Easy Seasoned Green Beans (SO GOOD!) (2024)

FAQs

What can I add to green beans for flavor? ›

I use regular salt & pepper and get the lemon flavour from a T of lemon juice. Next time, I'll use some lemon zest as well! I also tend to add a good dash of cayenne pepper when I want to kick it up a little!

Then, I toss the blanched beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and salt to pep up their flavor. Serve them just like that, or dress them up more with toasted almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme.

Dried beans cooked with sea salt and water are delicious, but adding an onion, garlic, or other aromatics to the pot will make them even more flavorful!

Flavor green beans with herbs

Oregano and parsley also work well with green beans. Chives are another option, as they taste like green onions, and onions and green beans are a very popular flavor combination. Thyme is one of the most popular herbs for flavoring green beans.

Bump up the flavor with tomato paste

It's great to add into beans. Throw in a dollop or two to the aromatics once they've cooked, and sauté in the hot fat for a minute or two, just to cook out the tinny flavor. Harissa paste also works nicely for this.

Use aromatics, like onion, garlic, and herbs, in your cooking liquid—they'll transform any pot of beans into something far more flavorful.

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.

To best freeze and store green beans, label each bag with dates and amounts. Lay the bags with green beans flat in your freezer, but leave some space between the bags so air circulates evenly. When frozen solid, you can take the bags with green beans and place them closer together in the freezer.

While lard has been replaced with vegetable oil or shortening in many households, the distinct richness and velvety texture it imparts to a skillet of refried beans is hard to beat. The closest substitute for lard is bacon grease, which is another form of rendered pork fat that's arguably even more flavorful.

In general, most beans go well with herbs like parsley, rosemary, sage, savory, and thyme. You usually can't go wrong with garlic and onions, either. Specific kinds of beans, like fava beans or mung beans, have other affinities with particular herbs and spices. This is not to say that other combinations won't work.

Do you season beans before or after cooking? ›

There's a myth out regarding beans and salt — specifically, that you should never salt your beans before cooking because the salt keeps them from cooking through. That's just not true. You can add salt to your bean pot at the beginning of cooking, and your beans will be better seasoned for it.

1. Pomegranate Arils + Fresh Mint. This combo not only brings a fresh, sweet, and tart flavor boost, but the pomegranate arils also add some crunch. Toss blanched or steam-fried green beans with pomegranate arils and chopped fresh mint.

The main different is the texture. Because French cut green beans are sliced so thinly they cook up silky and tender. The slicing also turns the veggie from a tube to a strip, which helps the beans absorb the flavors they're cooked with (more on that below).

Why are my sautéed green beans tough? They would only be tough if they were undercooked. By briefly simmering them, then sautéing the green beans, they're perfectly crisp tender, and flavorful.

Toss drained/rinsed/dried beans with a bit of olive oil (or avocado oil) and your favorite seasonings. You can add crushed whole seeds (coriander, cumin, fennel, mustard, etc.), woodsy herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, sage), red pepper flakes, crushed garlic cloves, and of course salt and pepper.

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).

To best freeze and store green beans, label each bag with dates and amounts. Lay the bags with green beans flat in your freezer, but leave some space between the bags so air circulates evenly. When frozen solid, you can take the bags with green beans and place them closer together in the freezer.