40 Easy Green Bean Recipes to Make Anyone Love This Veggie
Even picky eaters will love these meal ideas.
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Quick poll: Are they green beans or string beans? Whatever you call them, this vegetable is so darn delicious! Now, we're certainly not knocking steamed vegetables, but the truth is, there are so many better ways to enjoy green beans. "I love preparing the crisp little babies in a skillet with delicious ingredients, allowing them to cook down and become both colorful and slightly caramelized," Ree Drummond says. You can turn them into a show-stopping side dish for steak, a hearty casserole recipe, or a fresh salad idea. But no matter if you're putting green beans on your Thanksgiving menu or making them any ol' night of the week, these recipes will come in handy.
You can prepare green beans just about any which way, and the recipes here will show you all the possibilities. Roast them in the oven for a no-fuss sheet pan dinner, pile them into a casserole dish and top with crispy fried onions for a classic Thanksgiving side, or pop them in an air fryer for the quickest addition to dinnertime. Green beans are also perfect to toss into a pot of vegetable soup, or the filling of a shepherd's pie or pot pie recipe. But Ree is also a big fan of keeping it simple. Her personal favorite way to eat green beans is stewing them with tomatoes, and in this recipe roundup you'll find her original version, plus a slow cooker rendition. (P.S. both have bacon!) Here, you'll see that green beans really are the most versatile veggie out there.
Slow Cooker Green Beans
These easy Crock-Pot green beans make the best (and easiest!) side dish. Lots of crispy bacon sprinkled over top is essential! Be sure to start with fresh or frozen green beans; canned won't hold up well.
Get the Slow Cooker Green Beans recipe.
Air Fryer Green Beans
When you need to make a quick vegetable side for a holiday meal but your oven and stove are preoccupied with other dishes, crank up your air fryer! This countertop kitchen gadget cooks simply seasoned green beans in just 15 minutes.
Get the Air Fryer Green Beans recipe.
Garlic Green Beans
Olive oil, garlic, and salt may sound simple, but they bring the perfect amount of flavor to this easy side dish. These green beans go with everything, from a fancy holiday feast to a casual weeknight meal.
Get the Garlic Green Beans recipe.
Leftover Turkey Shepherd's Pie
Skip the boring Thanksgiving turkey sandwich and turn your leftovers into this shepherd's pie! Filled with turkey, celery, carrots, and green beans, it'll make sure none of those delicious leftovers go to waste.
Cajun Green Bean Casserole
This recipe has all the elements of classic green bean casserole, but with a little kick of spice thrown in! This will become your family's favorite rendition of the holiday staple.
Get Ree's Cajun Green Bean Casserole recipe.
Sheet-Pan Curried Chicken
Sheet pan meals are life savers on busy weeknights. The super flavorful chicken, green beans, and carrots cook all on the same pan in under an hour! Just make some rice, and dinner is served.
Get Ree's Sheet-Pan Curried Chicken recipe.
Pasta with Zucchini Pesto
This dish is an excellent way to get in your veggies, while eating pasta too! It's filled with green beans and squash, and tossed in a scrumptious homemade pesto.
Get Ree's Pasta with Zucchini Pesto recipe.
Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole
Have leftovers from the big Thanksgiving feast? Reinvent them in this comfort food casserole. It has turkey, stuffing, and green beans, with mashed potatoes spread over top—similar to a shepherd's pie!
Get Ree's Thanksgiving Leftover Casserole recipe.
Thanksgiving Leftover Pot Pies
These easy, personal-sized pot pies are a tasty way to transform leftovers. You can chop up leftover green beans from the big feast, or even green bean casserole, if that's what you have! The crust is made from buttery, flaky puff pastry.
Get Ree's Thanksgiving Leftover Pot Pies recipe.
Green Bean Salad
This is everything you want in a salad: salty, crunchy, tangy, and refreshing! Green beans are the star of the show, but the addition of red onion, tomatoes, olives, goat cheese, and chopped roasted almonds transform it.
Get the Green Bean Salad recipe.
Vegetable Soup
Is there anything more comforting than a steaming bowl of vegetable soup? This one is chock full of green beans, white beans, zucchini corn, and so much more.
Get the Vegetable Soup recipe.
Leftover Turkey Soup
Tossing green beans into a soup is an easy (and delicious!) way to eat more vegetables. This soul-warming soup uses leftover Thanksgiving turkey, but it can also be made with cooked chicken if you get a craving for it any other time of year!
Get the Leftover Turkey Soup recipe.
Skirt Steak with Blistered Green Beans
The secret to perfectly blistered green beans is to toss them into a hot pan and let them cook undisturbed. That's right! With this hands-off approach, you'll get tender, caramelized green beans that make a delicious side to steak, or any protein.
Classic Three-Bean Salad
Make this quick-fix salad on Sunday and enjoy it for lunch all week long! It uses canned white beans and kidney beans, but you'll want to use fresh green beans for the best flavor and texture.
Get the Classic Three-Bean Salad recipe.
Peanut Chicken with Green Beans
This Asian-inspired meal is perfect for weeknights because it comes together in under an hour! You'll love the crunch that green beans add to the dish. They pair especially well with the fragrant, peanut-y sauce.
Get Ree's Peanut Chicken with Green Beans recipe.
Green Bean-Mushroom Casserole with Candied Bacon
You've never had a green bean casserole like this one before! Instead of canned soup, a homemade mushroom sauce makes this dish so creamy and delicious. Plus, it's topped with crispy, candied bacon.
Get Ree's Green Bean-Mushroom Casserole with Candied Bacon recipe.
Italian Chicken Sheet Pan Supper
Put everything together on one sheet pan for this easy weeknight dinner. The tomatoes will get juicy and the green beans will be so tender, they're perfect for serving alongside chicken.
Get Ree's Italian Chicken Sheet Pan Supper recipe.
Green Bean Casserole
This from-scratch casserole is a Southern comfort food favorite. It's loaded with sliced pimentos, bacon, and plenty of cheese.
Get Ree's Green Bean Casserole recipe.
Green Beans with Tomatoes
This side dish is simple, flavorful, and so easy to whip up. As Ree says, "Sometimes, it's the most simple ingredients that, when combined, make the most delightful dishes."
Get Ree's Green Beans with Tomatoes recipe.
Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Fried Shallots
Whether it's Thanksgiving dinner or a family gathering, you can't go wrong with this classic casserole. The crispy fried shallots really take it over the top.
Get the Green Bean Casserole with Bacon and Fried Shallots recipe.
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