Thanksgiving Green Beans
This simple green bean side dish is prepared with shallots, garlic, and fresh thyme, for an easy and delicious vegetable with lots of flavor. It’s great for Thanksgiving or any weeknight dinner!
I get the convenience of the frozen or canned green beans, but fresh is so much better. And when you’re celebrating a holiday like Thanksgiving of Christmas, it’s definitely the time to get the good fresh stuff.
My favorite way to prepare Thanksgiving green beans is to saute them with lots of aromatics, like shallot, garlic, and thyme.
Serve them proudly on your Thanksgiving table right alongside your Sweet Potato Casserole, Potato Gratin, Maple Glazed Carrots, Drop Biscuits, and Roasted Butternut Squash. Enjoy!
Thanksgiving Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 3/4 cup finely chopped red onion or shallots
- 2 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- 15 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1/2 tsp red wine vinegar optional
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- Heat up a skillet over medium heat, then add the olive oil. Add the onion and season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 10 minutes, until softened.
- Add the minced garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the green beans and thyme, and season with more salt and pepper. Saute for 15 minutes, until the raw bite has been taken out but they are still crisp and al dente.
- Remove the thyme stems before serving, and add the vinegar for a little bit of brightness. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.
17 Comments on “Thanksgiving Green Beans”
These were well received at our family meal this year. A large 12 inch saute pan made the cooking move quickly. I did 2 pounds of beans in 1 pound batches. About 10 minutes of saute got them ready for serving from a Crockpot on the warm setting. Nice flavor and crunch!
Simple and refreshing. I tend to burn garlic so I added it toward the end otherwise I followed the recipe exactly using shallots. It’s a keeper. Nice balance to the heavier traditional Thanksgiving side dishes. But this green bean recipe we will use year round.
Wonderful. Made these today, and they were a total crowd pleaser. Made one change: swapped out red wine vinegar for maple syrup (no red wine vinegar available). Winner. Savory smell. Al dente beans. Used fresh everything: beans, thyme, garlic, red onions. Looked great on the table. Added the right color balance. No one likes soggy veggies, and these were a step up from ordinary. Thank you.
Wonderful recipe. Had always cooked green beans in water. Husband, who does not like green beans, loved the recipe.
Im glad he loved them! Its crazy how much extra flavor you get by sauteing them!
I am really happy with this recipe. I cooked green beans before but what made it special was cooking the onion with the salt first and at the end using fresh thyme. The thyme was a refreshing aromatic touch compared to the oil. Definitely recommend.
What are your thoughts on blanching the beans first, and sauteeing for less time? (I’m trying to do some kitchen management for thanksgiving day!)
Gonna try making these tonight! We’re having a fried chicken ‘n sides party… need some green in there.
NICE! I love fried chicken. Have you tried Thomas Keller’s fried chicken?
I think I agree with you on this one some dishes are really hard to make it look sexy specially Asian dishes, but I dont mind as long as they taste good.
Those are quite fetching. You are so right on this: Canned green beans are just disgusting, and hardly qualify as edible food in my book.
That’s funny – when I made meatloaf I kept telling my husband that nothing would make it sexy! The green beans look delish!
Those look like some fine green bean to me. Unfortunately my manliness is desiring some bacon in there too. 😉
My teenagers like green beans with minimal good quality seasoning, like in your recipe. If you put cream of mushroom soup with fried onions on top they will go running for the border as that is not something they will get near their lips.
This sounds delicious. Unfortunately, green beans are now out of reach: my farm supplier said it frosted this week and the green beans are gone. We’ll probably eat broccoli or spinach salad on Thanksgiving,
Green beans are usually not very thought of in most people minds, but that is not to say they cannot be as delicious and stunning as any other side dish. Love the way you have lightly seasoned them and made sure they still retain their crispness.
Wonder if I could get my hubby to agree to this – lovely recipe!
🙂 Mandy