Simple Green Bean Recipes

6 Simple and Savory Green Bean Recipes

Fresh green beans. They are a simple and versatile, not to mention healthy, food. Green beans are delicious and can be cooked in a great variety of ways.

I have picked green beans twice in the past week from our small raised bed garden. I know the season won’t last long enough, so I pulled out several of my favorite recipes to make sure that I tried each of them, at least once, while we can.

If you and your family like green beans, then I hope you’ll enjoy this list of my favorite ways to eat green beans.

Green Beans on the Grill

This is my absolute favorite way to cook green beans. They have such a great flavor when they are grilled.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups of fresh green beans, snipped and cut into about 1 ½” long pieces.
1 full slice of a sweet onion (such as Vidalia)
Salt & Pepper
Olive oil

Cut a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil (about 12” x 16”).
Spray lightly with a no-stick cooking spray

Layer the green beans, then the onion and top with a little salt & pepper
Drizzle a small amount of olive oil on top

Fold the aluminum foil over the top lengthwise first and then fold the sides up.

Grill on high for about 10 minutes.

Green Beans with Ham

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh green beans, snipped and cut into about 1 ½” long pieces
2 – 3 small pieces of ham with some fat (we save these when we cut up a ham and have them available in the freezer)

Put beans and ham in a pan on the stove and just barely cover with water. Bring to a slow simmer and simmer until beans are tender – about 20 minutes. Be sure to watch to make certain all your water doesn’t boil off.

Drain the water and top with butter. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Green Beans with Sage

Ingredients:
2 cups fresh green beans, snipped and cut into about 1 ½” long pieces
2 T. butter, melted.
¾ t. rubbed sage
¼ t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

In pan on stovetop, cover the beans with water and simmer until they are tender (about 20 minutes). Drain water off beans.

Mix butter with sage, salt and pepper. Top beans with butter sauce and toss to coat

Green Beans in the Microwave

Ingredients:
1 ½ – 2 cups fresh green beans, snipped and cut into 1 1/2” long pieces
4 t. butter, melted
¼ t. salt
1/8 t. oregano
1/8 t. pepper

Mix the last 4 ingredients together and place them over the green beans in a microwaveable safe dish.

Toss to make sure the beans are coated. Cover and microwave them for 7 minutes or till done.

French’s Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Fried Onions

I don’t think I’ve ever made this recipe with fresh green beans. We tend to eat it during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. There are only 5 ingredients and it is super easy to make.

Here’s a link to the recipe and a video for making it on French’s website.

Vegetable Salad

If you are like me and think that a simple recipe is 5 ingredients or less, then this doesn’t really qualify as a simple recipe. However, it is very simple to make and it is super good. I just couldn’t leave it off the list. A friend of mine served it at a Sunday School get-together many years ago and it was a huge hit! I’ve been making it ever since.

Ingredients for Sauce:
¼ c. vegetable oil
¼ c. vinegar
½ c. sugar

Mix these 3 ingredients together in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Cool.

Ingredients:
1 can french cut green beans
1 can white shoe peg corn (these are a bit pricey, but trust me, you really want this specific corn)
1 can tiny peas
1 small jar pimento
1 c. chopped celery
1 c. chopped sweet onion
1 c. chopped red pepper

Drain all the canned vegetables. Mix them together gently. Pour the cooled dressing over them and mix well. Refrigerate. It keeps well for up to 7 days.