We apologize if you are a huge fan of green beans. We apologize if you are the sort of person who longs for the green beans at Thanksgiving. We think it’s a little strange, but we still apologize.
It’s not that green beans aren’t perfectly delightful. It’s just that with so many far more exciting sides on offer at the typical Thanksgiving feast, it’s really hard to get excited about green beans. Usually, we don’t even bother to put them on our plates. So why do so many people serve them? It’s probably some combination of tradition and guilt (as if eating three green beans atones for your 1,500-calorie gravy-fueled sins …).
Would it be easier to just leave them off this year’s menu? Yup. Will you? Probably not. So we decided that if you really must clutter up the table with green beans, at least make them truly delicious. Not that you need to work hard to make that happen. We came up with five delicious and easy ways to dress your green beans. They’re so good we might even eat less mashed potatoes to leave room for them. Or not.
Green Beans Five Ways
Start to finish: 10 minutes; Servings: 6.
2 pounds green beans, ends trimmed
½ cup water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
In a large skillet over medium-high, combine the green beans and water. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until just tender and bright green. Drain any water that has not evaporated and stir in the butter. Season with salt and pepper. Continue the recipe using one of the following variations:
