Name: Hickory Smoked Green Beans Recipe
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 180 min
Yield: 10 people
Ingredients: 6 cups green beans, (fresh); 2 cups chicken broth; 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar; 1/4 cup onion, (diced); 1 teaspoon ground pepper; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 6-8 slices bacon, (bite size pieces); sliced almonds, (optional)

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Green beans are a classic side dish for any barbeque and are full of flavor. Cooked low and slow in the smoker with hickory wood and bacon, these are a crowd fave!

Smoked Green Beans

Can you smoke green beans in a smoker? Absolutely! Why would I want to smoke green beans in a smoker? Convenience and flavor!

Green beans have a wonderful taste when smoked. And I love smoked green beans. The taste is full of hickory smoke and bacon. I smoke a lot of different foods in my smoker, like my Smoked Brisket, and I love making side dishes in the smoker because of the convenience. And the flavor. Smoked anything just tastes delish. I don’t know about you, but I like to avoid heating up my kitchen in the summer as much as possible so anytime I can cook an entire meal in the smoker, I do it.

Preparing The Smoker

I only smoke side dishes when I’m smoking a piece of meat. You could prepare the smoker for just a side dish or two, but why would you? Make a meal out of it. Prepping the wood chunks, water pan, and cleaning the smoker takes some effort so if you’re going to smoke some food, smoke as much as you. Plus, smoked leftovers are wonderful.

Before we jump into this recipe, there’s a couple of things you’ll need to know about prepping your smoker.

Wrap the water pan – I wrap my water pan with heavy duty aluminum foil before I add the water. By doing this you’re saving yourself a lot of mess. Less cleanup is always better. I also add about a Tablespoon of Liquid Smoke to my water to help contribute to the smoky flavor. But that’s optional.
Wood Chunks or Wood Chips? – Are you going to use wood chips or chunks? Are you going to pre-soak them? I personally prefer using wood chunks when I smoke food because it’s been my experience that they produce more smoke for a longer period of time. And I always soak my chunks at least 3-4 hours before I smoke, if not overnight.
Wood Type – For this recipe, I use hickory wood. but I’ve also made this recipe using pecan and apple wood chunks.
Wrap Wood Chunks in Aluminum Foil – I always wrap my wood chunks in aluminum foil and poke holes in the aluminum foil with a knife. To me, the smoke wood pouch helps smoke release better, which provides more flavor.
Preheat the Smoker – I always preheat my smoker before I place the food in. It takes about 30 minutes to warm up my smoker to 225 degrees. Again…go slow. Don’t be in a rush. I have an electric smoker so I light it and turn it on the lowest heat setting. During the preheat process, the smoker should produce some smoke.

How to Make Smoked Green Beans

The ingredients you need to make smoked green beans are SIMPLE. You’ll need:

fresh green beans, ends cut and green beans halved
chicken broth
bacon
apple cider vinegar
salt
pepper

All these ingredients are gluten free. Make sure you read the label on your chicken broth to ensure the brand you are using does not contain wheat.

It’s so easy to prepare this side dish for the smoker. Let’s walk through each step so you see what’s entailed.

First, cut the ends off the fresh green beans. Cut green beans in half and add to a colander. Rinse the green beans well and set aside.

Next, grab a large pan and add in the chicken broth, apple cider, salt, and pepper. Add the fresh green beans and turn up the heat. Blanch for about 3-4 minutes and then turn off the heat. Transfer the green bean mixture to a disposable aluminum pan. Make sure you do not drain the green beans. You want all the mixture going into the pan.

Chop the bacon into bite size pieces and place on top of the green beans. Place the pan of green beans into the smoker and smoke uncovered for 3 hours.

After 3 hours, pull the pan out of the smoker. Stir, add some almond slices, and you are ready to serve.

Why Use Apple Cider Vinegar in this Smoked Green Beans Recipe?

Adding a bit of apple cider to this dish helps bring out the flavor. Apple Cider Vinegar is acidic and has a sweet and tangy taste that pairs so well with the chicken broth and the salt that is cooked with the green beans. And just to make sure we are on the same page, there is a difference between adding apple cider to green beans vs. apple cider vinegar. Apple cider is that yummy beverage you drink during the holidays.

What Other Smoker Recipes Can I Make?

Smokers are way underutilized in my opinion. You can smoke just about anything. Check out some of my other smoker recipes you can pair with these smoker green beans:

Applewood Smoked Chicken – prepped with a brown sugar, smoky paprika, and garlic based rub, this smoked chicken is perfect for a holiday meal or family gathering.
Smoked Brisket – this recipe is coated with a brown sugar based rub and smoked low and slow.
Smoked Macaroni and Cheese – creamy and delish, this mac and cheese is smoked over hickory wood and full of flavor that will both satisfy and impress.
Smoker Baked Beans with Bacon – southern sweet baked beans topped with bacon are a must for any BBQ and that’s exactly what you’re getting in these beans!
Smoked Meatloaf – You’ve never tasted a better meatloaf in your life! This bacon wrapped meatloaf is smoked and stuffed with cheddar and mozzarella cheese.

Enjoy!

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