Blanching green beans is a perfect way to parboil your beans before using them in a recipe or for freezing your green beans.
By blanching the beans, you've brought out the vibrant green in the beans, the crispness, and all that natural flavor.
Blanching
Blanching is the process of dunking food into boiling water for a few minutes and then quickly stopping the cooking by submerging it directly into ice water.
With green beans, the beans turn a beautiful green and then beans still maintain a delicious crunch.
Many recipes using fresh green beans have you blanch the beans first. This par cooks or parboils the beans making the final recipe quick and easy.
If you are freezing fresh green beans, they need to be blanched before going into the freezer.
Blanched beans are perfect for adding to salads, a vegetable tray, or using in other recipes like this green beans almondine, garlic green beans, or in this green beans with bacon.
You might also want to check out this recipe for blanching broccoli.
Fresh green beans
You can use any amount of green beans. Use the amount you need for a specific recipe or use the amount you have from your garden that needs to be stored in the freezer.
Step by step directions
- Rinse your beans
- Trim off the ends
- Boil a large pot of water.
- If using in a recipe, add a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water. If freezing beans, do not add salt.
- Drop beans into boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the beans are tender, but still crisp
- Remove the beans from the water using tongs and plunge them directly into a large bowl of ice water
- Allow beans to fully cool before removing
Recipe tips
- Use quality fresh green beans
- I typically leave my beans long, but you can cut them into smaller pieces as well
- Don't overcook the beans. Set your timer for 3 minutes and taste test one of the beans. You want your bean to still be crisp.
- Smaller, thinner beans will take less time. Test at 2 minutes.
- Immediately remove from the boiling water and place directly into the ice water
- Use a large bowl filled with ice water. You want to stop the cooking process immediately.
To freeze the beans
- Do not use salted water to blanch the beans
- Drain the beans from the ice water
- Determine the amount you want in each package and place them in freezer-safe bags or vacuum seal bags.
- Label bags with content and date
- Place in freezer
- Frozen beans are best used within one year
Frequently asked questions
Yes, blanch the green beans, drain them, and then store them in the refrigerator in a covered container. You can blanch the beans up to 2 days ahead of time.
Blanching green beans brings out the bright green color of the beans and helps preserve the crispness of the beans. Blanching helps prevent overcooking of the beans in a recipe.
Uses for blanched beans
Use blanched beans in any green bean recipe.
- Green Bean Almondine
- Bacon Garlic Beans
- Add to a salad
- Place on a veggie tray
- Nibble on for a snack
If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop
Check out all my delicious vegetable recipes!
Blanching Green Beans
Equipment
- Chef Knife
- Stainless Steel Pot
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 gallon water
- 1 tablespoon salt (do not use salt if you are freezing the beans)
Instructions
- Rinse and trim your beans1 pound green beans
- Boil a large pot of water.1 gallon water, 1 tablespoon salt
- If using in a recipe, add a tablespoon of salt to the boiling water. If freezing beans, do not add salt.
- Drop beans into boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes until the beans are tender, but still crisp. Smaller thinner beans may take less time. Check at 2 minutes.
- Remove the beans from the water using tongs and plunge directly into a large bowl of ice water. Give the beans a stir or two to make certain they all cool quickly.
- Allow beans to fully cool before removing, about 3-5 minutes
- Pour beans into a colander to drain
Notes
- Use quality fresh green beans
- I typically leave my beans long, but you can cut them into smaller pieces as well
- Don't overcook the beans. Set your timer for 3 minutes and taste test one of the beans. You want your bean to still be crisp.
- Smaller, thinner beans will take less time. Test at 2 minutes.
- Immediately remove from the boiling water and place directly into the ice water
- Use a large bowl filled with ice water. You want to stop the cooking process immediately.
Nutritional Disclaimer:
Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and should only be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. To obtain the most precise nutritional information in a provided recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the exact ingredients you are using when preparing the recipe using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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