Green, crunchy and really tasty: green beans are the perfect snack if you want to eat healthy and calorie-conscious. We tell you how you can easily cook green beans.
You just have fresh crunchy beans in front of you and don't know how to cook green beans? We'll tell you how it's guaranteed to work and why you should eat them regularly.
Green beans are rich in minerals, trace elements and vitamins. And mega delicious!
Best of all, fresh green beans are available at the supermarket almost year-round. From July to September, you can also find them in the garden or at the farmers' market.
Table of contents
Yes, you can also buy them canned. But then they taste slack and somehow like a can. You are then far away from healthy.
That's why you should cook green beans. And do it yourself. It's very simple.
Don't know how to cook fresh green beans? We can help you. We'll show you how to easily boil, roast or steam bush beans.
Why you need to cook green beans
Many vegetables can be snacked raw without hesitation. But green beans are definitely not one of them!
Whether you buy them fresh or frozen, you must always cook the green vegetables before eating them.
These green spelt fritters are perfect with green beans!
Why? A toxic protein compound is to blame. You don't have to be afraid now, though. When heated and when the cooking times are observed, the protein compound is largely destroyed.
When cooked, beans are a healthy and tasty addition to your kitchen. Now you can learn step by step how to prepare bush beans.
How to prepare green beans for cooking
Freshly prepared vegetables don't always have to be time-consuming. Green beans are ready for cooking in just a few simple steps.
- To do this, simply cut off the pointed end and the stem base of the bush bean.
- Most varieties of this legume are then already ready for the wash.
- Older varieties may still have a thread present. This runs from the stalk to the end of the pod. If you have caught such a green bean, it is best to remove the thread with a knife in the direction of the bean end.
Finally, wash the green legumes with cold water. That's it! Now it's time to cook.
Makes a great accompaniment to green beans: Gratinated chicory
Green beans cooking in crock pot
Cooking time: 10 minutes
Classically, green beans are prepared in a saucepan. Before that you need to clean and wash them, as described above. Cooking green beans in a saucepan takes about 10 minutes. How exactly to cook green beans, you will learn now.
1. bring water to a boil
Let's go! Get a saucepan and fill it with water. Put the lid on and bring to a boil.
2. salting and baking powder
The water begins to boil? Then you can add salt now. Why only now? Unsalted water starts to boil faster!
To prevent the green beans from losing their color during cooking, you can add a teaspoon of Baking powder* or Baking soda* to the water. Nothing changes in terms of taste.
3. beans in
Until the water boils, you can clean the beans and bring them to the right length. As a salad, pieces of about 5 cm are best. As a side dish wrapped in bacon, leave the beans whole.
4. pour off and quench
After ten minutes, you can take a taste. The beans no longer squeak when you bite? Great!
Then you can pour off the hot water. You should then pour ice water over the legumes. This will stop the cooking process and the beans will stay green and crunchy. Then season to taste and serve.
Green beans are the perfect side dish for Jerusalem artichoke puree!
Prepare bush beans in the pan
Preparation time: 10 minutes
You can prepare green beans not only in the pot. You can also fry them in a pan.
- First, put 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in the pan and start heating it slightly.
- Add the beans and fry them.
- Attention not too many! The beans must all touch the bottom of the pan.
- Turn down the temperature, put the lid on the pan and turn the beans every now and then.
Depending on your taste, you can also sauté diced onion and garlic until translucent before adding the legumes to the pan.
Rosemary also does well!
Cooking green beans with the steaming method
Preparation time: 15-20 minutes
To prevent the vitamins and minerals from passing into the water during cooking, you can also steam the beans. This is the healthiest way to prepare vegetables. It is cooked only with steam. And thus remain much crunchier.
- To do this, fill a pot with about 2 to 3 cm of water. You then bring this to the boil.
- Then you put a steamer insert in it. You don't have one? Then you can also use a kitchen strainer in a suitable size.
- Place the steamer basket or strainer in the pot so that it does not come into contact with the water.
- Add the cleaned beans.
- The pulses are then gently steamed over medium heat.
Make sure that the water in the pot does not evaporate completely.
Tip: If you want to leave the most nutrients and vitamins in your vegetables, you should get a steamer. You can order very easy-to-use devices from Amazon.
How to store green beans
You bought fresh beans and now you're wondering where to store them?
It is always best to process them on the same day. However, if this is not possible, you can store the fresh legumes in the refrigerator. They should last 2-3 days depending on the degree of freshness.
But freezing is also possible.
Veggie meatloaf and green beans? A dream combination!
You can even put them in the freezer in their raw state. However, they will lose some color when thawing.
Cooking green beans before freezing them is the best idea, though. Cook them, let them cool, then stick them in the freezer. Done.
Why you should cook green beans more often
Green beans should be on the table regularly.
- 100 g of the delicious legumes have only 27 kcal.
- Besides a lot of fiber, they also contain calcium, potassium, iron, zinc and magnesium. So a real mineral bomb.
- They are also bursting with vegetable proteins and vitamins B, C and E.
However, so that they do not cause you stomach and intestinal problems, you must never eat them raw.
If you are prone to a bloated belly, you can sprinkle caraway or fennel on the cooked beans. Savory and coriander also go well with it.
Our conclusion
With our tips, even the worst cooks will become professionals when it comes to preparing green beans. However, it is important that you never eat the fresh beans raw. Otherwise, it can lead to stomach and intestinal problems.
Every little bean makes a little sound? You're probably familiar with this saying. But to prevent this from happening, you should always season your beans with cumin, fennel seeds, coriander or savory. Then nothing will stand in the way of your next date, if you have previously eaten green beans ;-)
Have fun cooking green beans and enjoy!
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