11 Five-Star Green Bean Side Dish Recipes (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to green beans to make them taste better? ›

A light sprinkle of red pepper flakes can add extra oomph and a bit of heat to your green beans. Start small and add more, to taste! Add Almonds Some Crunch. My favorite variation is adding some toasted sliced almonds for a little crunch.

Maxibel ~ If you only get one bush bean variety, make it Maxibel. This is a full-size (7-inch pods) French filet bean that has straight, dark green pods. A very gourmet-type bean, Maxibel has a flavor that can't be beat.

You can also store unwashed and unblanched green beans in the refrigerator for up to about seven days before you need to store your green beans in the freezer.

Blanch Them

Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

Why is Pero America's #1 Green Bean? Family's Love Our Sweet Taste and Farm Freshness! For Five generations, Pero Family Farms has been dedicated to sustainable farming for the freshest and best tasting vegetables your family can trust.

Del Monte Cut Green Italian Beans

These Del Monte Italian beans are perfect for that preparation. They lean salty and they have a nice texture that can hold up to some simmering. If your recipe happens to call for Italian green beans, these are the best canned green beans.

Tendergreen: This heirloom bush bean is a heavy-yielding plant that is resistant to disease and heat. Tendergreen beans are easy to grow, and you can use them fresh, canned, or frozen without losing any of their flavor. The pods are stringless and tender.

Add green beans to pan and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add boiling water to pan and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, just until beans are tender. Add vinegar, butter and salt and pepper and stir.

Your Beans Will Cook Faster

Well, creating an alkaline (or basic) environment by adding a small amount (about 1 teaspoon per cup of dry beans) of baking soda to your soaking/cooking water can actually help your beans cook faster.

Why are my green beans tough after cooking? ›

It is usually a problem with beans that have been stored for a long time, or which have not been stored in ideal conditions (too hot, etc.), most often because of their age, so most simply call it 'old beans. ' See this document for more information.

Fresh green beans in good condition will feel firm and should snap apart when bent. Older green beans that feel limp and have started to develop a slimy texture are no longer safe to eat. If you see any fuzzy mold on them, they are definitely too bad to eat.

“Store unwashed fresh bean pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days,” she says. If you plan to use them in an upcoming meal, wash them under running water. Remove both ends of the beans by either snapping them off or cutting them with a knife.

Technically, you could freeze raw green beans but we don't recommend it. After freezing, the raw beans will be mushy in texture and flavorless. For the best results, don't skip the blanching process when freezing green beans. Dry the beans thoroughly before freezing.

Too little salt and your food will taste bland and flat, but if you add too much, your dish can become inedible. Finding that balance of salt is the best practice for cooking. When it comes to beans, there are some tricks to making sure they are seasoned properly. With dried beans, you run the risk of under-seasoning.

You'll typically find them in restaurants served alongside chicken or steak. Green beans are available all year round, though you can find them fresh at most local farmers' markets from around May to October. A cup of raw green beans contains 34 calories, 2 grams of sugar and is full of fiber (15% of your daily needs).

Not only are they relatively inexpensive, green beans are rich in vitamin C and beta-carotene, an antioxidant that gives fruits and vegetables their color. The vegetable helps fight inflammation and is a good source of folate and potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure.