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 green color bright.
Can You Make Green Beans Ahead?
Making green beans 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 are also 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.
Thanksgiving Inspired Recipes
Thanksgiving dinner is a special occasion to express gratitude for life’s blessings. Explore the various recipes below to create lasting memories and lots of leftovers.
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.
Simple Tips for a Stress-Free Thanksgiving Dinner
Hosting Thanksgiving doesn’t have to feel like a marathon in the kitchen! With a little planning and the right tools, you can enjoy the holiday and the food. This post shares simple strategies to reduce stress—like delegating tasks, prepping ahead, and creating a clear cooking timeline.
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More Recipes to try
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Make Thanksgiving easy with the Complete Thanksgiving Guide. Includes tricks to get the family to help, tips for make-ahead recipes, cooking timeline, and more than a dozen recipes for the perfect turkey and delicious sides.
Honey Ginger Green Beans: Family Friendly
This delicious recipe for Honey Ginger Green Beans is great hot, room temperature, or cold, making this vegetable side dish extra easy and flexible.
- Prep Time: 10
- Cook Time: 10
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 6 1x
- Category: Vegetable
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
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 the 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. Whisk together mustard, vinegar, honey, ginger, and seasoning in a small bowl. Slowly add olive oil with the whisk and combine the 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 prepare ahead and serve warm: Follow step 1 and refrigerate the cooked green beans. Prepare the dressing which can be left out at room temperature for one day, but should be refrigerated if made several days in advance. Before serving, heat the green beans in the microwave for 1 to 2 minutes or sauté them in a skillet until warmed through. Pour the dressing over the beans, stir, and transfer to a serving dish.
To prepare ahead and serve at room temperature: Follow all the steps and store the dressed green beans in the refrigerator. Before serving, let them sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Great with Marry Me Mini Meatloaf Muffins.
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6 responses to “Honey Ginger Green Beans: Family Friendly”
Got rave reviews when I took this dish to a family dinner with two kids who “don’t eat vegetables.” They did today 😋 so easy but soooo good.
Mev,
thank you for cooking and reviewing the honey ginger green beans. It is great to hear that the kids gobbled them up. It is a tall order to get them to eat veggies.
DELICIOUS!! Bright, easy, and different! HUGE hit!
Laura, thank you for trying and reviewing the recipe. Happy to know you enjoyed it.
My. Very Favorite green bean recipe. So easy to make.
Love this! Thanks