Our bacon and green bean appetizer is the ultimate small bites appetizer for a holiday recipe!
Listen. This green bean and potato appetizer is the real McCoy.
First, thick-cut bacon is involved.
This recipe also makes good use of leftover mashed potatoes.
The same goes for any cranberry sauce still sitting in your fridge.
And all this yumminess is topped with North Bay Produce Organic French Green Beans.
Bacon + Green Bean Appetizer
When I say this green bean appetizer hits all the high notes, I kid you not.
It’s like a holiday meal in a small bite.
The savory, thick-cut bacon is to die for.
There’s also the surprise of the cheddar cheese bottom—they’ll never see it coming!
The savory sweetness of the maple syrup cranberry sauce is unmatched!
All of this goodness is topped with fresh organic French green beans dusted with smoked sea salt.
What You Will Need
North Bay Organic French Green Beans. It’s no secret a recipe is only as good as the ingredients; that’s why we love North Bay Produce. Their Organic French Green Beans are grown in Guatemala, and that’s part of what makes NBP our favorite.
Thick-cut bacon and Cheddar Cheese. We made cups by wrapping sliced thick-cut bacon around small metal containers and baking them until they were crispy; then, shredded cheese was placed into the bottom of a round of bacon and heated until melted. When bacon is removed from the oven and cooled, the cheese hardens and becomes the bottom of the bacon cup.
Mashed Potatoes. The leftover mashed potatoes are placed into a large zip-lock bag and cut off a lower corner of the bag using a sharp pair of kitchen shears. Then squeeze the potatoes into the corner of the bag with the hole, and then pipe the potatoes into the bacon cup.
Cranberry & Maple Syrup. Leftover cranberry sauce gets an upgrade with the addition of pure maple syrup. The sweet and tart mixture tops our green bean and potato appetizer.
Ingredients for Green Bean Appetizer
Serving size: 5-6
- North Bay Produce Organic French Green Beans
- 6-10 slices of thick-cut bacon (make as many based on your serving size)
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1-2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup cranberry sauce
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- sea salt or kosher salt
- freshly cracked black peppercorns
Equipment:
- skillet or sheet pan
- silicone baking mat
- pastry brush
- kitchen shears
- butcher’s twine
- metal sauce cups
- medium-size zip-lock or piping bag
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Brush the metal sauce cups with canola oil and wrap a slice of thick-cut bacon snugly around the metal cup with the fat side down.
Place the bacon-wrapped metal cup upside-down on a silicone mat set on a baking sheet.
Secure the bacon to the cup using a length of butcher’s twine.
Place the bacon on the center rack and cook until the bacon is cooked through and just crispy.
Take the bacon out of the oven and let it cool until it is safe enough to handle.
Cut the twine, and if necessary, gently run the sharp blade of a paring knife under the bacon to separate it from each cup.
Place the bacon rings on a plate and discard only rendered fat from the baking sheet.
Invert the bacon cups with their narrow end down on the baking sheet, and place a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese into the bottom of each bacon ring.
Place the sheet pan back into the still-warm oven and reduce the heat to 200 degrees. Allow the cheese to melt; this should only take a few minutes.
Remove the bacon from the oven and allow them to cool.
Spoon mashed potatoes into a zip-lock bag and press the contents to a corner of the bag, using a sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut off a lower corner.
Pipe the mashed potatoes into the bacon cups, and press (2) 2-inch cut French green beans into the potatoes at opposing angles.
Top each appetizer with a tsp of the cranberry and maple syrup mixture.
Serve warm.
Can I make this green bean appetizer a day ahead?
Yes. You can make these green bean appetizers a day or two ahead and store them in an air-tight container like a cupcake holder or Rubbermaid Brilliance BPA Free Food Storage Containers with Lids.
Can I use canned green beans to make this recipe?
Of course, if you don’t have fresh green beans, it’s easy to make this into a canned green beans with bacon recipe.
However, fresh is best, so we recommend looking for North Bay Produce’s fresh, organic French Beans Green Beans at your local grocery store.
Can I substitute another filling for this green bean and potato recipe?
Absolutely; instead of mashed potatoes, you can use one of the following:
- white rice
- wild rice
- savory polenta
- cheesy grits
- mashed sweet potato
- quinoa
You got the recipe; now you have everything you need to make your version of this yummy small bites recipe.
More Recipes:
Bacon and Green Bean Appetizer
Ingredients
- North Bay Produce Organic French Green Beans
- 6-10 slices of thick-cut bacon
- 1 tbsp canola oil
- 1-2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
- 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
- 1/3 cup cranberry sauce
- 1 tbsp pure maple syrup
- sea salt or kosher salt
- freshly cracked black peppercorns
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Brush the metal sauce cups with canola oil and wrap a slice of thick-cut bacon snugly around the metal cup with the fat side down.
- Place the bacon-wrapped metal cup upside-down on a silicone mat set on a baking sheet.
- Secure the bacon to the cup using a length of butcher's twine.
- Place the bacon on the center rack and cook until the bacon is cooked through and just crispy.
- Take the bacon out of the oven and let it cool until it is safe enough to handle.
- Cut the twine, and if necessary, gently run the sharp blade of a paring knife under the bacon to separate it from each cup.
- Place the bacon rings on a plate and discard only rendered fat from the baking sheet.
- Invert the bacon cups with their narrow end down on the baking sheet, and place a tablespoon of shredded cheddar cheese into the bottom of each bacon ring.
- Place the sheet pan back into the still-warm oven and reduce the heat to 200 degrees. Allow the cheese to melt; this should only take a few minutes.
- Remove the bacon from the oven and allow them to cool.
- Spoon mashed potatoes into a zip-lock bag and press the contents to a corner of the bag, using a sharp pair of kitchen shears to cut off a lower corner.
- Pipe the mashed potatoes into the bacon cups, and press (2) 2-inch cut French green beans into the potatoes at opposing angles.
- Top each appetizer with a tsp of the cranberry and maple syrup mixture.
- Serve warm.
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