Fresh Green Beans

I love cooking fresh green beans!  And this tutorial will show you how to cook those green beans so they taste divine! 4 ingredients is all that is needed to make this fresh bean recipe. The perfect complement to any dinner you whip up.

How to cook fresh green beans
If you’re curious about that meatloaf pictured on the plate, you can get the recipe for To Die For Meatloaf by clicking here.

If you are on the hunt for a fresh green bean recipe, you might enjoy this one. No complicated steps, no fuss. Just simple ingredients that offer big flavor.

green beans ingredients

Ingredients:

  • Fresh beans
  • butter
  • salt
  • pepper

How to Make

green beans in a bowl

Break the ends off of each bean and then break them into bite sized pieces.

Discard the ends or feed ’em to your chickens.

Don’t have chickens? Go get at least three or four hens before proceeding to the next step.

Just kidding.

green beans and butter in a pot of water

Place all of these beans in a pot of water along with a stick of butter. Place this over medium high heat and cook until the water cooks down almost completely, stirring from time to time. This is also where you would add some minced garlic if you like. 

I sometimes add a heaping teaspoon, but I like garlic so you do you!  There will be a little liquid left in the pot but not much at all. This will take anywhere from 10-15 minutes or more depending on how hot your pot gets.

Don’t be tempted to call the beans done before the water is cooked down.

They will be tender before that but not nearly as flavorful as they will be once they are tender all the way through and cooked down to a nice thin buttery coated sauce.

Recipe FAQs

What can I add to green beans for flavoring?

I like to add garlic and some red pepper flakes too, depending on my mood. If I have some bacon grease handy I like to add a tablespoon or so of that as well, totally optional.

Can I use frozen green beans?

You can use frozen green beans in place of fresh if you really can’t get fresh, just promise me you’ll try it with fresh sometime, ok?
Let’s not talk about using canned green beans in this recipe, we just don’t even want to let that thought enter into our minds. 🙂 If you want to make canned green beans taste good, check out this recipe (click here). 

How to pick green beans?

If you are not sure what to look for when picking green beans let me help. Here you will look for bright colored beans, that don’t show a lot of brown spots. You also want the beans to be firm to touch. You should hear a snap when you bend the bean and it breaks. If it just bends it is too far gone.

Can I cut the ends off the green beans or do I need to snap them off?

You can cut off the ends of your beans. You just want to cut off the stems so you don’t get a woody texture when you eat them. If you prefer your beans not as long slice them in half. This will also help speed up the cooking time for smaller beans.

green beans and meatloaf

These are good with just about anything. We have been eating them as our low carb side when the kids are having rice or mashed potatoes so I like to keep a big container of them already cooked in the fridge for us.

Get the recipe for To Die For Meatloaf by clicking here.

How To Cook Fresh Green Beans

These Fresh Green Beans are good with just about anything and are great as a low carb side dish. Even better is the fact that they are super easy to make!
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Keyword: beans
Servings: 4
Calories: 74kcal

Ingredients

  • Fresh Green Beans
  • 1 stick of butter
  • salt and pepper
  • minced garlic, red pepper flakes optional

Instructions

  • Break ends of green beans off and discard. Break each bean into bite sized pieces.
  • Place green beans and butter in a large pot. Cover with water.
  • Bring to a boil over medium high heat (add minced garlic now if you like and a pinch of salt) and continue cooking, stirring often, until water is almost completely cooked out and beans are very tender.
  • Salt and pepper to taste. And if you like red pepper flakes add them here and enjoy!

Video

Notes

*A spoonful or two of bacon grease is a great addition if you have it!

Nutrition

Calories: 74kcal
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

Here are some other recipes for green beans that you may enjoy:

 

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58 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    Omg…. Made these tonight with some green green beans…. Never a fan of them previously until I tried this recipe. Husband said best thing we have ever made!

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