Nana's Famous Green Bean Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How to make Paula Deen green beans? ›

Add green beans to pan and sauté over medium heat for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Add boiling water to pan and cover. Cook for about 15 minutes, just until beans are tender. Add vinegar, butter and salt and pepper and stir.

The vegetable helps fight inflammation and is a good source of folate and potassium, which helps regulate blood pressure. Green beans also are a good source of protein and fiber, which helps lower cholesterol, Vadiveloo said. "Fiber is underconsumed by U.S. adults and children, and it's good for gut health," she said.

Simmer green beans in chicken broth

If you're a fan of the classic green beans flavor, then simmering them in chicken broth is the way to go. The flavor of the chicken broth is absorbed by the beans, giving them a subtle but delicious taste. Plus, you can add cooked onions or bacon for extra flavor.

Your Beans Will Cook Faster

Well, creating an alkaline (or basic) environment by adding a small amount (about 1 teaspoon per cup of dry beans) of baking soda to your soaking/cooking water can actually help your beans cook faster.

A little butter, minced garlic, and lemon-pepper seasoning are all you need to bring the best out of fresh green beans.

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, trim the the beans. Once the water is boiling, steam or boil the beans until tender. Drain well, then tip the cooked beans into the bowl with your dressing and toss everything together, making sure all the beans get coated.

Pour the cans of green beans into a pot liquid and all. Add the beef bouillon, bacon bits, dried minced onion, salt and pepper. Stir everything together, bring to a simmer and let cook for 10-15 minutes. Serve and enjoy!

Green beans are full of fiber, which is an important nutrient for many reasons. Soluble fiber, in particular, may help to improve the health of your heart by lowering your LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels. The fiber in green beans helps to keep your digestive system healthy and running smoothly.

Lectins are proteins present in green beans that help bind carbohydrates. Lectins cause digestive problems such as nausea, vomiting, bloating, and diarrhea. Cooking beans neutralizes the lectin, making them safe to eat, improves taste, and increases antioxidant levels.

Eating fresh or cooked green beans regularly as part of a balanced diet usually does not cause any significant negative effects in most people. Green beans are low in calories, high in fiber, and contain various vitamins and minerals, like vitamin C, vitamin K, and folate.

What can I add to beans for flavor? ›

As for herbs, woody types like thyme, sage, and rosemary, are also great — add those in with the beans and water. I always add bay leaves at this stage, too, since they bring that herbaceous can't-put-your-finger-on-it flavor.

You'll typically find them in restaurants served alongside chicken or steak. 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).

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.

Steaming green beans gives them the same crisp-tender texture as blanching or boiling. Yet I think it preserves their lovely green color and allows the home cook more control over their texture than with those other two methods. Steaming is easy, too—and ease is what this recipe is all about.

Should I Soak Green Beans Before Cooking? Fresh green beans do not need to be soaked. To help tenderize the beans, blanch them in a large pot of salted water.