This sautéed green beans recipe with apple cider is a delicious Thanksgiving side dish! Made with 5 ingredients in 30 minutes, they're a healthy and easy holiday side dish that everyone loves.
If you're anything like me, you start testing and bookmarking recipes for the holidays as soon as the weather starts changing in the fall.
These Sautéed Green Beans are one of my favorite Thanksgiving side dishes! They're easy to make with only 5 ingredients in 20 minutes and are healthier than eating your vegetables smothered in cream soups and topped with french fried onions!
This recipe can be enjoyed by anyone with dietary restrictions as well - it's gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan.
How to make Sautéed Green Beans
This recipe has a handful of steps, but they're simple to execute.
Blanch the green beans.
Begin this recipe by blanching the green beans.
When working with fresh green beans I like to blanch them first. To do this, cook the beans in boiling water for 2-4 minutes until they are soft (cook time varies with the size of the beans).
Then rinse them in cold water and plunge them into an ice-water bath to stop the cooking process. This makes the final step of sautéing incredibly easy because the beans are already tender! Blanching can be done the day before, to help you streamline your day-of holiday cooking.
Reduce the cider.
Next, reduce the apple cider so it forms a thick glaze. The cider takes about 20 minutes to thicken and reduce by half. This can also be done 1 day in advance.
Save time and start the process when you begin boiling the water. It's pretty hands off just be careful when you do stir it because stirring causes the liquid to boil vigorously for a few seconds. If your'e not careful you run the risk of it bubbling out of the pot!
Watch the cider carefully towards the end of the reducing process, it goes from perfect to a burnt, unusable mess very quickly (speaking from experience here).
Sauté the green beans
Once the beans are blanched and the cider is reduced, sauté the beans in the cider to brown them and coat them with the apple cider glaze.
Serve
Serve them immediately after cooking, warm with your favorite Thanksgiving recipes like this roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole.
Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a sauté pan.
Sautéed Green Beans Recipe: Substitutions
There are only 5 ingredients in this recipe, and as always, I recommend making them exactly as written for the best results. However here are a few possible substitutions:
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil will work well in this recipe. I recommend avocado oil or canola oil if you do not have olive oil. Melted butter is also an amazing substitution for the olive oil.
- Garlic salt. If you do not keep garlic salt on hand. Simply substitute ½ tsp sea salt and ½ tsp garlic powder for the garlic salt. Then adjust seasonings to taste if necessary! You can also add fresh minced garlic to the beans when you cook them.
Recipe FAQs
I prefer to blanch and then sauté green beans for the best flavor and texture.
I made this more of a sweet/savory dish but using the rich spices in apple cider - cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.
How do you keep green beans green when cooking?
Blanching the beans before cooking them helps them retain their bright green color.
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Apple Cider Sautéed Green Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 lbs 8 cups fresh green beans
- 1 ½ cups real apple cider
- 2 TBS olive oil
- ½ tsp garlic salt
- ¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
Instructions
- Trim the ends of 2 lbs (8 cups) of fresh green beans and place them in a colander and rinse.
Blanch the beans:
- Fill a large, 6-quart stock pot ¾ full with water and bring to a boil.
- While water is coming up to a boil, fill a large bowl ½ full of water and ice. If the ice melts add more! Set aside.
- Pour trimmed & rinsed beans into boiling water cook for 3-4 minutes or until beans are slightly soft to the touch.
- Pour boiling water/beans into a colander and rinse with cold water.
- Put the beans into the bowl of ice cold water to stop them from cooking!
- Once beans are completely cool (or cold) drain and rinse again.
Apple cider reduction:
- While the water is boiling, place 1 ½ cups of apple cider into a small sauce pot (2-3 quart saucepan).
- Bring liquid to a boil then reduce to a vigorous simmer and continue cooking, stirring occasionally. Be aware, stirring can cause the liquid to bubble more vigorously for a moment so be careful!
- Cook until the cider is reduced to ½ of its original volume and begins to stick to the spatula when you stir it. (about 20 minutes).
- Watch the apple cider reduction carefully because it can go from perfect to burnt very quickly!
- Remove from heat and set aside.
Putting it together:
- Put the beans in a large sauté pan and toss with 2 TBS olive oil, salt and pepper.
- Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the beans become warm.
- Add the apple cider reduction and cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid coats the beans.
- Serve immediately!
Video
Notes
Ingredient Substitutions
- Olive oil. Any neutral oil will work well in this recipe. I recommend avocado oil or canola oil if you do not have olive oil. Melted butter is also an amazing substitution for the olive oil.
- Garlic salt. If you do not keep garlic salt on hand. Simply substitute ½ tsp sea salt and ½ tsp garlic powder for the garlic salt. Then adjust seasonings to taste if necessary! You can also add fresh minced garlic to the beans when you cook them.
Serve
Serve them immediately after cooking, warm with your favorite Thanksgiving recipes like this roast turkey, mashed potatoes, and sweet potato casserole.Store
Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop in a sauté pan.Nutrition
More Delicious recipes:
Here are some more of our favorite recipes!
- Serve these green beans as a Thanksgiving or holiday side dish alongside this Roast Turkey and the best Turkey Gravy!
- The BEST homemade sausage stuffing
- The BEST homemade meatloaf recipe - YUM!
- Brussels Sprouts! This recipe for Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts will turn a sprouts-hater into a sprouts-lover!
- Sweet Potatoes. This is the best sweet potato casserole ever, or try this healthy sweet potato casserole! If you like crisp potatoes (as opposed to mashed) try these maple roasted sweet potatoes!
- This butternut squash soup makes a great appetizer!
- Green Beans. I also make these apple cider sautéed green beans on Thanksgiving!
- Apples. These sautéed cinnamon apples always make an appearance on our holiday table. Or you can combine them with sweet potatoes and make roasted sweet potatoes and apples!
- Cranberry Sauce. I'm all about homemade cranberry sauce! Try our healthy cranberry sauce.
- Salads: like this burrata salad or this balsamic caprese quinoa salad!
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Sheila
I love this recipe. It's easy, healthy and perfect! We had tremendously enjoyed this with grilled salmon.
Laura
Thank you so much Sheila! I'm SO glad you enjoyed it! This is one of my favorite ways to prepare green beans!
Liz
I am in LOVE with this simple, fresh take on green beans! I too am not a huge fan of the traditional creamy green been casserole, so I may just have to give these a try this year!
Donna
Hi Laura, thanks for the great recipe. I was searching for festive and delicious Christmas dinner ideas for my family. Finally, I found it. The ingredients are my all time favourite, especially the Apple Cider Vinegar and green beans. I’m really excited to get cooking. Well done and thank you again.