up to 4.3 grams for the same serving size.

Can you eat unlimited vegetables on keto? ›

You do not have to limit vegetables if you are on the keto diet or are considering it. Plenty of low-carb vegetable options include arugula, asparagus, bell peppers, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale, mushrooms, spinach, and tomatoes.

Can too many vegetables kick you out of ketosis? ›

Vegetables have carbohydrates. And that means that you have to watch how much of them you eat — even lettuce. If you're not careful or are eating them as a free-for-all, you could overconsume carbs and kick yourself out of ketosis.

Is peanut butter OK on keto? ›

Peanut butter can definitely be part of a keto diet, but it's best to stick to plain options that are free of extra flavors and sweeteners. Almond butter is a good choice, too, and it's slightly lower in carbs. Additionally, you should be mindful of your portion size if you're trying to lose weight.

What beans to avoid on keto? ›

are high in carbs, they are another type of ketogenic diet food to avoid:
  • Baked beans.
  • Chickpeas.
  • Lima beans.
  • Pinto beans.
  • Black beans.
  • Black-eyed peas.
  • Lentils.
  • Green peas.

Can you eat peppers on keto? ›

Peppers (green and red)

Carbs in sweet red bell pepper per 100g: 6g 5 Deliciously sweet and low-carb, you can't go wrong with a little bell pepper while you're following a keto diet. Stick to green and red peppers though, as they contain less sugar than yellow ones.

Why are green beans not keto? ›

Beans are generally considered a healthy food. They're rich in protein and fiber and provide a variety of vitamins and minerals. However, they also contain some carbs, so it can be a challenge to work them into a low carb, high fat keto diet.

Is sour cream ketogenic? ›

Regular, full fat sour cream is made from cream and contains far more fat than carbs. Therefore, it's considered keto-friendly. However, low fat or nonfat sour cream is not. Full fat sour cream can provide some variety in a keto diet when used as a dip base or incorporated into recipes to boost the fat content.

Can I eat peas on keto? ›

Peas are a starchy vegetable you'll want to avoid on keto. They have a higher amount of carbs than green nonstarchy veggies, such as broccoli or zucchini, and they have 12 g net carbs per cup, per the USDA. Try to stick to nonstarchy veggies.

What is the number 1 worst carb? ›

1. Sugary Foods. Most people already think of many of the foods in this category as unhealthy treats. Candy, soft drinks, and sweet desserts such as cake, chocolate, and ice cream are all expected entries on a list of carbs to avoid to lose weight.

How many carbs a day on keto? ›

The ketogenic diet typically reduces total carbohydrate intake to less than 50 grams a day—less than the amount found in a medium plain bagel—and can be as low as 20 grams a day. Generally, popular ketogenic resources suggest an average of 70-80% fat from total daily calories, 5-10% carbohydrate, and 10-20% protein.

Can you eat green beans with keto? ›

Green beans and black soybeans are keto-friendly bean options, each containing only 2 grams of net carbs per 1/2-cup (60–90-gram) serving. Some promising keto substitutes for beans include mushrooms, eggplant, avocado, ground meat, and boiled peanuts.

How many green beans is a serving? ›

A serving of green beans is one cup. This is about 20 medium green beans.

How many green beans for 4 servings? ›

“When alternative sides are plentiful, assume guests will eat a little less of each and one pound will serve four people,” Hartigan says. “And if vegetarians outnumber carnivores at your table, assume your green beans will go fast and assume that one pound will serve two people.”

Can you eat green beans on keto for weight loss? ›

Green beans, cauliflower, and kale are all low in net carbs but high in nutrients, making them three great veggies to add to your keto meal plan. Few diets have gained as much popularity in recent years as the ketogenic diet.

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