Buttery Crisp Sauteed Green Beans

I found some fresh green beans on sale at Sprouts Farmer's Market the other day. Sprouts Market is my go to place to get all the items I need to make homemade breads, Granola, Artisan Bread and Overnight Oatmeal

I can get those items dirt cheap compared to the grocery store. Steele Cut oats are regularly priced at .69 a lb which is awesome and even better on sale at .50 a lb that is such a steal. I usually stock up when I go there since it is way out in Plano. 

What I noticed the last couple times I have been in Sprouts is that their produce is so much cheaper than my regular grocery store. I was shocked at all the low prices they had on their produce.Last time I went they had Fresh Green Beans on sale for .60 a lb. I love Fresh Green Beans so I grabbed a bag and loaded up.

My favorite way to eat fresh green beans is the old southern way, Southern Style Green Beans & New Potatoes. Um all that bacon and potatoes its so good. I cant eat them to often because they are fattening but so worth it. So instead today I am bringing you a simple way to eat fresh green beans.

Some of you may already prepare your green beans in this manner, but for the folks that don't this is a real easy and yummy way to make fresh green beans. This recipe does utilize a bit of real butter, but not to much to be considered bad. It has just enough to give it a great buttery flavor.

I saw this recipe on the Martha Stewart show when it first came out so it's been awhile. I love the simplicity of the this recipe the most so, this is my new favorite way to eat green beans. I hope y'all will give it try. What is your favorite way to prepare fresh green beans?

Trim the ends of the beans and set aside. Using a large bowl prepare a ice water bath and set that to the side as well.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil; add salt. Cook green beans until crisp tender, about 3-5 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the beans to the ice water bath. 

This will stop the cooking process. 

drain the beans and set aside.


In a large sauce pan bring 1/4 cup water and butter to a boil over medium high heat. Saute' the beans until they are heated through but still crisp.

Season with coarse salt and fresh ground pepper or you can also season with lemon pepper. My favorite is just butter and salt & pepper. There is nothing better than fresh crisp buttery green beans.


Recipe Source: Martha Stewart


22 comments

The JR said…
Yummy. They look great.
YUM. I admit, though - I do prefer the southern style with bacon and potatoes! Those are the best!
Lori said…
Good to know about Sprouts. One is opening about 1 mile from our home and now I can't wait to check it out. Thanks!
Julie said…
I think green beans are just about my favorite veggie and these look super! Sprouts really does have nice prices on some things, I love going there.
Michele said…
That is a smokin' deal for fresh green beans. I wish I could get them for that price here! I'm glad you have several green bean recipes on your blog. Green beans are one of the things in my freezer I'm trying to use up this month. I think I grew a few too many last summer in my garden.
Lucky you with fresh green beans! Wish we had a Sprouts. I like green beans just about any way, including a simple steam with real butter, salt and pepper. They are one of my favorite veggies and one I can actually get The Cajun to eat! Yours look so fresh and light!
I am really not fond with the greens but this one looks so yummy and great! Thanks for sharing!
Tina Butler said…
I want to try my hand at growing some this year. We did some last year but I think they werew garden beans and not string beans. So they were a little different. I wish Sprouts was closer but we can make runs on the weekend or hubby works about a mile from the store so he can pick up items as i need them

The steele cut oats are dirt cheap. They are so pricey in the grocery store. And their produce is the bomb.
Today's your lucky day, Tina! I just had the kids pick a number and you won the bowl fillers :)

Just send me an email via my sidebar contact button and I'll get them out to you this week. Yay!
Shonda said…
I'm so jealous of your fresh green beans - we don't have a Sprouts, so only occassionally can I afford fresh beans from the grocery store!! One of my good memories from childhood is green beans fresh from the garden - try Blue Lake. My grandmother made the good ones w/ new potates!! And we always had some canned for the winter. The best way: 1 pint green beans, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, about a Tbsp of bacon grease (I keep a small jar in the fridge, just for this!!) and about a tsp of minced garlic - cook about 15-20 minutes!!
brlracincwgrl said…
What a fantastic recipe! And it looks so simple!!
DailyChef said…
Wow, you sure know how to make vegetables look appetizing! Hard to get me craving veggies, but I think you accomplished just that!
Stacy said…
These green beans look so delicious! I have a blog award for you:
http://bubblesballoonsandblessings.blogspot.com/2010/02/beautiful-blogger-award-how-sweet.html
These greens beans look so fresh and yummy. I cooked green beans earlier this week and they were very woody and not at all appetizing. I'll try again and use this recipe!
I keep working hard to find ways to make veggies the kids will love. This one is simple but it looks like something Alex & Soph might not only eat, but also enjoy!
Alex McMurray said…
I do my green beans exactly the same way with lemon pepper and they are so good. We always had canned ones growing up but the fresh ones are so much better! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Aggie said…
I love fresh green beans, one of my favorite vegetables! I love how simply these are prepared!
Unknown said…
Thanks, Tina! Is this the same way they cook green beans at Chinese restaurant buffets? My daughter will only eat green beans at those buffets, so I was looking for a similar recipe. This looks like it! Cool! Melissa.
marjoriethe7th said…
Thanks for the great recipe! I have not been having much success with green beans lately using my steamer. So, when I looked in the veggie crisper and saw the green beans I had from Sprouts ( I love to shop there too), I wondered if I could saute them instead. I googled "sauteed green beans", saw a few sites and came across yours! A great recipe, very simple and delicious - it made our Easter dinner even better! Thanks again : )
Michelle said…
These were great! I also love them with bacon grease but we are watching our diets and by using less butter and adding water it was the perfect mix. We still had all the flavor without all the fat. I added a little garlic too. Thanks!
Anonymous said…
for this I reserved 1/4 c of the bean cooking liquid to use in the buttering phase... saves a tiny bit of water and also preserves some of the flavor! delicious!
Anonymous said…
I can't eat pepper (it makes me very sick), but we eat green beans covered with mushroom soup and cooked onions. We like them. I love garlic in almost everything. I just leave the pepper out.