Lemon Broccoli with Beans and Bacon is an easy great northern beans recipe with roasted broccoli, chewy-crisp bites of bacon, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. It’s humble, yet stunning!
Lemon Broccoli with Beans and Bacon
We had such pretty natural light to work with, that day when my friend Amanda came over to share a day in our kitchen. It was overcast, yet bright. And a calm, quiet snowfall the night before had left 8″ of soft, fluffy, sparkly snow outside the window. It was the perfect reflector of light. A food blogger’s dream lighting scenario.
We poured cups of fresh-brewed coffee and then started pulling out dishes and ingredients we had collected for our day of cooking together. While chatting and catching up, I found the tension of the early morning dash to get kids dressed and fed and their lunch boxes packed…all fading away.
If you know Amanda from Heartbeet Kitchen, then you know all too well what a joy she is to be around. Amanda’s smile and tinkly laughter, coupled with her warm and charmingly chatty personality, always put me at ease.
We made Lemon Broccoli with Beans and Bacon that day, a stunning yet humble kind of dish. With a short ingredient list, it relies on simple, fresh flavors that let every component shine.
After Amanda and I finished taking our photos, we sat down to enjoy our tasty creation together. And I just have to say, it turned out to be one of the very best broccoli recipes. We also discovered that this dish goes splendidly with a chilled glass of bubbly Prosecco. So, Cheers! To friendship and fabulous food!
An Easy Great Northern Beans Recipe
It was Amanda who prompted our day of cooking together. Food blogging can be rather solitary, as you’re mostly working from home, either sitting behind a computer or creating dishes in the kitchen. So I welcomed her idea with open arms.
She brainstormed a short list of ingredients to include broccoli, lemon, and white beans – which are also called great northern beans.
What are great northern beans?
Great northern beans are white medium-sized beans, larger than navy beans and smaller than cannellini beans. They are delicately flavored and most commonly used when making baked beans and “pork and beans”. The beans are available dried, canned, and less commonly, fresh. You can easily substitute this bean in any recipe that calls for white beans.
My contribution to the kitchen party was a slab of thick-cut double-smoked bacon from our local Hagberg’s butcher shop. It is The Best Bacon. I like to keep a package or two in our freezer for whenever we’re needing that ultimate bacon fix.
Although not a part of our original thinking for this recipe, I was certain that Amanda would not oppose my last-minute addition to the ingredient list.
We chopped up the bacon and then fried it in a skillet, along with some fresh shallots and garlic. The kitchen smelled so wonderful. There was no way to resist our snitching hot, salty bites from the skillet.
Like bacon, too? Here are a few more recipes with bacon: Breakfast Egg Salad with Bacon is a fun twist on traditional egg salad. Bacon Cheeseburger Pizza Rolls always disappear FAST. And this Tuna Guacamole Sandwich with Bacon makes a fantastic lunch!
The Best Way to Cook Broccoli
This dish is best when the broccoli is beautifully charred. The crispy edges lend a fabulous layer of texture against the creamy beans and chewy-crisp bacon.
To accomplish this, place a large rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.
Once the oven reaches 375° Fahrenheit, remove the hot baking sheet and spread the broccoli florets out on it. Dress the broccoli very simply with only olive oil and kosher salt, and then gently fold it altogether.
Then place the broccoli in the oven. It won’t take long for the broccoli to emerge perfectly caramelized against the hot pan.
Roasted broccoli is my favorite way to eat broccoli!
This dish’s simplicity will try to fool you into thinking it’s so much more.
There’s incredible texture and flavor when roasted broccoli florets, salty bacon pieces, creamy white beans, and bright, fresh lemon juice come together. It’s almost too simple to be true!
The earthy colors and range of textures. They get me every time.
If you, like me, keep a package of your favorite bacon in the freezer “for emergencies”, then you’re not far from enjoying this easy meal at your own table. With white beans, shallots, and garlic – always in our pantry – this dish comes together quickly and easily.
For a simple, no-fuss kind of meal, just serve this lemon broccoli with beans and bacon straight from the skillet. Because really, the only things that really matter are the meal’s deliciousness and comfort, and who’s beside you at the table.
I had such a beautiful day with Amanda. Be sure to check out her own take on this day and recipe – and look her up on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram!
Like this recipe? Save it to Pinterest!
A few more broccoli recipes for you! Coconut Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry Rice Bowls from love & olive oil. Lightened-Up Broccoli Salad from greens & chocolate. And Simply Scalloped Potatoes with Broccoli from Southern Bite.
Lemon Broccoli with Beans and Bacon
Ingredients
- 1 small head broccoli cut into florets (about 3/4 pound)
- 1-1/2 T. olive oil
- ¼ tsp. kosher salt
- ½ lb. thick-cut bacon cut into small matchsticks or 1/2″ size pieces
- 1 15- oz. can white beans drained
- 1 medium shallot chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic minced
- ½ medium lemon
- 2 T. minced fresh parsley
- ¼ tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Place a large rimmed baking sheet in lower half of oven and preheat oven to 375° F. Once oven is preheated, remove heated pan and spread broccoli florets out on it. Drizzle broccoli with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and toss just a bit to combine. Return pan to oven and roast for 15 minutes. Toss broccoli and roast for another 15 to 20 minutes, or until broccoli is just softened and nicely caramelized and charred. Remove pan from oven and set aside.
- While broccoli is roasting, heat a medium-large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. Fry bacon pieces, stirring occasionally, until bacon is crispy on the edges but still mostly chewy. Once most of the fat has rendered from the bacon, drain all but 2 tablespoons of the fat from the skillet.
- Add shallot to skillet and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until shallot has softened. Stir in garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, until garlic is softened and fragrant. Add roasted broccoli and beans, folding to combine.
- Transfer to serving dish and sprinkle fresh lemon juice over the top, followed by lemon zest, parsley, and a bit of freshly ground black pepper. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2016. I updated some of the photos and text in 2020.
What a creative recipe. Always looking for ways to add beans to our meals. Delicious!
Wonderful! So glad you liked! :)
I love when I stumble upon a recipe like this – the search starts with some ingredients. I have broccoli and just made a big pot of white cannellini beans (rich with onion, celery, salt). Search: “recipes with broccoli and white beans”. Saw this and fell in love even before I tasted it. I was only a little put-off, thinking – “uff, it’s August in Panama and I don’t feel like putting the oven on. Plus, then will also have a baking sheet to wash up. So, I made this recipe with the exact ingredients BUT, did it in one big skillet. I wanted to make sure I got the “oven roasted” flavour on the broccoli and that I could achieve that in a frying pan. BUT, I didn’t want the broccoli to be underdone. So I chopped everything up, and put the florets along with the chopped bacon and the shallot in a big skillet with about 1/3 cup of water and put it on medium high uncovered. This allowed the broccoli to steam, the fat to render from the bacon and the shallot to flavour the whole thing. When the water evaporated and the bacon fat remained in the pan, I left it without stirring too much to allow the bacon to crisp and the broccoli to get some dark edges (close to char). When it looked about done, I added the beans including some of the bean water and heated through. Tasted for salt (needed none) added pepper and lemon zest and a squeeze of lemon. IN ONE PAN, 15 mins start to finish. Thanks for the inspiration and a beautifully balanced dish.
This is a fantastic recipe! A new favorite for sure. I subbed in chicken sausage for bacon because that’s what I had. Do not skip the lemon and parsley as they brighten and balance the dish. Delicious!
That light you speak of is my favorite light and it’s a photographer’s dream. You all used it well too as the photos really draw you in. This dish looks so scrumptious and hardy and I’m excited to try it.
I made this this week and it was pretty good. My daughter really liked it after adding more lemon juice and chili flakes. I think adding more lemon and some grape tomatoes would add the brightness it lacked. Thanks for a nice recipe.
Making this for the second time tonight but using half the bacon just to eliminate he need to measure the amount of fat left in the pan. Thinking a quarter pound will yield the right amount. So delicious. I also added the lemon juice just before eating. Some people want a lot, some thought it was lemony enough with just the zest. Goya’ small white beans are perfect in this dish.
Recipe was delicious, but it was inconvenient to have to switch back and forth between the two websites to see both the ingredients and directions.
I would have preferred all the info in one place.
So glad you liked the recipe, Kim. This is not the normal way we share recipes here or at Heartbeet Kitchen. But Amanda and I are friends and it was a fun collaboration. I hope you enjoy this meal again!
Looks hearty and delicious! What a fun way to spend a day!
Cooking with friends is one of the best ways to spend a day! Even better when something truly delicious comes out of it!
BTW: Trying this one tonight! :)
It was so great to see your comment on Twitter, that you (and your 5YO!) liked this dish. Thank you so much, Lane!
It sure is!!
I can’t wait to try this dish Brenda. The combination of ingredients sounds right up my alley. All my favorites!
So much fun to cook with a foodie friend! This looks like a delightful dinner!!!
Such a delightful day. Thanks, Liz!
oh, friend, i just love reading this because it’s just like replaying the day in my mind. not only is this dish my new favorite, but your friendship makes me so grateful. thank you for all the kind words, and making sure that we added bacon. :) love to you! xo
I’m pretty sure whenever we meet up, we need bacon. And bubbles. Ok? :)
I love that dish, but most of all – I love that picture of you taking the picture!
Thanks, Naomi! That dish was actually made by a co-worker who is a potter, one of my favorite pieces. And that is Amanda Paa from Heartbeet Kitchen in the photo – we had such a fun day cooking this dish together!
This looks delicious!
Thank you, Tieghan!
I wish I could make this tonight but I’m too lazy to go to the store again! Looks amazing
Put it on the list! ;) Thanks, Matt!
This dish is right up my alley and fits my Appalachian roots perfectly! Simple, unpretentious, hearty and delicious! LOVE!! We need do dine together sometime!
I’d love to sit down together for a meal with you! Thanks, Erin!
What a fun day you two spent together! I just adore Amanda. And I like the description “tinkly laughter”. That’s so cute and I can hear it now! This is one serious bowl of goodness. Looking forward to trying it out!
That Amanda is a sweetheart, for sure. Thank you so much for stopping by, Liz!