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When it comes to sous vide cooking, the possibilities are limitless. Just when you think that you’ve already tried every recipe out there, new ones pop up from nowhere. That’s not a bad thing though, for we, cooks, love discovering new fields and meals. But what if sous viding meat isn’t enough? What if you want to expand the uses of your water oven cooker?
Thankfully, a sous vide machine cooks more than steaks and eggs. Today I present to you a veggie that can be cooked with your sous vide to create fabulous recipes: the green or string beans, the kitchen’s most loved crunchy yummy. So, let’s cut to the chase, get to your sous vide machine, chef, for it’s time to start a new cooking journey!
Equipment
- Sous Vide Machine – our favorite right now is theAnova or theJoule.
- Container – not necessary, but nice to have for bigger cuts of meat. We recommend theLipavi as it is large and sturdy. You can also use a pot.
- Vacuum sealer and bags, or a freezer Ziploc bag. If you only have a Ziploc make sure to check our our article on the water displacement method. You can find our favorite vacuum sealers here – 5 Best Sous Vide Vacuum Sealers (Reviews Updated 2021)
The best sous vide green beans recipes
Now that you know why you need sous vide green beans in your diet, we’re going to show you 5 of our favorite recipes!
1. Sous Vide Szechuan Green Beans
Dry frying Szechuan green beans can be a real pain in the neck as cooking this veggie on a pan usually removes its green color, and you end up with an overcooked green bean in most cases. Thankfully, sous vide came to the rescue to provide excellent, crunchy and perfectly-cooked green beans.
Ingredients:
- 5 oz of fresh green beans
- 2 tsp sriracha sauce
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ tsp dried onions
- 1½ tsp minced ginger
- 1½ tsp minced garlic
- ¼ tsp chili flakes
Instructions:
- Preheat your sous vide to 80°C (180°F).
- Mix the sesame oil, dried onions, minced ginger, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl using a fork.
- Get one of your quart-sized sous vide bags and mix the green beans with your desired quantity of sriracha sauce.
- Firmly close the bag using a sous vide vacuum sealer or the water immersion technique, then place it in the water bath.
- Cook for 30-40 minutes if you prefer your beans crunchy, and 1 hour if you want a bit of tenderness in your food. Do not forget to adjust the exact duration according to the thickness of the crop.
- Remove the green beans from the bag unto the plate using the tongs and add garlic salt and liquid from the pack as desired.
- Lighten some candles and enjoy a fancy meal with your partner or by yourself.
2. Sous Vide Green Bean Casserole
Have you ever tasted an excellent Crumb-Fried Chicken meal and were like “This is the as good as food can get!”? You know it’s true, no one can resist such a finger-licking Good. Sous vide lovers (especially vegans), we have good news for you, as today we present the best recipe in which you can sous vide your fresh green beans with breadcrumbs to get the perfect crunchy meal!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (10.6 ounces / 300 g) of fresh green beans that are cut into small pieces
- 1/5 medium peeled and diced shallot
- 7 ounces (100 ml) of condensed mushroom soup cream
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) panko breadcrumbs
- 1 egg
- Salt and pepper according to your preferences
- 1 can (2.8 ounces / 78 g) of crispy fried onions
Instructions
- Preheat your sous vide to 85°C/185°F
- Combine and mix the fresh green beans, shallot, condensed mushroom soup cream, panko breadcrumbs, and egg in a large cooking pouch or sous vide bag. Gently massage the ingredients for an optimal meal.
- Vacuum seal the pouch and place it in the water bath.
- Cook for 2 hours. Again, adjust the duration to the thickness of the beans and the desired tenderness.
- Remove the bag from the water bath and place the mixture in a serving dish using a spoon.
- Add the toppings, including the crispy fried onions and the salt and pepper according to your preferences. You can also add sauce or other additional toppings, although we believe the meal is great as is.
- Serve the dinner.
3. Sous Vide Green Beans with Bacon
Bacon is an essential staple in our diet. It’s just too good to give up, and that’s why it’s used in countless recipes around the world. If you’re a pork lover, here’s a recipe that you wouldn’t want to miss in your sous vide ventures: Green Beans with Bacon.
Ingredients:
- 1 pound (450 g) of trimmed fresh slender green beans
- 1 medium onion that’s carefully diced
- 2 slices of small-diced bacon
- Salt and pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat your sous vide to 185°F/85°C
- Mix the fresh beans with sliced onions and season the mixture with salt and pepper.
- Put the mixture in a sous vide bag then seal it using a sealer or the water immersion technique, then place it in the water bath.
- Cook for one hour
- Remove the mixture from the bag and serve it as a main or a side dish.
- Enjoy!
4. Sous Vide Green Beans with Hazelnut and Mandarin
Hazelnuts are irresistible. I’ve always felt sad for those with allergies for such yummies. If you’re not one of those unfortunate souls, here’s a recipe that you should definitely try at least once: Sous vide green beans with hazelnut and Mandarin.
Ingredients.
- 1 pound /450 g of trimmed green beans
- 2 mandarins, tangerines, satsumas, or small oranges
- 2 tsp butter
- 2 oz hazelnuts
- 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
- Fill your sous vide cooker with water and preheat it to 185°F/85°C.
- Mix the green beans, butter, and salt in a small or medium bowl.
- Put the mixture in a sous vide bag or a sizeable kitchen-grade pouch then cut one of the mandarins and juice it into the bag while keeping the second one for later.
- vacuum seal the bag
- Merge the bag in water and cook for 1 hour
- While the beans are cooking, toast the hazelnuts for 7 minutes at 400ºF/205ºC then chop them roughly after rubbing off the skins.
- Remove the beans from the water and place them on a plate then zest the remaining mandarin and add the roasted hazelnuts as a topping.
- Serve and enjoy.
5. Sous Vide Green Bean Almandine
The last pick on our list is a typical side dish; the Green Bean Almandine. What’s new though is the technique. We all know how flat veggies taste when boiled, so here’s how you can prepare this meal using a sous vide for a crisp bite.
Ingredients:
- 3-4 cups (10.6 ounces / 300 g – 14.1 ounces / 400g) of fresh cleaned and trimmed
- green beans
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup of roughly chopped toasted almonds
Instructions:
- Preheat your sous vide to 80°C (180°F).
- Mix the green bean with the lemon zest and juice
- Put the mixture in a sous vide bag then vacuum seal it
- Place the bag in the water oven
- Cook for 1.5/2 hours
- Place the cooked green beans on a plate using a spoon.
- Season the mixture with salt and drizzle with the olive oil.
- Add your toasted almonds n top of the meal.
- Serve the dish with a flavored steak that has been seared with a sous vide torch, and you’ve got yourself a sweet treat for a luxurious Saturday night.
How did green beans become an essential part of our diet?
Green beans, or Phaseolus vulgaris as scientists like to call them, were first discovered in South and Central America, but it wasn’t long until they spread like wildfire to reach every kitchen. That was possible thanks to Christopher Columbus who brought this crop to the Mediterranean region in 1492. Three centuries later, specifically during the 17th century, green beans were being cultivated around Italy, Greece, and Turkey.
In the ever-evolving world of cooking, the crop started gradually appearing in different recipes. Today, as new cooking methods are being invented around the clock, a new question may pop into one’s head “how to sous vide green beans?”. We all know how good sous vide is for fish and meat, but green beans are also appearing in sous vide cookbooks nowadays, and chefs around the world are endorsing it.
As a sous-vide expert (at least locally), I get some questions quite often; How to sous vide French green beans? How to sous vide canned green beans? How to sous vide pickled green beans? How to sous vide garlic green beans? People want to know these things all the time, and that’s why I’ve compiled this list of the best sous vide green beans recipes.
Verdict
I admit, there isn’t really a sous vide green beans recipe that’s better than the others. All of them are delicious and would add a crispy green taste to your dinners. Veggies are essential, and they give a great healthy feeling when you eat them. That’s why you shouldn’t miss them in your meals.
I may sound biased, but cooking vegetables, like green beans, with a sous vide cooker is far better than boiling or frying them. What are you waiting for? Fill your sous vide cooker, chop your fresh crop and start cooking!