Healthy Green Bean Side Dish Recipes

Find healthy, delicious green bean recipes including steamed green beans, sautéed green beans, and green bean casserole. Healthier Recipes, from the food and nutrition experts at EatingWell.

Staff Picks

Quick Vegetable Saute

Rating: 3.25 stars
1
Add a little shallot and dried dill or tarragon to any mixture of frozen vegetables and have a delicious side dish on the table fast. If you'd like to make this recipe with fresh vegetables instead, cut them into bite-size pieces and add a tablespoon or two of water to the skillet when you add the vegetables; adjust the cooking time as needed.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Soft Green Beans

Rating: 4.5 stars
2
Modern cooking may champion barely cooked, tender-crisp veggies, but the soft and luscious ones you find in many Southern kitchens, like these super-soft green beans, make a mouthwatering healthy side dish to classic Southern barbecue.
By Genevieve Ko

Charred Green Beans with Mustard Vinaigrette & Hazelnuts

Our go-to trick for this crunchy, mustardy vegan side dish: Use a grill basket--it lets you cook all the things that would ordinarily fall through the grill grates, no skewering required. Pick one up from the hardware store or order one online for less than $15.
By Carolyn Malcoun

Microwaved Fresh Green Beans

Steaming green beans in the microwave is quick and convenient, helping you to get dinner on the table in minutes. This basic recipe is a great starting point for the seasoning of your choice--a little butter, toasted nuts or a creamy sauce.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Slow-Cooker Green Bean Casserole with Crispy Onions

Rating: 4 stars
1
Thanks to fresh green beans, an easy homemade cream sauce and crispy onion topping, this green bean casserole recipe is healthier and more delicious than traditional recipes that use canned soup, beans and onions. Plus, the slow cooker saves you time cooking at the stove. Make sure to use fresh green beans, as frozen green beans will become mushy.
By Carolyn Casner

Steamed Fresh Green Beans

Steaming (but not for too long!) is a foolproof way to get perfect, crisp-tender green beans, every time. This easy recipe is a great starting point for other flavors or preparations, like adding cooked green beans to a salad.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Tomato & Green Bean Casserole with Spicy Herb Pesto

Rating: 5 stars
1
No gloppy canned soup in this healthy green bean casserole recipe. Simply give cilantro, parsley or chives (or a mix of all three) a whirl in the food processor to make the pesto-like sauce that ties the casserole together.
By Hilary Meyer

Fossolia (Ethiopian-Style Green Beans)

Like many Ethiopian dishes, this green bean side dish recipe has endless variations depending on who's cooking it. Green beans are always the star, most often along with carrots and rosemary, though it can also be served with potatoes or cabbage.
By Fetlework Tefferi

Composed Bean Salad with Basil Vinaigrette

Rating: 4.6 stars
2
Channel your inner food stylist while arranging the beans and vegetables for this show-stopping composed bean salad recipe. Serve at a potluck or for a beautiful salad at brunch alongside grilled chicken, scallops or fish.
By Katie Webster

Green Beans & Tomatoes with Sizzled Garlic

Capers, juicy tomatoes, and chopped fresh parsley make this vegetable side dish flavorful enough for a special meal, but easy enough for everyday.
By Hilary Meyer

Green Beans with Parmesan-Garlic Breadcrumbs

Rating: 5 stars
3
In this easy green bean recipe, browning the butter before tossing it with the breadcrumbs produces a nice nutty flavor. Serve this green bean dish as a healthy alternative to green bean casserole or as an easy side with steak, chicken or fish.
By Breana Killeen

Sautéed Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

Rating: 4.78 stars
8
Here's a simple sauté that is well suited for a special meal and versatile enough for your everyday repertoire.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen
Advertisement

Inspiration and Ideas

Our Favorite Healthy Green Bean Recipes for Thanksgiving

Our Favorite Healthy Green Bean Recipes for Thanksgiving
Green bean casserole has a place in our hearts, but we also love using fresh veggies in our Thanksgiving lineup. Here are some of our favorite healthy green bean recipes for Thanksgiving. Be warned: These are all so tasty you may just forget about grandma’s green bean casserole.
Green Bean Salad Recipes That Your Thanksgiving Wouldn’t Be Complete Without

18 Green Bean Salad Recipes That Your Thanksgiving Wouldn’t Be Complete Without
From Green Bean Salad with Feta Dressing to Mushroom and String Bean Salad, these are our picks for the best green bean salad recipes for Thanksgiving.
Green Bean Salad with Feta Dressing

Green Bean Salad with Feta Dressing
Rating: Unrated
1
Turkey Meatballs with Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes

Turkey Meatballs with Green Beans & Cherry Tomatoes
Rating: Unrated
1
Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole

Chicken, Mushroom & Wild Rice Casserole
Rating: Unrated
14
Braised Green Beans & Summer Vegetables

Braised Green Beans & Summer Vegetables
Rating: Unrated
4

Three-Bean Salad

Rating: 4.8 stars
4

This three-bean salad has far less sugar than typical versions. We opt for a combination of canned and frozen beans (for convenience) along with fresh green beans for their great taste and texture.

All Healthy Green Bean Side Dish Recipes

Lemon-Dill Green Beans

Rating: 4.71 stars
4
This lemon and dill vinaigrette is a natural complement to green beans. It's also great tossed with steamed asparagus or drizzled over sliced fresh tomatoes. To make this recipe serve 10, multiply all the ingredients by 2 1/2: Use 2 1/2 pounds green beans, 3 tablespoons dill, 2 1/2 tablespoons each shallot, oil and lemon juice, 2 1/2 teaspoons mustard and 3/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Healthy Green Bean Casserole

Rating: 5 stars
2
Typical green bean casseroles bathe ingredients in a heavy cream sauce and top them with buttered breadcrumbs or cheese. Our healthier version saves about 160 calories and 12 grams of saturated fat compared to a traditional recipe.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Dilly Potato Salad with Green Beans

Soaking red onion in cold water helps mellow its raw bite while leaving its appealing crunch. This easy potato salad recipe is great at room temperature or chilled. If you're not planning on serving it right away, keep the dressing separate until you're ready to serve.
By Hilary Meyer

Balsamic-Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan

Sweet balsamic vinegar and nutty Parmesan cheese complement roasted green beans and shallots in this easy and healthy side dish. Roasting the green beans gives them a sweet, caramelized flavor while they still retain some bite. Serve with chicken, fish, pork--you name it. These green beans are also a wonderful addition to your Thanksgiving meal.
By Robin Bashinsky

Green Beans with Creamy Mushroom Sauce

A much healthier take on the old-fashioned green bean casserole, this version thankfully skips the canned soup and fried onions! Fresh green beans are cooked until crisp-tender and topped with a garlicky-thyme mushroom sauce, shallots and crumbled chèvre.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Sizzled Green Beans with Crispy Prosciutto & Pine Nuts

Rating: 4.5 stars
3
Sizzling green beans in a little oil helps to bring out their natural sweetness. Prosciutto, pine nuts and lemon zest dress up the flavor without adding a lot of fat--a nice alternative to full-fat, creamy green bean casseroles.
By Victoria Abbott Riccardi

Italian Marinated Vegetable Salad

This marinated vegetable salad recipe is a colorful composed salad inspired by the classic Italian giardiniera. Serve on a platter as is or on a bed of crisp greens. For a heartier appetizer or light lunch, add 1/2 cup each diced salami and hard cheese, such as Provolone or even white Cheddar, to the mix.
By Romney Steele

Sweet Pickled Green Beans

We love dilly beans, but using a sweet brine and dried chile peppers gives pickled green beans a unique twist.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Gluten-Free Green Bean Casserole

Turn a classic holiday side dish gluten-free with a healthy version of cream of mushroom soup and a homemade crispy onion topping. No one will even know it's wheat-free!
By Devon O'Brien

Blue Cheese-Walnut Green Beans

Rating: 4.56 stars
7
Tender-crisp green beans tossed with creamy blue cheese and topped with toasted walnuts pair well with grilled steak or chicken.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Bean & Tomato Salad with Honey Vinaigrette

Rating: 4.86 stars
3
This beautiful salad combines fresh tomatoes, green beans, red onions and dried heirloom beans. Recently harvested beans (and thus freshly dried) cook more quickly than the kind you buy year-round at the market. In the latter part of the summer, farmers' markets begin to sell a fresh crop of heirloom varieties that would be perfect for this salad.
By Molly Stevens

Green Bean Salad with Basil-Tomato Vinaigrette

This fresh green bean salad, tossed with a homemade tomato vinaigrette, is a delicious and easy side dish.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Packet-Roasted Balsamic Green Beans & Peppers

Rating: 3.5 stars
2
We love to grill these green-bean-and-bell-pepper packets alongside chicken, steak or pork chops.
By Matthew G. Kadey

Simply French Green Beans

Thin green beans cook quickly, so rinsing them with cold water (or putting them into an ice water bath) is important if you want to keep them crisp. The beans in this side dish recipe take only 20 minutes to prepare, but taste their best after a couple hours in the fridge where they soak up the flavor of the shallot-thyme mixture.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Sautéed Green Beans with Tomatoes, Mushrooms & Garlic

This versatile and easy side dish is a tasty way to showcase green beans. We boil the beans briefly before sautéing for perfectly crisp-tender vegetables that don't get mushy.
By Betsy Andrews

Green Bean Casserole

Rating: 3.62 stars
6
This healthy revision of green bean casserole skips the canned soup and all the fat and sodium that come with it. Our white sauce with sliced fresh mushrooms, sweet onions and low-fat milk makes a creamy, rich casserole.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Spicy Stir-Fried String Beans

Rating: 4.25 stars
3
Skip greasy takeout and try this easy stir-fried green beans recipe. If you don't have a wok, you can make these stir-fried green beans just as well in a skillet.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Green Bean Salad with Corn, Basil & Black Olives

Rating: 4.5 stars
2
This vibrant summer salad goes well with just about any entree. Be sure to get ultra-fresh beans and corn and blanch them just long enough to tenderize them and bring out their color. If they are available, use salt-cured black olives, which provide the best complement to the crisp vegetables.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Barley Risotto with Fennel

Rating: 3.75 stars
4
This convenient alternative to traditional stovetop risotto uses healthy, fiber-rich whole grains--either barley or brown rice--seasoned with Parmesan cheese, lemon zest and oil-cured olives. The gentle, uniform heat of a slow cooker allows you to cook a creamy risotto without the usual frequent stirring.
By Patsy Jamieson

Green Beans with Cilantro

When shopping for green beans, select ones that are bright green with no bruises, bulges or brown spots.
By Diabetic Living Magazine

Green Beans with Creamy Garlic Dressing

Rating: 4.43 stars
5
Inspired by a Lebanese pasta dish, we toss steamed green beans with garlicky yogurt for an easy side dish. Try it with roast lamb.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Grilled Green Beans with Horseradish Ketchup

Rating: 5 stars
2
Grilled green beans? Absolutely! Make this grilled green beans with horseradish ketchup recipe in a grill basket if you have one, otherwise improvise with a piece of heavy-duty foil. Cook a steak or pork chops on the grill at the same time and dinner is done.
By EatingWell Test Kitchen

Warm Green Bean Salad with Toasted Walnuts

Rating: 5 stars
1
This colorful salad makes a fine prelude to a hearty dinner. Walnut oil's distinctive flavor delivers a rich hit to the dressing.
By Victoria Abbott Riccardi

Green Beans with Caramelized Red Onions

For an attractive presentation, trim the stem ends of the beans, leaving the pointed ends intact. Most fresh beans today do not require stringing, as the fibrous string has been bred out of them.
By Kathy Farrell-Kingsley
Load More
Advertisement
© Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.eatingwell.com