Slow Cooker Barbecued Green Beans are sweet and tangy bbq green beans with lots of smoky bbq flavor. Made from canned beans, they are a cinch to make and are a great side dish for potlucks and family meals. They are kind of like the flavor of baked beans, only with green beans. What’s not to love about that?

Slow Cooker Barbecued Green Beans

BBQ Green Beans

I love the flavor of bbq sauce. It is like ketchup to me. I even use it as pizza sauce. It’s definitely a good complement for green beans.

I find recipes featuring green beans are very popular. Southern-Style Green Beans and Sweet and Sour Green Beans are two of the most popular recipes on Spicy Southern Kitchen. As much as I love both recipes, I think this Slow Cooker Barbecued Green Beans recipe is my favorite. It’s almost like green bean candy.

BBQ Green Beans cooked in the slow cooker.

How To Make Canned Green Beans Taste Homemade

This recipe turns canned green beans into a side dish that tastes homemade. With a bunch of extra flavors added, no one will guess you started with canned beans. Be sure to try these other canned green bean recipes: Rotel Green Beans and Candied Green Beans.

How To Make

(More detailed instructions below.)

The canned green beans are slow cooked with ketchup, brown sugar, BBQ sauce (use your favorite) and Worcestershire sauce. And bacon. Lots of bacon. I like to add just a touch of cayenne pepper to balance the sweetness some.

Four to five hours in the crock pot on LOW and the green beans are coated in the most amazing sweet and tangy flavor!

BBQ Green Beans slow cooked with lots of bacon.

Can I Use Fresh Or Frozen Beans?

Yes! If using fresh, either blanch them before adding them to the slow cooker or cook them a little longer in the slow cooker. If using frozen, thaw them first.

More Slow Cooker Side Dishes

Barbecued Green Beans cooked in a crock pot.


Slow Cooker Barbecued Green Beans

4.98 from 35 votes

By Christin Mahrlig

Prep: 10 minutes
Cook: 4 hours
Total: 4 hours 10 minutes
Servings: 8
Slow Cooker Barbecued Green Beans are sweet and tangy with lots of smoky bbq flavor.

Equipment

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Ingredients

  • 8 slices thick-cut bacon
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup ketchup
  • 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup BBQ sauce
  • 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 4 (14.5-ounce) cans green beans,, drained

Instructions 

  • Chop bacon and cook it in a large nonstick pan. Remove bacon and set aside.
  • Discard all but 2 tablespoons bacon grease. Add onion to bacon grease left in pan and cook until soft.
  • In a medium bowl, stir together ketchup, brown sugar, BBQ sauce, Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper.
  • Add green beans to a lightly greased 4 to 6 quart crock pot. 
  • Add onions along with any bacon grease left in pan to crock pot.
  • Pour ketchup mixture on top and stir in.
  • Sprinkle bacon on top. Cover crock pot and cook on LOW for 4 to 5 hours.

Nutrition

Calories: 185kcal

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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84 Comments

  1. Jody stephens says:

    Has anyone halved this recipe?

  2. Carol says:

    Do you think I could add potatoes along with the green beans?

    1. karen says:

      I think you could. Use the small red potatoes (new potatoes), cut them in half or quarters to make sure they cook through the first time and then you can adjust how you cut them, if at all next time. I was planning to do the same thing!

      1. Paddy says:

        Can u add the bacon at the end, I like my bacon crispy? Or does this take away from the taste?

        1. margaret giambrone says:

          i’d put half in at the beginning and half when done. why not?

  3. laurel stringfellow says:

    what a perfect use of a crock pot. the flavor is amazing!

  4. Diane says:

    Can I bake in the oven instead? If so. What temp and how long?

    1. Karen says:

      I’ve seen recipes that bake for 1 hour at 350 or 3 hours at 250.

  5. L says:

    I wasn’t sure about the combination of bbq sauce and green beans, but made this recipe with no changes. So Good!!

  6. Holly says:

    If you use cut canned green beans and not French, do we still think it will take 4 hours? Seems like they would be slop by the end.

    1. Barbara testerman says:

      No, the extra time helps flavors to blend.

  7. Nancy Chapman says:

    I use three 10 ounce bags of Bird’s Eye Steam Fresh frozen cut green beans, thawed and drained. I also put a double layer of paper towels under the crock pot lid to prevent the condensation from diluting the sauce. It comes out great! My son has called me twice to make sure I’m making these again for Thanksgiving. Double batch this year!

    1. Jessie Rasmussen says:

      Thank you for the comment about frozen beans, I am not a fan of canned, nor is my husband, so knowing frozen is an option with the paper towel tip is greatly appreciated!

  8. Connie Kine says:

    I was looking for a vegetable recipe that was gluten free for a Master Gardener carry-in. This sounds perfect!!!!!

  9. Hollie says:

    The recipe did not specify to drain and I didn’t, I still to me were good, but I don’t think I got the true flavor of how they should be. For people who are in a hurry when doing them, adding out beside the ingredients, drained, would be awesome!!! Will definitely try them again the correct way!!! Thank you!!!

  10. Anna M says:

    I love this recipe, I’ve made it several times. The only thing I do differently is I use different types of green beans. I use one can of plain green beans, 1 can of shelly beans, 1 French cut, and 1 Italian cut. I just like that this gives it a different texture ๐Ÿ˜€

    1. Christin Mahrlig says:

      Such a great idea to use different types of beans!