Green Beans for a Crowd

Infused with flavor from cooking in bacon, onions and apple cider vinegar this Green Beans for a Crowd recipe is easy and delicious!

You may also be interested in our Cheesy Potatoes for a Crowd, Mac & Cheese for a Crowd, and Three Bean Salad.

Recipe For Green Beans in a Roaster

Making green beans in a roaster is a super easy and economical vegetable side dish for Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, a BBQ or big family gathering.

About 20 minutes of time in the kitchen is all it takes to make green beans recipe for a crowd. The roaster does the work and frees up space in the oven for a big party or holiday celebration.

Our Bacon-Onion Green Beans recipe is similar to is great for a small group, but this recipe for a large group is simple to make in a roaster.

To taste more like these Smoked Green Beans with Bacon add a few light dashes of liquid smoke.

Once cooked the beans will turn from bright green to a deeper, darker green color. Even in our own home we notice variation in our preference for how tender green beans should be.

When looking for a big batch of a cold side dish we love this Easy Macaroni Salad for a Crowd recipe or Pasta Salad for a Crowd recipe.

Tips & Tricks

• Different brands and sizes of roasters work differently, so be sure to test this recipe in your own appliance before serving at an important event.
• After the first hour stir every 30 minutes to prevent burning and to check doneness.
• There are many variables including changes in quantity, type of beans, amount of liquid, etc that can change the cooking time.
• If the roaster needs moved plan to have two people to help move so that a hot and heavy appliance doesn’t need to be handled by just one person.
• Beans and bacon are best made fresh the day you plan to cook and serve them. The bacon grease is easiest to mix with onions and vinegar and pour evenly over beans when warm and in liquid form.
• Leftover or extra green beans do freeze and reheat well when stored in a freezer container or self-sealing freezer bag.
• I have tested sprinkling green beans with pre-cooked bacon bits and the quality is significantly lower than frying bacon and using the drippings.
• After 2 hours of cooking the beans begin to soften, but are still a bit chewy.
• This recipe is not developed to completely submerge beans in water as it will rinse some of the seasoning off the top.
• Green beans can be submerged when cooking with chunks of red potatoes, baby potatoes and ham hocks.
• Can add 2 – 3 dashes of liquid smoke to the skillet while cooking onions if desired for more of a smoke flavor.
• Can sprinkle with additional chopped bacon for more flavor while serving if desired.

Our Arkansas Green Beans with soy sauce, brown sugar, butter and bacon could be adapted to be made in a big batch too.

How Many Pounds of Green Beans to Feed 50?

About 8 – 10 pounds of uncooked green beans without liquid will feed 50 people.

This is about 2/3 cup per serving of frozen, uncooked beans that cooks down into approximately 1/2 cup servings.

Should Bacon Be Cooked Before Adding to Green Beans?

The bacon should be fried and the last item added to the green beans.

Reserve the bacon drippings in the skillet and use them soften onions and stir in apple cider vinegar. The bacon drippings and apple cider vinegar infuse so much flavor to make really good beans as they cook.

How to Make Green Beans in a Roaster

Apply a generous coating of a professional non-stick spray like this Vegalene that we get at GFS.

Add frozen green beans and water to the roaster. Spread out evenly.

Sprinkle as evenly as possible with BBQ seasoning.

Fry bacon in a skillet; set aside and chop once cool. Reserve drippings.

Add apple cider vinegar and onions to the bacon drippings and simmer for about 5 minutes or until tender.

Once tender pour over the seasoned green beans as evenly as possible.

Next sprinkle chunks of bacon over the top. Then cover and set roaster to 350°F.

Cook for one hour and then stir. Continue to stir every 30 minutes until beans have reached desired tenderness. Then turn to keep warm until serving.

More Classic Holiday Side Dish Recipes:

Grandma’s Dressing Recipe is firm and flavorful with a secret step to make every bite smooth and delicious!

Scalloped Corn Casserole or Jiffy Corn Pudding are always on our holiday table.

My mom always makes this Citrus Glazed Sweet Potato Casserole without the citrus flavor and my father-in-law makes his Sweet Potato Soufflé.

Baked Vegetable Medley and Broccoli & Mushroom Casserole also make great veggie side dishes.