Simple Steamed Green Beans

One of our favorite, easiest summer side dishes is steamed green beans–especially when those green beans are freshly harvested right from our fields.

We include already harvested green beans in our Summer CSA, along with the option to pick your own. This allows for each farm member family to get the amount of beans that’s right for their situation. Want just enough for dinner? Grab them from the CSA line! Want to freeze or can for winter? Go ahead and pick a bunch! 

One thing I love about steamed green beans as a side dish is how it’s easy to get kids involved in the cooking process by having them snap the ends of the beans. This usually results in the snapper also being the green-bean-snacker, and I am completely fine with my kids snacking on veggies before a meal!

How to Steam Green Beans

1. Wash beans if needed.
2. Trim or snap the stem ends of the beans. Place the beans into the steamer basket.
3. Fill a large pot with 1-2 inches of water. Bring water to a boil.
4. Place the steamer basket on top of a pot of boiling water. Cover.
5. Reduce heat to medium-high. Steam 7-9 minutes, depending on the amount of beans you’re steaming and how tender you want the beans. When I’m steaming a lot of beans, I turn them with tongs every 2 minutes for even steaming.
6. Once beans have turned bright green, test a bean for doneness. If you like the tenderness level, remove beans from heat. If not, continue to cook for 2 minute increments until they reach the desired tenderness. Discard hot water.
7. Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt or finishing salt. Enjoy!

Helpful Hints:

• If you don’t have a steamer, see if you can fit your colander over the pot.
• If you don’t have a colander, you can boil your green beans in an inch or two of well-salted water. Reduce cooking time to 5-7 minutes.
• For special occasions or a richer side dish, add butter as soon as the beans are done cooking. Let butter melt, then toss to coat green beans evenly. Sprinkle with salt. Yum!