Every year I do a very traditional Thanksgiving meal, and every year I serve up the classic green bean casserole. You know the one I’m talking about, the one made with Cream of Mushroom soup and topped with crunchy toasted onions. It’s not bad but to me it’s always been kind of “meh”. I keep thinking I could do better, but with so many dishes going at the same time I have always hesitated to add something new. That is until I tried these amazing green beans!
Not only are they amazingly delicious, but you can prep them ahead of time and just do a quick sauté to heat them up when it’s time to eat. That makes them the perfect unique addition to your Thanksgiving table!
A huge shout out to Molly Yeh at Food Network for sharing this wonderfully flavorful veggie side dish. It has become my favorite new go to recipe for green beans!
Prepare Magic Sauce:
In a bowl combine, soy sauce, tahini, honey, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and minced garlic. Stir and set aside.
Add beans to a large pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute to blanch.
Drain and place blanched beans in a bowl of ice water. This stops the cooking and locks in their bright green color.
You can prep the beans up to this point.
When ready to serve, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add blanched green beans to the skillet and season with Kosher salt. Add sauce and stir to combine and heat through, about 1-2 minutes.
CAUTION: Don’t overcook the beans. Soft mushy beans are not good. Sauté them quickly just to heat them through. The goal is crisp tender beans.
Transfer to a large platter and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds to serve.
The sauce, oh the wonderful, flavorful sauce! It really is a magic sauce! It would be equally wonderful on asparagus or even broccoli! If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat their veggies…add this sauce and watch them gobble up those veggies! And lick their plate!! And ask for seconds!!! Guaranteed!!!!
Green Beans with Magic Sauce
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- kosher salt
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 3 tbsp tahini
- 2 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- Pinch red pepper flakes
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ tsp sesame seeds, for garnish
Instructions
Prepare Magic Sauce:
- In a bowl combine, soy sauce, tahini, honey, sesame oil, red pepper flakes and garlic. Stir and set aside.
Blanch the beans:
- Add beans to a large pot of boiling water and cook for 1 minute to blanch. Drain and place in a bowl of ice water.
Cook the Beans:
- When ready to serve, heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add blanched green beans to the skillet and season with kosher salt.
- Add magic sauce and stir to combine and heat through, about 1-2 minutes.
- Transfer to a large platter and garnish with a sprinkle of sesame seeds to serve.
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