How To Cook Canned Green Beans

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Love tasty green beans? Then learning how to cook canned green beans will come in handy when you need a quick, easy, and delicious dish with minimal prep and minimal time.

And we know canned goods are convenient, and learning how to cook canned vegetables is a simple way to serve easy food to your family.

Ps check out this How To Cook Canned Pinto Beans, this easy How To Cook Canned Black Beans and this How To Make Canned Refried Beans Better.

And like this How To Cook Canned Chickpeas, and this How To Cook Canned Corn post, the great thing is about this easy recipe is that the veggies can be used in various delicious recipes.

The great thing about this flavorful canned green beans recipe is that it is made with a few ingredients you already own or can grab from your local grocery store.

I am talking 3 ingredients in this comforting side dish that the whole family will welcome to the dinner table again and again and again. These turn out tender and just perfect.

Why Make This Recipe

• Pantry staples – easy to keep especially when fresh vegetables are not around.
• Meal planning made easy – These are convenient for meal planning.
• Fast – Whip up this deliciously quick side dish with minimal cooking time. 
• Budget-friendly – Canned veggies are an easy and affordable pantry staple.
• Adaptable – Use the in various recipes, see ideas below, or season with herbs and spices to bring out different flavors. It’s so versatile. 

Ingredient Notes

• Canned green beans – this recipe calls for a can of drained cooked beans (not fresh green beans) preserved in water. These can be eaten as is, but adding extra flavor to them and cooking them for a few minutes really adds to their great taste. Look for plain unseasoned beans as you will be adding flavor to these.
• Onion powder – add so much flavor. But you can fresh onions that you sauté before adding in the beans.
• Butter – this recipe calls for butter. I prefer salted butter, but it is up to you if you want unsalted – this will depend on if you add any other salty flavors while cooking.

So, are you ready to learn how to make canned green beans taste good? Grab those ingredients and I will show you….

How To Cook Canned Green Beans

Get the complete ingredients list and instructions from the recipe card below.

1. Open and drain about half of the canned liquid from the cans.
2. Add canned green beans and the reserved liquid into a skillet.
3. Add butter, onion powder, and mix.
4. Leave uncovered and bring to a simmer.
5. Let green beans simmer, stirring occasionally, until about half the cooking liquid evaporates.
6. Adjust seasonings if needed, and serve.

Recipe Tips And Tricks

• Please do make sure to only drain half the liquid the beans well before adding to the pot.
• Scale up the recipe – For easier weeknight meals, double or triple the recipe (for all the ingredients).
• If you prefer more soupy beans, then you need to add more of the canning liquid. Note that you may need to add extra salt and spices.
• You will need to keep an eye on the liquid and add more as needed so that it does not dry out.
• If you don’t want to use the canned liquid, then you can use the equivalent in fresh water instead.
• If making only one can, then use a smaller pot so the veggies get to sit in liquid as they cook.
• Use this really great can opener to easily and smoothly open canned food. 

How To Make Canned Green Beans Taste Better?

I am always questioning how to make green beans taste good. Well, the recipe shared today totally works. And after many experiments, I have a ton of ideas to add more flavor which I am happy to share with you today to make them taste even better.

1. Cook In Broth

Swap the cooking liquid for some broth. You can use chicken broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth to your preference. Just keep an eye on the salt level in the broth.

Get some from the grocery store or use homemade stock or broth. Cook and leave the veggies to sit in the flavored broth for a few hours before serving.

2. Cook In Bouillon

Alternatively, you can use water and a bouillon cube to add flavor. Pick your favorite brand and favorite flavor from the grocery store. Again you can totally cook and leave in the liquid for a while before serving.

3. Add Bacon

Bacon and green beans are a match made in heaven. especially if making southern green beans as part of your savory southern dishes.

So feel free to add some bacon bits or bacon strip. I prefer smoky bacon for maximum flavor. If adding make sure the bacon is cooked. You can also cook canned beans in bacon grease / bacon drippings.

4. Add Other Meats

You can also add in other meats like ham, smoked chicken, or smoked turkey.

5. Cook In Flavored Butter or Olive Oil

Using a compound butter, like this easy and delicious herb lemon butter recipe that’s included in my Air Fryer Steak post, or a flavored oil to cook your green beans adds tons of great flavor.

6. Add Herbs and Spices

You can add so much flavor with extra spices and herbs to your taste. Great options include garlic powder, garlic salt, oregano, thyme, chili flakes, dill, cilantro, parsley, garlic cloves. You can simply add salt and pepper.

7. Add Cheese

Yes, add cheese. All the cheese. You can try Parmesan cheese, Cheddar cheese, Asiago cheese, and more. If adding cheese, make sure all the liquid has all dried out so the cheese sticks to them.

8. Make Them Sweet

Adding in some brown sugar or regular sugar is a great way to add both sweetness but flavor to the veggies. Just make sure to not add so much that these become too sweet.

9. Add Other Veggies

You can add other vegetables like onions, red potatoes, peppers, tomatoes, french fried onions, etc. Potatoes take a while to cook so you may need to cook these first before adding to the beans.

10. Add Flavoring

There are so many other things you can add in like soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and to drier beans add mushroom soup, chicken soup, vegetable soup, and more.

More Canned Food Recipes

Want even more great canned food recipes? Then check out How To Cook Canned Carrots, How To Cook Canned Chickpeas, How To Cook Canned Corn, How To Cook Canned Black Beans, How To Make Canned Refried Beans Better, and How To Cook Canned Pinto Beans. #pantrycookingforthewin

You can also get a great selection of recipes from this collection of Canned Corn Recipes, Canned Chicken Recipes, these easy Canned Salmon Recipes, and the best Canned Tuna Recipes that the whole family is sure to will love.

More Green Bean Recipes

And for all you green bean lovers, why not try this Air Fryer Green Beans, this awesome Green Bean Casserole Recipe, or these Smothered Green Beans?!

You can also check out this guide on How To Cook Fresh Green Beans, these Instant Pot Green Beans, or Crockpot Green Beans And Bacon, or delicious Green Beans Almondine.

Recommended Tools

• An awesome can opener to open cans easily at the push of a button.
• Great saucepans for even cooking.
• A good set of spices and seasonings to upgrade your food.
• For the best tools to help make your recipe even easier and more successful, check out my collection of the Best Kitchen Tools on Amazon.

Weight Watchers Points

There is 1 Blue Plan SmartPoint in one serving of this.

Thank you for reading my how to cook canned green beans recipe post. And please come visit again as I continue to slice, dice and dream up affordable Air Fryer recipes, Instant Pot Recipes, Southern Recipes and more. Thanks for supporting Recipes from a Pantry, food blog.

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