Low Fat Fresh Green Beans Recipe
This low fat fresh green beans recipe can be fixed so easily that there is no reason to open a can when you can have these delectable morsels most of the year. Here in Northeast Ohio, the local green beans started coming in this past week around July 15th. I’m sure some came in earlier than this, but they are the first ones I found for sale locally. This is the simplest recipe but it’s exactly how I prefer my green beans without any meat added. You can add ham or bacon if you wish, but this recipe keeps the green beans low fat and still delicious, plus it’s perfect for your Vegan friends if you switch out the Chicken Stock for Vegetable Stock and omit the butter on their serving.
Ingredients
- 1 pound Green Beans
- 1/2 Cup Candy Sweet Onion, chopped (Vadalia onion can be substituted)
- 1 - 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 2 sprigs of Fresh Dill (dried can be substituted - 2 pinches)
- Chicken or Vegetable Stock - approximately 1 1/2 to 2 cups or 12 to 16 ounces
- Butter - small pat or a sliver per serving (optional)
- Fresh Ground Pepper
Instructions
- Wash your green beans thoroughly and snap off the ends. Break the green beans into the size pieces you prefer and place them into a 2 quart saucepan. I fix 1 pound of green beans at a time and that amount works perfect in this size pan.
- Add 1/2 cup of Candy Sweet onion, chopped into 1/2 inch size pieces. (Vadalia Sweet Onion can be substituted - use the sweetest onion you can get and my preference is Candy Sweet, which are readily available in Northeast Ohio at the same time as the Green Beans.)
- Add 1-2 cloves of garlic, pressed or chopped - I love garlic so I prefer 2 cloves.
- Add 2 sprigs of fresh dill cut up. I use my kitchen shears to trim the needles right into the pan (dried dill can also be used = a couple of pinches of dried dill rubbed in your hands to scrunch the dill and release the flavor)
- Pour in Chicken Stock (Vegans can use Vegetable Stock) over the green beans to just below the top of the beans. For one pound of beans, this is usually about 1/2 container of chicken stock which is equal to 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups, or 12 - 16 ounces. If you don't have quite that much stock, add water to bring the liquid up to just below the beans in the pan.
- Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to simmer. Cook until green beans are your desired amount of tenderness. I like to simmer mine for 15 minutes to 30 minutes, if they're standard whole green beans. If you're using the extra thin green beans, sometimes called French or Haricot Verts, then you will simmer them less, approximately from 5 to 10 minutes. Stick a fork into the beans and test for tenderness.
- Top each serving with a sliver (paper thin slice, like a shaving) of butter and sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.
- Salt if needed - Mr. Carnivore salts and I don't so it's to the individual taste and whether you used a reduced sodium Chicken Stock or not.
- The Chicken Stock flavors these beans a lot so a tablespoon of butter is not necessary. This recipe is how I learned to reduce fat in our green bean consumption since our tendency was to slather them in butter, normally.
- Enjoy from The Zest Quest!
Notes
These beans can be frozen for eating another day. I drain the chicken stock, if that's what I used, so the flavoring doesn't become too strong. If I used vegetable stock, I freeze the green beans in the stock.
July 26, 2015 at 4:35 pm
I love green beans…they look scrumptious. I so can’t wait for mine to start producing.
July 27, 2015 at 7:28 pm
I wish I would have planted some this year, Mel, because I could eat them more often than once a week! Maybe I’ll try some in the partial shade and see if they produce before winter hits us.
October 31, 2019 at 2:37 am
Excellent recipe! We are eating healthy and didn’t want to add salt bacon. Loved this!
October 31, 2019 at 6:02 am
I’m glad you enjoyed them, Shelly. Thanks for letting me know you tried them. 🙂