Sautéed Green Beans Recipe with Apple Cider (2024)

By Laura

Posted Oct 30, 2017, Updated Jan 10, 2022

5 from 3 votes

12 Comments

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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.

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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 anamazing substitution for the olive oil.
Garlic salt.If you do not keep garlic salt on hand. Simply substitute 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/2 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.

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Recipe FAQs

What is the best way to cook fresh green beans?

I prefer to blanch and then sauté green beans for the best flavor and texture.

What spices go well with green beans?

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

Laura

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.

5 from 3 votes

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 anamazing substitution for the olive oil.
Garlic salt.If you do not keep garlic salt on hand. Simply substitute 1/2 tsp sea salt and 1/2 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

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Did you enjoy this recipe? Have a question? Leave a comment below!

More Delicious recipes:

Here are some more of our favorite recipes!

Serve these green beansas 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 thishealthy 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’mall about homemade cranberry sauce! Try ourhealthy cranberry sauce.
Salads: like this burrata salad or this balsamic caprese quinoa salad!

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Sautéed Green Beans Recipe with Apple Cider (2024)

FAQs

What adds flavor to green beans? ›

Butter: A bit of butter adds a rich flavor and helps the seasoning stick to the green beans. Seasoned salt: Buy seasoned salt from the store, or make your own seasoned salt at home. Chili powder: This is an unexpected knockout seasoning. Chili powder adds a touch of spice and color without being too overpowering.

Why do people cook with apple cider vinegar? ›

The use of ACV for cooking purposes has been proven to make the food healthier with its antibacterial properties. It can be used both at home but also in commercial kitchens because it has very little effect on the taste of the dish.

Read On ›

How to cook green beans Jamie Oliver? ›

Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Meanwhile, trim the the beans. Once the water is boiling, steam or boil the beans until tender. Drain well, then tip the cooked beans into the bowl with your dressing and toss everything together, making sure all the beans get coated.

Learn More ›

Why add baking soda to water when cooking green beans? ›

Some people (especially food service establishments relying upon your satisfaction) add an alkaline ingredient, such as baking soda, to the cooking water to help retain the color of green vegetables.

Why are my sauteed green beans tough? ›

When green beans taste more like freshly-mown grass than food, and their texture is more squeaky-snap than chewable, we're not cooking them any more. We're undercooking them. Even worse, these undercooked vegetables have such a "green" flavor, we need to drown them in sauce to make them taste decent.

How to spice up cooked green beans? ›

Then, I toss the blanched beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and salt to pep up their flavor. Serve them just like that, or dress them up more with toasted almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme.

View Details ›

Should green beans be steamed or boiled? ›

Steaming green beans gives them the same crisp-tender texture as blanching or boiling. Yet I think it preserves their lovely green color and allows the home cook more control over their texture than with those other two methods. Steaming is easy, too—and ease is what this recipe is all about.

Discover More Details ›

How are green beans supposed to be cooked? ›

The key to the best beans is to master how long to boil green beans. Cook the green beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender: 10 to 15 minutes for whole or cut green beans. 5 to 10 minutes for french-cut green beans.

What is the best way to cook green vegetables so they stay firm and bright? ›

The best way to achieve this (and keep your veggies green) is by blanching, roasting or sautéing them. (Long cook times result in limp, soggy vegetables, void of both nutrition and colour.)

Keep Reading ›

How long to soak green beans before cooking? ›

Overnight Soaking

To soak beans the traditional way, cover them with water by 2 inches, add 2 tablespoons coarse kosher salt (or 1 tablespoon fine salt) per pound of beans, and let them soak for at least 4 hours or up to 12 hours. Drain them and rinse before using.