How to Get Kids to Eat Green Beans?
I trim the ends of the green beans but leave them whole. My kids could pick them up from the plate with their fingers, and we pretended they were eating snakes. They loved it and ate every bean on the plate! If you make this recipe ahead and are not in a hurry, the kids can help trim the beans by snapping off the ends with their fingernails.
How to Keep Green Beans' Bright Color
Blanching the green beans in boiling salt water until crisp-tender and rinsing them for a few seconds with cold tap water stops the cooking process and keeps them green. The salt in the boiling water also helps keep the bright green color.
Can You Make Green Beans Ahead?
Making green bean ahead is easy. The directions in the recipe below share a three-part process: blanching, cooling and sauteing. This flexible recipe, therefore, allows for blanching and cooling in advance and then sauteing just before serving. They also are great at room temperature, making it easy to get them on the table without fuss. This green bean recipe is yummy, kid-friendly, and flexible.
Scrumptious Sauce Enhances Veggies
The simple sweet mustard sauce makes these green beans scrumptious. It’s made with readily available ingredients but has an exotic taste because of the ginger and cayenne pepper. Other ingredients include Dijon mustard, vinegar, and honey. Try it in your meal rotation.
Honey Ginger Green Beans: Family Friendly
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Diet: Gluten Free
Description
This delicious recipe for Honey Ginger Green Beans is great hot, room temperature, or cold, making this vegetable side dish extra easy and flexible.
Ingredients
- 1.5 pounds green beans, ends trimmed and left whole
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
- 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 1 Tablespoon honey
- 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
- 1/4 teaspoon salt – or to taste
- 1/8 teaspoon pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste
- 2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Instructions
- Cook Green Beans. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil and stir in 1 teaspoon salt. Add green beans to the boiling water and boil for 5 – 7 minutes or until beans are crisp but tender. Pour cooked green beans into a colander and rinse with cold water for a few seconds to stop cooking. This will keep the green beans close to their original bright green color.
- Make Dressing. In a small bowl, whisk together mustard, vinegar, honey, ginger, and seasoning. Slowly add olive oil with the whisk and combine ingredients.
- Assemble. Coat the bottom of the serving dish with half the dressing. Add green beans and the remainder of the dressing. Toss to coat.
- Serve immediately or at room temperature or place in the refrigerator to serve cold.
Notes
To make ahead and serve warm: Follow step 1 and place cooked green beans in the refrigerator. Make the dressing – it can stay on the counter one day but set in the fridge if made days ahead. Just before serving, saute green beans in the skillet to warm through. Pour dressing over beans and stir—place in serving dish.
To make ahead and serve at room temperature or cold: Green beans and the dressing can be made ahead and left at room temperature for one-two hours.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Category: Vegetable
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: Side dish, make-ahead, family friendly, paleo
2 Responses
My. Very Favorite green bean recipe. So easy to make.
★★★★★
Love this! Thanks