by Erin Marissa Russell
When you grow a family favorite like green beans in your garden, you’re bound to have plenty of standby recipes to rely on when it comes to cooking up even the biggest harvest—but once your family is sick and tired of your standard preparations, it’s time to scan this list of new options for some fresh ideas. That’s where Gardening Channel comes in. We’ve pored over the most popular and tasty-sounding recipes on the web for green beans to bring you this list of 68 new dishes starring green beans to try.
In addition to the satisfaction of getting your hands dirty and knowing exactly what goes into growing your veggies from start to finish, your family will also get to enjoy the bright flavor of homegrown green beans. Even better, you’ll actually save around $180 for every 10 green bean plants you tend in your garden (as compared to the pricey heirloom varieties in the supermarket).
Because homegrown green beans have so many advantages, savvy gardeners know that setting aside plenty of space for them in garden beds or growing green beans in containers is well worth the investment of time and effort. Read on for 68 inspiring ways to serve this popular legume to your family.
First, Master the Classic Preparation Techniques
Before getting too fancy with culinary creations made with your garden haul of green beans, you’ll first want to master the basic preparation methods. While often, we’re most accustomed to canned, boiled green beans (which are tasty enough in their own right), the approaches we’ve detailed here give you all the skills you need to create your own dishes featuring green beans, either solo or paired with whatever seasonings and other veggies you have on hand.
Roasted: You really can’t go wrong when it comes to roasting any vegetable. A simple drizzle of olive oil and a few shakes of salt and pepper are all it takes to elevate the humblest of veggies into a caramelized, savory treat. Reading over the options listed here is a surefire way to familiarize yourself with the basic technique and brainstorm some unexpected seasoning blends.
Bon Appetit’s Slow-Roasted Green Beans with Sage
Cafe Delites’ Cheesy Roasted Green Beans
Epicurious’ Roasted Green Beans with Fresh Garlic
Genius Kitchen’s Roasted Green Beans
Kalyn’s Kitchen’s Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms, Balsamic, and Parmesan
Rachel Cooks’ Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil
Sautéed: When you sauté garden-fresh green beans into a side dish, they come together quickly and retain their crisp texture and bright flavor. These recipes will get you started on the right track.
A Sweet Pea Chef’s Garlic Parmesan Green Beans
AllRecipes’ Sautéed Garden Fresh Green Beans
Cooking Light’s Green Bean and Radish Sauté
My Baking Addiction’s The Most Delicious Green Beans
MyRecipes’ Sautéed Green Beans with Bacon
Taste & Tell’s Sautéed Green Beans with Cherry Tomatoes
The Neelys’ Green Beans with Lemon and Garlic on Food Network
Veggies Save the Day’s Sautéed Green Beans with Mushrooms
Blanched: Blanching permits the chef to cook green beans to vibrant, crisp perfection before submerging them in ice water to stop the residual heat from letting them get overdone. The result? A dish that tastes as fresh as you know your homegrown green beans are.
CookingLight’s Blanched Green Beans with Mustard-Tarragon Sauce
Cooking with Cocktail Rings’ Blanched and Sautéed Garlic Green Beans
Genius Kitchen’s Green Beans Almondine
SOS Cuisine’s Blanched Green Beans
Grilled: The grill may not be the first cooking strategy you think of when you’re faced with a bushel of fresh green beans, but the charred, smoky result of this prep method may just change all that So when you’ve got the grill fired up for burgers, steaks, or sausages, harvest some green beans straight from the garden for a perfectly matched summertime side.
Dad Cooks Dinner’s Foil Pouch Green Beans
Delish’s Best Grilled Green Beans
Giada de Laurentiis’ Grilled Green Beans with Parmesan on Food Network
Martha Stewart’s Grilled Green Beans and Red Onion
Pinch and Swirl’s Grilled Green Beans with Cumin and Paprika
Tastefully Simple’s Grilled Green Beans & Potato
Steamed: All too often, steamed veggies are relegated, unwanted, to the edge of the plate, pushed around with a fork because they’re too bland to be appetizing. These recipes for steamed green beans fresh from the garden are here to change the lackluster stereotype.
AllRecipes’ Easy Garden Green Beans
Baking Mischief’s How to Steam Green Beans in the Microwave
Food & Wine’s Steamed Green Beans with Parmesan Butter
Martha Stewart’s Steamed Green Beans with Lemon
MyRecipes’ Steamed Green Beans with Lemon-Mint Dressing
She Loves Biscotti’s Garlicky Steamed Green Beans
TheKitchn’s Stovetop Steam-Fried Green Beans and Mushrooms
Spoon Delectable Sauces Over Green Beans Harvested from Your Garden
For some of us in the kitchen, it’s all about the sauce. Green beans do particularly well served with sauces from the classics to less conventional choices. Peruse the options listed here to get the gears turning and start planning your next delicious green bean dish.
AllRecipes’ Fresh Green Beans with Heaven Sauce
Bon Appetit’s Green Beans with Citrus Butter Sauce
EatingWell’s Lemon-Dill Green Beans Recipe
Family Food on the Table’s Green Beans with Mustard Butter Sauce
Genius Kitchen’s Green Beans with Garlic Sauce
Green Valley Kitchen’s Green Beans with Parmesan and Lemon Butter Sauce
MyRecipes’ Green Beans with Hollandaise Sauce
Taste of Home’s Green Beans in Lemon Chiffon Sauce
Pickled Plum’s Dry-Fried Green Beans with Garlic Sauce
Celebrate Green Beans Straight from the Garden in Crisp, Fresh Salads
We’re so used to eating green beans as part of a casserole or simple cooked side that it’s easy to forget just how well these legumes do when they star in a refreshing salad. From the composed, formal Salade Niçoise to more freeform concoctions, don’t overlook salads—as sides or the main course—when you want to serve green beans.
Bon Appetit’s Cranberry-Hazelnut Green Bean Salad
Cookie + Kate’s Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds and Feta
Foxes Love Lemons’ Bacon-Feta Potato & Green Bean Salad
Gather for Bread’s Cold Green Bean Salad
SimplyRecipes’ Green Bean Salad with Basil, Balsamic, and Parmesan
Taste of Home’s Balsamic Green Bean Salad
Taste of Home’s Green Bean Pasta Salad
The Mediterranean Dish’s Greek Green Bean Salad
The Spruce Eats’ Marinated Green Bean Salad
Feature Green Beans in Family-Friendly Casseroles and More Comfort Foods
Nothing says “home” like a bubbling, savory dish of green bean casserole straight from the oven. If you’ve never made yours from scratch, The Pioneer Woman’s version is a must-try—or turn to Southern-Style Green Beans for slow-simmered beans flecked with salty bits of bacon. If you want more than just a bit of bacon, indulge in Green Bean Bacon Bundles. Whichever of the recipes below you choose, don’t count on leftovers.
Genius Kitchen’s Garlic & Lemon Chicken with Green Beans & Red Potatoes
Good Housekeeping’s Stovetop Green Bean Casserole
How Sweet Eats’ Green Bean Bacon Bundles
Soulfully Made’s Southern-Style Green Beans
Tasteaholic’s Green Bean Fries
The Noshery’s Creamy Green Beans
The Pioneer Woman’s Green Bean Casserole
The Spruce Eats’ Cheesy Green Beans
Call on Cultures the World Over for Unexpected Flavors to Pair with Your Garden’s Green Beans
Sure, America has green beans down to a fine art, but plenty of other cuisines have their own ways of making these versatile legumes their own. When your favorite green bean dishes get boring, you can count on these preparations for a breath of fresh air.
Bon Appetit’s Slow-Cooked Green Beans with Harissa and Cumin
Fine Cooking’s Chinese Restaurant-Style Sautéed Green Beans
Fine Cooking’s Italian Green Beans with Tomatoes and Balsamic
From a Chef’s Kitchen’s Thai Sweet Chili Green Beans
Simply Recipes’ French Green Beans with Butter and Herbs
Tasting Table’s Israeli Green Beans with Ras El Hanout
TheKitchn’s Summer Green Beans in Aromatic Spiced Tomatoes
The Spruce Eats’ Alubias Verdes con Ajo: Spanish Green Beans
Woman’s Day’s Sesame Ginger Green Beans
While you’re enjoying the fruits of your labor (er, make that the veggies of your labor), don’t forget to congratulate yourself on just how healthwise it is to eat green beans. Good food, good fun, and good for you—what more could a gardener ask for?
Want to learn more about cooking with green beans?
Delish covers Cooking Green Beans
Southern Living covers Green Bean Recipes
Taste of Home covers Ways to Love Green Beans
The Kitchn covers 10 Ways to Turn a Bag of Fresh Green Beans Into Dinner
Woman’s Day covers Green Bean Recipes
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