Everyday Roasted Green Beans

The Green Bean Recipe

Ah, the humble green bean.

A crunchy, crispy, low-calorie delight full of vitamin C, fiber, folate, and vitamin K. Sadly, this little veggie can taste waxy when steamed.

What’s a person to do? Roast that green bean of course! Twenty minutes in the oven transforms a plate of ordinary green beans into a culinary masterpiece. Perhaps "masterpiece" seems like a bit of an overstatement. However, anytime my kids ASK for green vegetables-- as they do with this dish-- I consider it an enormous win.

And you will be surprised and delighted by delicious green beans taste when they are roasted!

Adding a little lemon juice at the end brings a brightness to the beans that makes them fancy enough for company, but still easy enough for a weekday meal!

Delicious as a side dish, snack, or hors d’oeuvre, these green beans won’t last long in your house.

Take the humble green bean to new heights of deliciousness by roasting it and adding a touch of lemon at the end! Roasted green beans are easy enough for weekday meals, but yummy enough for company. (Love roasted veggies? Try our roasted brussel sprouts too!)

Are Roasted Green Beans Good?

You already know my answer... I love love love this recipe!

I eat it in place of french fries or as a snack. These roasted beans are easy to pick up, like french fries, and have a variety of flavor that will please your palate.

Also, you know my kids' answer... all three of them will eat this when I make it, and two out of three actually ask me to make it! (My kids are 2, 5, and 7. Seven might be old enough to eat something because it's healthy. 2 and 5, however, are decidedly still of the age when candy for breakfast sounds like the best idea ever.)

The last judge in my house is my husband. He grew up on boiled green beans and canned green beans, neither of which he liked. He loves a varied diet now, but when we were first married, he wouldn't touch a green bean. He finds these roasted green beans to be so delicious that he will sneak beans off the pan while it's still hot, just out of the oven. The fact that I have to tell him to wait to eat the green beans is the biggest miracle of all.

Are Roasted Green Beans Good for you?

Pretty much any green vegetable is a powerhouse for your body.

Green beans are low in calories, high in fiber, and super high in vitamins and antioxidants. One cup of green beans (before roasting) equals almost 1/5 of your daily requirements of Vitamins A and C.

They are also full of magnesium and potassium, which are important for heart health and stress management.

While researching for this article, I also found this nugget from the Farmers Almanac. Green beans have the "added bonus of improving the soil they grow in because of their ability to “fix” nitrogen from the air in nodules attached to the bean roots. When the nodulated bean roots decompose, they liberate the nitrogen to become available for the next year’s crop planted in that spot."

Apparently greens beans are good not just for you, but are also for farmers and for the planet! So, what are you waiting for?

Let's get roasting!