Recipes

Our 9 Best Green Bean Recipes For Your Thanksgiving Feast 

It isn’t Thanksgiving without green beans on the table. 

Whether you like yours sautéed, pickled or in creamy casserole format, here are nine options for your Thanksgiving feast. Most come together in a flash or—even better—can be prepped in advance of the big meal.

A white platter of green beans dressed with pesto.

Pesto Green Beans

Tender-crisp green beans get a major flavour upgrade with the addition of nutty, garlicky pesto (homemade or store-bought).

Get our recipe for Pesto Green Beans.

(Photo: Erik Putz; Food styling by Ashley Denton; Prop styling by Christine Hanlon)

Gingery Green Beans

This recipe skips blanching and sends green beans straight to the frying pan, where they get a zippy ginger seasoning and are finished with crispy fried onions.

Get our Gingery Green Beans recipe.

A serving tray filled with Green Bean Casserole served as part of a Thanksgiving spread

Produced by Chantal Braganza and Stephanie Han Kim, Photography by Christie Vuong, Food Styling by Sage Dakota, Prop Styling by Andrea McCrindle

Green Bean Casserole

This  classic 1990 recipe strays from the ’50s method of using canned cream soup, instead turning sour cream and swiss cheese into a quick cream sauce to blanket blanched green beans. Don’t forget the cracker topping to give each bite some crispy texture.

Get our Green Bean Casserole recipe.

Nutty green beans

Nutty Green Beans

These crunchy, buttery green beans come together quickly—you can also boil the beans in advance, drain and refrigerate until you’re ready to sauté.

Get our Nutty Green Beans recipe.

crunchy garlicky green beans served on a white plate.

(Photography: Roberto Caruso)

Crunchy Garlicky Green Beans

Store-bought garlic butter streamlines prep while panko and almonds add crunch. This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled if you’re feeding a crowd.

Get our Crunchy Garlicky Green Beans recipe.

green beans topped with nuts served along with brown butter.

(Photography: Erik Putz.)

Brown Butter Green Beans

After a quick dip in boiling water, tender-crisp green beans are drenched in nutty brown butter and topped with toasted almonds.

Get our Brown Butter Green Beans recipe.

Pancetta adds flavour and complements the sweet and sour of balsamic vinegar in this delicious side dish.

Balsamic Green Beans and Pancetta

Pancetta and balsamic vinegar jazz up classic green beans. Bonus: The majority of this recipe can be prepped in advance, making it the perfect side dish for a holiday feast.

Get our Balsamic Green Beans and Pancetta recipe.

Pickled green bean in a jar.

(Photo: Erik Putz; Food styling by Lindsay Guscott; Prop styling by Catherine Doherty)

Quick Pickled Green Beans

If you have cucumbers and vinegar, you can have quick pickles in 15 minutes flat (plus an overnight in the fridge).

Get our Quick Pickled Green Beans recipe. 

Ginger and garlic green beans served with crispy duck with tangy rhubarb sauce and wild rice pilaf.

(Photography: Erik Putz.)

Ginger and Garlic Green Beans

Ginger adds warmth and spicy kick to this quick recipe. We love elegant French green beans, which are typically longer and thinner than the standard ones.

Get our Garlic and Ginger Green Beans recipe.

Visit the Chatelaine Guide to Thanksgiving for everything you need to plan this year’s big meal, including our very best recipes for show-stopping main courses, second-helping-worthy sides and the most delectable desserts.

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