Canned Green Bean Recipes - How to Serve Canned Green Beans

One of my pantry staples is canned green beans. I grew up with Mom pouring out the can of green beans into a pan, heating them up, and serving them as is. I thought that was fine. Poor Mom, she was just too tired to put much time into cooking after working all day and cleaning when she got home.

Then, when I got out on my own, I discovered these miracle little bottles called spices. And there were herbs and all kinds of things that made food taste, well, edible. Garlic was my newest best friend!

So, back to green beans in a can. They are a workhorse around my weekly menus. Thankfully, all of my family like green beans. As a result, I have come up with many ways to make a can of green beans taste delicious. They almost taste like fresh green beans from the garden that have been cooking all day, the old-fashioned way.

Here are some tips to make canned green beans (or frozen) taste great.

In order to get rid of that metallic, tin taste associated with canned green beans, throw out the liquid by draining the beans. This will get rid of some vitamins, but what good are they if no one eats them? Replace the liquid with fresh water.

Adding about 2-3 tablespoons of finely minced onion to a can of green beans while they are simmering adds lots of fresh flavor and goes well with about anything else added to a can of green beans.

A drained can of sliced or whole potatoes added to the canned green beans is a nice change.

Some cubed ham added to a can of green beans can add some old-fashioned style flavor.

One of the best seasonings to add to a can of green beans for added flavor is a ham base. This is like a ham bouillon. It can be difficult to find, but if you do, try a teaspoon or two in canned green beans. Let them simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes to absorb the flavor. Add some fresh, ground or cracked pepper just before serving. Delicious! Adding beef bouillon tastes almost as good.

Another option for how to serve canned green beans is this simple recipe:

Dice up a couple of slices of bacon and about 1/4 of an onion. Sauté them together in a pan. Take a can of green beans and drain well, as mentioned above. Add the drained green beans to the pan. Add just a bit of fresh water, maybe 1/4 cup. Be sure to leave the bacon grease in the pan.

Cover and simmer for about 15-20 minutes, or until most of the water has evaporated.

Add salt and pepper to taste just before serving. These canned green beans will almost taste like old-fashioned, southern style green beans.

I've saved my preferred way to make green beans from a can for last. It's very easy, but delicious. This is my favorite of all my canned green bean recipes:

Put about 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a medium pan. Add about 1/4 of a chopped onion and a couple of cloves of minced garlic. Sauté them, stirring constantly, until they are browned. Be careful not to overcook the garlic. It will taste bitter.

Next, pour the can of green beans into the pan after draining them well. Add about 1/4 cup fresh water. Heat on simmer until most of the water has evaporated. Sometimes I add a bit of parmesan cheese during the last couple of minutes and let it melt. So good!

Hope these tips for how to serve canned green beans and my favorite canned green bean recipes helps you out on those days when you just can't figure out what's for supper!