Green Bean Orange Juice Recipe

Here is a make-ahead green beans recipe with orange and ginger. These Orange Ginger Green Beans are delicious and can be made ahead which makes them great for Thanksgiving or Christmas.

I originally published this recipe on December 20th, 2010. I have updated the recipe, photos and description to share it with you again today.

I love this recipe first and foremost because of the amazing orange and ginger glaze that gives the green beans so much flavor. But I also love it because it can be prepared two days ahead. When you’re ready to serve it, just reheat the beans in a skillet with the glaze. So easy!

Honey Orange Green Beans Recipe

These green beans are great for the holidays too. Since they’re made ahead you will have time to focus on the things that really need last-minute attention like stirring together the Garlic Butter Baby Carrots and mashing the garlic mashed potatoes and whisking gravy.

I’ll walk you through the how and why and other details on each part of this recipe, but here is the quick rundown on how to make it.

To stop the beans from cooking any further and to chill them down, transfer them to a bowl of ice water with tongs or a slotted spoon. Or you can pour them into a strainer and then add them to the ice water. This is called “shocking” them.

Best Fresh Green Bean Casserole

Zest is just the outermost skin of a citrus fruit. The best way to zest an orange is to use a zester or a microplane rasp-style grater.The microplane shaves off only the top most layer of the orange leaving behind the bitter white pith and juicy flesh.

If you don’t own one, I highly recommend buying one. (affiliate link.) And they make a great gift for the foodies in your life!

You can also use the smaller holes on a box grater in a pinch. Try not to get the white part of the orange skin (pith) because that part is bitter.

Cauliflower Steaks With Citrus Scented Rice And Creamy Orange Juice Turmeric Sauce

After you zest the orange, cut it in half and juice half of it. You only need two tablespoons of juice, and a teaspoon of the zest so you can use the rest in this Easy Sweet Potato Casserole or make Sesame Ginger Dressing.

Then simply stir together the orange zest, orange juice and a little honey in a small bowl. If you do not want to use honey (to make this vegan) you can use white sugar or agave syrup.

6. Whisk orange juice, orange zest and honey in a bowl. This mixture can be made 3 days ahead. Refrigerate it in a sealed jar.

Authentic Greek Green Beans Fasolakia Lathera

9. Add the beans, orange juice mixture and salt. Cook, stirring until the beans are heated through and the glaze coats the green beans.

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These easy Make-Ahead Orange Ginger Green Beans are so delicious! Serve them for a holiday side dish or use this recipe for meal prep.

Green Beans Almondine (green Beans With Almonds)

Katie Webster studied art and photography at Skidmore College and is a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute. She has been a professional recipe developer since 2001 when she first started working in the test kitchen at EatingWell magazine. Her recipes have been featured in numerous magazines including Shape, Fitness, Parents and several Edible Communities publications among others. Her cookbook, Maple was published in 2015. She launched Healthy Seasonal Recipes in 2009. She lives in Vermont with her husband, two teenage daughters and two yellow labs. In her free time, you can find her at the gym, cooking, stacking firewood, making maple syrup, and tending to her overgrown perennial garden.

30 Minutes or Less 45 Minutes or Less Christmas dairy free Easter Entertaining Fall Gluten Free Grain Free Lactose Free Make Ahead Recipes Meal Prep nut free Paleo Recipes Side Dishes summer Thanksgiving Vegan Vegetarian Recipes winteThis post was sponsored by Fresh From Florida as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central, however all opinions expressed are my own.

Fresh From Florida vegetables and fruits are at their peak right now right now and in the upcoming months. We are so lucky in Florida to actually have 2 growing seasons starting in October and thru June. Snap Beans like the ones shown above are at their very best right now. I found mine at the Publix in Sun City Center where they carry a lot of Fresh From Florida vegetables, fruits and seafoods.

Green Beans Almondine

Our Florida farmers make it easy for you to spot their fresh vegetables and fruits in your local grocery store. Have you tried our Florida strawberries yet? I can tell you they are the sweetest you’ll ever taste. Tomatoes are available everywhere right now and I personally plan to can some next week. You’ll also find peppers of all kinds, radishes, mushrooms, onions (see my recipe using our strawberry onions grown around the edges of the strawberry fields), cabbages and our blueberries in the next few weeks.

On a recent trip to the farmer’s market these are just a few of the vegetables I saw that day. One of the great things about the farmer’s market is getting to know the people that are growing your fruits and vegetables. You also know that it’s about as fresh as you can get it without growing it yourself. At our market there are also a couple of people that sell local and fresh Florida seafood.

Snap Green Beans can be one of many different variety of green beans. They are usually about 4 inches in length when ready to pick and about the diameter of a pencil. When perfectly ripe they will snap when you break them. They should be firm and crisp. You don’t want ones with bulges in them (indicating the seeds are maturing inside) as it is overripe. Store your beans in the refrigerator in a moisture proof airtight container. They are best used in several days. Green beans can be blanched and frozen or canned if not eating them right away.

Green Beans With Orange Glaze

We love our green beans cooked this way and it goes together really quickly. The beans can even be blanched ahead of time leaving the sauce to put together when you are ready to serve them.

I leave the beans whole for this dish but snap off both ends before blanching them. These beans were a perfect tender crisp at about 5 minutes. Drain and run under cold water to stop the cooking while you prepare the sauce.

You are going to cook the onions and garlic in a little of the butter in a saute pan. When translucent add the orange juice and brown sugar (or honey). Reduce to half quickly. Add the green beans and heat until warm.

Green Bean And Orange Salad Recipe

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Would you like to try another of our Fresh From Florida recipes? You can also put Fresh From Florida into the search box and see all of the recipes I’ve posted over the last few years.Anyone else picture the Green Giant whenever they think of green beans? What marketing genius thought of that guy? I mean really – a big green dude with leaves for hair, a one-shoulder leaf ‘dress’, and elf shoes. Sometimes it weirds me out to eat green beans because I feel like I’m consuming the offspring of Mr. Green Giant. And one magical day, when Green Giant met a pretty little orange, they created these mandarin orange green beans.

Green beans are a spring and summer staple in our home, because they are easy to make and CHEAP. But when my traditional olive oil and garlic grilling method gets a little boring, or roasting ’em with a little salt and lemon juice just feels stale, I make a citrus and tangy stovetop version that is easy and perfectly different!

Orange Mint Green Beans

Oranges and green beans?! Yes. They go to together like peas and carrots. Esssssssspecially when you add just a splash balsamic vinegar to all that fresh juice and zest. It’s like a citrus POW that tastes oh so delightful and plays off that earthy green bean flavor too. So basically what I’m trying to say in my own poetic version is this mandarin orange green bean dish tastes fresh and light.

Oh did I mention it take around 10 minutes to whip these babies up? AND they are paleo, vegan, and Whole30 compliant?! So next time you see those raw green beans in the grocery store, don’t be afraid. WWGGD (what would Green Giant do). He’d grab some mandarine oranges and a few of his own ‘lil green beans and go to town. Would that be considered vegetabalism? I don’t want to know…

If you can’t find mandarin oranges, don’t sweat it. Any orange blend will do the trick. Tomato/Tomaaato, right? They key is that sweet citrus.

Orange Glazed Green Beans Recipe