Broccoli with Bacon and Walnuts is a quick (less than 10 minutes) and easy side dish to add to your rotation. Crisp-tender steamed broccoli is tossed with salty bacon, bright green onions and crunchy toasted walnuts. The result is a super tasty and colorful dish to accompany most any entrée.
Table of Contents
A New & Exciting Broccoli Side Dish
My husband Robert and I both love broccoli, and I’m always experimenting with new and different ways to prepare it. I think just about any food tastes great with bacon, so one night I came up with this quick and easy, 4-ingredient broccoli and bacon dish.
Broccoli Bacon Recipe Ingredients
There are only four ingredients in this delicious side dish (plus salt and pepper):
- Broccoli florets
- Bacon
- Green onion
- Walnuts
How to Make Broccoli and Bacon
Just steam broccoli florets, and while they are cooking fry up some bacon. Toss in some green onions and toasted walnuts and you have a colorful, delicious side dish to accompany most any entrée!
Here are the easy steps to follow in creating this delectable side dish:
- Cook broccoli.
Place a steamer basket into a large saucepan with a lid. Add water just up to the bottom of the basket (around 1 inch). Place broccoli in the basket. Cover, bring water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until broccoli is crisp-tender, around 3 to 4 minutes. (Poke stem with a fork to test doneness.) Immediately plunge broccoli into a bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside. - Cook bacon.
While broccoli is steaming, in a large skillet or sauté pan cook bacon until crisp. Remove the cooked bacon, reserving 3 to 4 tablespoons of bacon grease in the pan. Break bacon into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside. - Cook onions.
Add green onions to the remaining bacon grease in the pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. - Add broccoli.
Stir broccoli into onions in pan and cook on medium-low, stirring, just until heated through. - Add walnuts and bacon; serve.
Remove from heat and stir in walnuts and bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Broccoli Bacon Recipe Add-Ins
You can definitely make this recipe your own, by swapping out some of the ingredients and/or adding more. Here are a few ideas:
- Substitute toasted pecans or almonds for the walnuts
- Substitute red onions or sliced shallots for the green onion
- Add chopped red, orange or yellow bell pepper to the onions when cooking
- Sprinkle on grated Parmesan cheese
Storing Broccoli Bacon
You can make this dish earlier in the day: Broccoli can be steamed and cooled up to 8 hours ahead and stored in a zip top baggie in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before adding to bacon grease. Bacon can be cooked up to 8 hours ahead and stored at room temperature (leave bacon grease in pan).
How Do You Reheat Broccoli Bacon
For leftovers, place them in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for 3 to 4 days. Reheat in the microwave or in a 325-degree oven.
What Can I Eat with Broccoli with Bacon?
As mentioned before, you can serve this easy broccoli dish with almost any entrée. Here are a few recommendations:
Broccoli with Bacon
Broccoli with Bacon and Walnuts is a quick (less than 10 minutes) and easy side dish to add to your rotation. Crisp-tender steamed broccoli is tossed with salty bacon, bright green onions and crunchy toasted walnuts. The result is a super tasty and colorful dish to accompany most any entrée.
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
Ingredients
- 6 cups (around 2 1/2 to 3 pounds) fresh broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces
- 8 slices bacon, preferably center-cut
- 6 tablespoons chopped green onion (white, light green and some of the dark green part)
- 3/4 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted
- kosher salt, to taste
- fresh ground pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Steam broccoli until crisp-tender. Immediately plunge into a bowl of ice water. Drain and set aside.
- While broccoli is steaming, in a large skillet or sauté pan cook bacon until crisp. Remove cooked bacon, reserving 3 to 4 tablespoons bacon grease in pan. Break bacon into 1/2-inch pieces. Set aside.
- Add green onions to remaining bacon grease in pan and cook over medium heat for 2 minutes. Stir in broccoli and cook on medium-low just until heated through. Remove from heat and stir in walnuts and bacon. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve immediately.
Notes
Make ahead: Broccoli can be steamed and cooled earlier in the day, and stored in a Ziploc baggie in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature before adding to bacon grease. Bacon can be cooked earlier in the day and stored at room temperature (leave bacon grease in pan).
- Category: Vegetables, Gluten free
