The difference between a gorgeous, appealing bowl of green beans and an unsavory, mushy mess comes down to how they’re cooked. Learn how to blanch green beans and no one at the dinner table will ever pass them up again.
First things first: Let’s chat about shopping for green beans. Green beans are typically sold in three forms: fresh, frozen or canned. Look for fresh green beans that are bright green and free from any brown or soft spots.
Ahead, we’ll explain how to cook fresh green beans, as well as how to freeze them for future use.
How to blanch green beans
To cook green beans, fill a medium-size saucepan with water and add a generous amount of salt, which will help to flavor the vegetable.
Bring the water to a boil and in the meantime, fill a separate large bowl with ice water and set it aside.
To prep fresh green beans for cooking, give them a quick rinse under water and trim the ends neatly with a sharp knife.
Once the water is boiling, add the beans, cooking for two to five minutes, depending on just how done you like them. If you’re using haricot verts, reduce the cooking time by one to two minutes; this variety of green bean is longer and thinner than traditional green beans, so they’ll cook faster.
Once they’re cooked, use a spider or tongs to transfer the green beans to the ice bath. By plunging them into ice water, you’ll immediately stop the cooking process, which will preserve their texture and bright green color.
From here, you can serve them as is or dress them with a pat of butter, fresh lemon zest, a sprinkle of salt and a few cracks of freshly ground black pepper for a simple side dish.
You can also use blanched green beans as the base for a traditional green bean casserole or this summer salad, which features corn, red bell pepper and a creamy buttermilk dressing.
How to freeze green beans
Want to save a batch of pre-blanched green beans for future cooking? No problem!
Line a baking sheet with paper towels and pat the green beans dry until they’re void of all moisture and water. Doing so will help prevent ice crystals from forming.
Transfer them to a freezer-safe airtight plastic bag and arrange them in a single layer; depending on how many beans you cooked, you may need to use two bags.
Once sealed, place the bags in the freezer, being careful to keep the beans in a single layer in order to avoid frozen clumps.
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