5 Super Simple Ways to Cook Green Beans (That Rock!)

Green beans. I am swimming in green beans.

We’ve had mixed success with our beans in past years, but oh my word, they are going bananas this year! I’m not complaining, mind you. Oh no, this means I won’t have any need to buy a single can or bag of beans the rest of the year. *thumbs up*

But it does mean I am spending LOTS of time in the kitchen these days, and I’m getting very familiar with ways to prepare green beans.

Because my world pretty much revolves around the garden and its bountiful harvest right now, I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone by sharing some of my favorite ways to prepare green beans.

Most of these methods will work just fine with frozen beans, as well, and a couple will even work with canned. But if you have fresh beans from your garden or farmer’s market, all the better!

And because I’m a busy mom of littles who is also trying to work from home and build a business, all five of these methods are S-I-M-P-L-E. There are tons of fancy recipes out there for delicious green bean dishes, and you can turn to Google if you want those. But for me? Well, I pretty much stick to simple these days, so simple is what you’re going to get from me. 😉

So if you’re a simple gal (or motherhood requires you to be right now), here are five ways to cook green beans you’ll want to have up your sleeve.

They’re simple to plan and simple to cook, but there’s nothing simple about the way they taste!

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5 SIMPLE WAYS TO PREPARE GREEN BEANS

Grilled Green Beans

If you’ve never tried grilled green beans, you must try them immediately. Oh, my goodness. There’s really nothing that we don’t like grilled, but there are certain foods that grilling just takes to another level. And one of those foods is green beans. We can’t stop eating them!

All you need to make mouth-watering grilled green beans (yes, I did just refer to a vegetable as mouth-watering) is this:

Olive oil
Garlic salt
Pepper
Grilling skillet

Toss the beans in a little olive oil, sprinkle with garlic salt and pepper, and use a grilling skillet to prevent them from falling through the grates. Boom. You’re done.

Roasted Green Beans

My second favorite way to cook green beans (that’s just as simple) is roasting. I’ve never met a roasted veggie I didn’t love (except acorn squash — I just can’t seem to love acorn squash), but green beans are one of my favorites. They are simply divine.

As with grilled, my “recipe” for roasted green beans is my go-to trifecta of deliciousness: olive oil, garlic salt, and pepper. Roast at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Can it really be that simple? Yes. Yes, it can.

Want some more good news? You can roast frozen green beans, too! Let me say that again, YOU CAN ROAST FROZEN GREEN BEANS! Just add 10-15 minutes to your cook time, and you’re good to go. They won’t have quite the same texture as fresh, but they are still delicious!

The only downside to roasting is that it requires the oven (duh). And in the summer, when our beans are coming on, I typically try to avoid using the oven after noon. But on the occasional cool day, it’s bean roasting time!

Sautéed Green Beans

On hot days when I don’t want to fire up the oven, I like to sauté the beans on the stove.

Simply toss the beans with plenty of garlic, salt, and pepper in 1 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook until tender, about 10 minutes.

This method works great with frozen, too!

Buttery Garlic Green Beans

As an alternative to my staple olive oil-salt-pepper combo, here’s another one to try!

Place green beans in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until beans start to soften (5 minutes).

Add 3 Tbs butter. Cook and stir until butter is melted (2-3 minutes)

Stir a few cloves of minced garlic (depending on your love for garlic and the tolerance of whoever has to be near you later) and cook until garlic is tender (3-4 minutes).

Season with salt and pepper. (Okay, so there’s still garlic, salt, and pepper. But there’s butter!!)

Country-style

So, this method of cooking green beans isn’t the healthiest. But it sure is tasty!

There are lots of slightly different recipes for country-style (or Southern-style) green beans, but they all have the same basic components:

Cook up some bacon. (All the best recipes start this way.)

Combine green beans with the bacon, onion, butter, some kind of liquid (homemade chicken broth is my favorite), garlic, salt, and pepper. Possibly a few other ingredients if you’re feeling fancy.

Cook until beans are tender. (On the stove: 15-20 minutes on medium heat.)

Those are my top five ways to prepare really simple green beans that taste as great as they are easy to make!

Now, as a bonus, I’m going to quickly walk you through the steps to can your own green beans, if you’re so inclined. I did it for the first time last summer, and I couldn’t believe how easy it was. Now I’m on a mission to show everyone just how easy it is to can their own green beans.

HOW TO CAN YOUR OWN GREEN BEANS

(It’s so simple, anyone can do it!)

What you need:

Green beans (1 1/2 – 2 1/2 lbs per quart jar)
Canning salt
Water
Pressure Canner (This is a newer version of mine.)
Canning jars (with lids & bands)

Directions: (Raw pack method)

Wash beans and drain. Snap off stem ends (you can leave tails) and break into ~2″ pieces (doesn’t have to be exact).
Tightly pack beans into hot jars, leaving a generous 1″ headspace.
Add 1 tsp salt for quart jars, 1/2 tsp for pints.
Ladle boiling water into jars to cover beans, leaving 1″ headspace. Remove air bubbles and adjust headspace, if necessary, by adding more water. Wipe rim, and fasten lids and bands to fingertip-tight.
Place jars in pressure canner. Adjust the water level according to your canner’s instructions, lock lid, and bring to a boil. Vent steam for 10 minutes, then close vent. Heat to 10 lbs pressure and maintain pressure, adjusting heat as necessary, for 20 minutes (pints) or 25 minutes (quarts).
Turn off heat and allow pressure to come down naturally. Wait a couple minutes longer, then open vent and remove canner lid. Let the jars sit for another 10 minutes, then remove jars, cool, and store.

This is one of the simplest and easiest foods to can, and once you try it, you’ll be hooked.

I hope you enjoyed this peek into my simple homemade kitchen, and I hope you found something that will add a dash of simplicity and a heap of flavor to your own!