A quick steam or blanch can help green beans retain their coveted appearance and texture. With a steamer basket set over a pan of gently simmering water, you’ll have perfectly cooked beans in 5 minutes or less. You can accomplish something similar in an Instant Pot. Cook on high pressure for 0 minutes (so that the appliance cuts off as soon as it comes to pressure), for a barely cooked texture, or 1 minute, for a slightly softer consistency, followed by a quick, manual release of pressure. Even the microwave can get the job done if you put the beans in a very shallow dish of water or simply cover with damp towels.
If you prefer blanching, boil the green beans in generously salted water and cook for 2 to 6 minutes, depending on the recipe and your personal preference, then immediately dunk in an ice bath to stop the cooking. Check out Julia Child’s Fresh Green Beans for a classic, simple rendition.
But there are other ways to prepare green beans that are just as delicious and versatile. While green beans are fresh and seasonal, here are some techniques to try.
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Raw green beans
Here’s an easy alternative: Don’t cook the green beans at all. How better to appreciate their snap? Instead of or in addition to a colorful array of other crudités, serve trimmed beans with your choice of dip, whether that’s a homemade buttermilk ranch dressing, herbed goat cheese or hummus.
If you want something besides merely eating them out of hand, try turning raw green beans into a composed side dish. My colleague Olga Massov slices them at a dramatic angle for her Crunchy Green Beans With Almonds and Dates. Cutting them this way (also known as “on the bias”) means you get overall slimmer pieces of uncooked vegetables that better absorb the flavorful dressing.
Sauteed green beans
If you’re looking for something in between raw and cooked, try sauteing green beans. As my colleague Aaron Hutcherson said in his recipe for Green Beans With Oranges and Almonds, “Sauteing this many green beans in a skillet is hard to do evenly, but in this instance that’s a good thing. Some will get soft and charred in spots, while others will become crisp-tender, offering a textural counterpoint.” Play around with the level of heat and the cook time to get the color and texture you want.
Another option for more even sauteing is to cut the beans into smaller pieces. While Zippy Green Beans call for the beans to be blanched before going into the skillet, you can skip that step and simply cook them in the skillet for a bit longer.
As these dishes show, sauteing is an excellent way to infuse the beans with additional flavor, whether through aromatics (garlic, ginger, shallots) or spices (garlic powder, crushed red pepper flakes, mustard seeds).
If all you have on hand are frozen or canned green beans, sauteing can eliminate the risk of a mushy texture. Follow Aaron’s lead in his Spicy Peanut Soba Noodles With Green Beans.
Blistered green beans
Take sauteing a step further and you end up with blistered green beans. Cooking over higher heat for longer imparts appealing char and smoky flavor. In Blistered Green Beans With Lamb and Aromatic Spices, the beans go into a skillet over medium-high heat and stay there for 12 to 15 minutes. Take note of the fact that you want to stir occasionally — not frequently, not constantly. By letting the beans rest for a few minutes at a time, you can develop the desired dark spots, which you would not get if the vegetables were moved too often. Don’t overcrowd the pan, which will cause the green beans to steam more than brown, and work in batches as needed. Looking for extra char? Use a cast-iron skillet for its excellent heat retention.
Roasted
For a more hands-off approach to high-heat cooking, try roasting green beans. Roasting above 400 degrees is my go-to method for many vegetables, and that works especially well with Ellie Krieger’s Lemon Potatoes With Beans and Feta. At 450 degrees, the beans only need about 8 minutes to reach a crisp-tender texture. Ellie takes a similar approach in Thai-Seasoned Roasted Shrimp With Green Beans, Chile, Peanuts and Herbs, in which the beans cook for slightly longer at a slightly lower temp. She also uses green beans in her Thanksgiving-appropriate Sheet Pan Turkey Breast Roulade With Sweet Potatoes, Green Beans and Shallots.
Roasted green beans are excellent enough on their own, simply tossed with olive oil, salt and pepper, with maybe a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. As with the skillet, be sure to leave enough room between the vegetables to allow for better air circulation. For an extra blast of heat, preheat the sheet pan in the oven before you add the green beans. That way they’ll start to sizzle as soon as they hit the pan.
Braised green beans
As delightful as fresh, crisp green beans are, something incredible happens when they’re cooked low and slow, transformed into soft, silken decadence. I’m still dreaming about that kind of dish I had at a Greek restaurant in London more than a decade ago. For a Southern take, try Food and Dining editor Joe Yonan’s Tomato-Braised Green Beans and Potatoes, which actually calls for frozen beans and canned crushed tomatoes. Turkish Green Beans (Fasoulia) employs fresh beans and tomatoes. Regardless of which way you go, braise green beans covered at just about the lowest heat possible until tender.
