Simple & Fresh Green Beans | Recipe
A quick and easy recipe for fresh green beans.
I grew up eating canned green beans. Somehow, they were still my favorite vegetable. I will never forget the first time I tasted a fresh green bean, as crazy as that may sound. It was during a trek across Texas and we were destined for the beautiful hill country. We stopped at a quaint little restaurant, greeted by a friendly staff and seated at the table, where a stuffed bear towered over my seat. True story. Alongside my chicken fried steak, came a pile of beans like I had never seen before. They were vibrantly green and, well...whole. Not anything like the army green mush I had been so regularly acquainted with before. I must admit, I was a little taken aback by them. I know, I know. Y’all are probably like, “It was a green bean, Kelly. Chill out.” What can I say? I have loved food my whole life. Fresh green beans were a game-changer for me.
I could be inclined to think if you have yet to grab yourself a handful from the produce section, I might be able to entice you to try the fresh ones solely based on the exponentially better texture, color and nutrients. But! Just in case I haven’t convinced you, here is another selling point: they are so easy to make. It is a simple dish, that requires minimal time and fewer than few ingredients. In fact, I typically just grab myself a bag of snipped and washed fresh green beans, and I don’t even have to mess with breaking off the ends. Boom. Easiest, and one of my very most favorite, side dishes ever.
12 oz Bag of “Washed + Ready to Eat” Green Beans or 12 oz Green Beans, washed and ends snipped*
1 tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 tsp Kosher Salt
½ tsp Black Pepper
Add water to a medium-sized saucepan until about two-thirds of the way full. Place over high heat and bring to a boil.
Add green beans to water and allow to boil for 6 minutes, just until tender. Do not allow them to cook far beyond this stage, as they will continue to cook slightly longer once removed from the heat. Immediately drain and transfer to serving dish. Toss with butter, salt and pepper. Serve right away and enjoy.
Serves 4-6
*If you can’t find the bagged goodies in the produce section, don’t worry about those raggedy ol’ ends. All you need to do is stack them, a handful at a time, on their little behinds, lay them on your cutting board and cut about a ½” from the end and then repeat on the other side.
Would pair well with:
