Speed Beans: Sauteed Frozen Green Beans
Sauteed frozen green beans has become our favorite dish. Frozen green beans you might ask, can they be any good? Well the truth is frozen vegetables are often just as flavorful, if not more, than “fresh” vegetables. Frozen vegetables are a quick, cheap and tasty way to get vegetables on your table.
These days frozen vegetables are individually flash frozen within hours of being picked. They are harvested at their peak too. Most of the time those freeze veggies have spent a couple of weeks traveling across continents and sitting on shelves before they get to your table.
One of the real benefits of the frozen veggies is that they come ready to go. You don’t need to do any prep work. They are also usually cheaper.When picking out frozen vegetables, look for the ones that come in bags instead of boxes. Also try to avoid bags with clumps of vegetables, it is usually a sign that they have been mishandled and allow to thaw and refreeze.
This New York Times article sings the praise of frozen veggies too.
The following base recipe along with the “seasonings” work great with other veggies like broccoli.
Speed Beans: Sauteed Frozen Green Beans
- 1 lb bag of frozen green beans, chopped or whole
- 1 tbs oil (vegetable, peanut or canola – anything good for sauteing)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Heat the oil in a 12″ non-stick over high heat.
- When the oil begins to shimmer (~3 minutes), add the frozen beans.
- Cook the beans, stirring every 30 seconds, until all of the ice has melted and most of the water in the pan has evaporated (~ 5 minutes).
- Add the salt and continue to saute until about half the beans have started to brown.
- Remove the pan from heat and serve…. or try one of the flavors below ->
Spicy Speed Beans!
Asian Speed Beans
- 1/2″ ginger root, grated
- 2 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 2 cloves garlic, pressed
- Follow the base recipe above.
- Add all ingredients to the pan and stir until well coated.
Spicy Speed Beans
- 1 tsp chili garlic sauce
- Follow the base recipe above.
- Add chili sauce to the pan and stir until well coated.
The Best of Cookography
Was searching the web looking for something using frozen beans… this was perfect. Any suggestions on what to add to have a more savory flavor… what about worcesteshire?
Worcesteshire could definitely work… I have never tried it on vegetables. Adding in a little beef broth or bullion towards the beginning could add a little depth. For a little asian flair, try adding some oyster sauce towards the end.
Just made these with Trader Joe’s frozen French green beans – they took a little less cooking time, but were made just the same. I used 1 tsp. of Porchini infused oil and 2 tsp. of vegetable oil. Sooo goood! Thank you for this recipe!
Oh thank you thank you thank you. We grow our own beans in our small Brooklyn backyard, and we also buy them in bulk locally at the farmer’s market, and then freeze, so we can eat local produce all winter long. But I have struggled with cooking them because I had this erroneous idea I had to thaw them first, which — guess what? — just means that they are soggy. So you have enlightened me and made the prospect of frozen green beans this winter so much more exciting. Thank you!
I love your blog! I am trying this beans tonight. You are also very good at food photography! Any tips? ALL your dishes look TO DIE FOR.
Thanks for the recipe! I never know how to cook green beans well, but this was easy and tasty :)
This recipe is great anything to change the taste to food and my boyfriend will love it THANKS!!!!
Thanks so much for sharing this! I’m making my lunch for tomorrow, and remembered I had a bag of TJ’s frozen green beans in the fridge. Going to do half w/ garlic and half w/ chili sauce. Yum!
Thank you SO MUCH! I’ve been microwaving my frozen beans in a pampered chef steam cooker and I always overcook them. This recipe made very nice crisp green beans that I enjoyed for the first time. Since my husband loves green beans, I’m sure I’ll go through many of these recipes. Thank you again for posting these.
[...] There were no instructions on how to prepare them! Fortunately the internet had my back. http://www.cookography.com/2007/speed-beans-sauteed-frozen-green-beans I found some great instructions on how to prepare frozen green beans and I was very happy with the [...]
I agree, great idea. I made the speed beans today for Thanksgiving dinner. I also sauteed some almond slices with butter while I cooked the beans then combined the two. It was delicious! Thanks!
Great! Sounds easy. Thanks.