Blue Lake Green Beans Recipe With Orange & Almonds

Last Updated on September 24, 2022 by Ellen Christian

You are going to love this Blue Lake green beans recipe! During the summer, one of my favorite garden plants is our green bean plant! Green beans fresh from the garden taste so much better than canned or frozen green beans.

Blue Lake Green Beans Recipe

This Blue Lake green beans recipe is super easy to make. So, you can have it on the table fast on even the busiest night. I know summers are hectic. There’s always something that needs to be done after work. You can throw something easy in the Instant Pot and then have this recipe on the table in less than 20 minutes.

What is a Blue Lake green bean?

If you’re not familiar with Blue Lake green beans, you have got to try them. You can grow them in either the bush or pole varieties. I find that bush beans are easiest to grow personally. I’m not a big fan of things that vine all over the place. Bush beans are much more compact. Blue Lake green beans have a mild taste and are stringless.

Are Blue Lake bush beans heirloom?

Yes, they are. I prefer growing heirloom varieties of vegetables because I can save the seeds and use them from year to year. With hybrid seeds, this isn’t possible since they may turn out like either parent seed.

What should you serve with this recipe?

You can serve this recipe as a side dish with just about any main entree. You may want to serve them with a prime rib roast. Or, they are delicious with a roast chicken. Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables so we have them quite a bit.

Check out the best roast beef for sandwiches.

How does Martha Stewart cook fresh green beans?

My Mom is a huge fan of Martha Stewart. And, one of her favorite recipes is her sauteed green beans. Basically, she blanches them. And, then she sautees them in melted butter and adds salt and pepper. This recipe is similar except it has almonds and orange added. The added flavor from the almonds and the orange is definitely worth a few extra steps.

Can you overcook green beans?

You definitely can overcook green beans. When cooked, green beans should still have a crisp texture. And, they should be a bright green color. If your beans are dark or olive colored when you have cooked them, they are overcooked.

Other simple vegetable recipes

If you like simple recipes like this Blue Lakes green beans recipe, you may want to try my easy roasted asparagus lemon recipe or my pickled beets with honey. They are both quite easy to make and delicious! Asparagus is one of our favorite springtime vegetables before the green beans have started producing. And, beets are a perfect choice in the fall after your green beans have stopped producing quite so much. You might want to check out the Blue Lake bean recipe in this post.

Are overcooked vegetables still healthy?

When you overcook a vegetable, much of the nutrition is cooked out of the vegetable into the water.  Do, you lose most of the nutrients when you cook them too much. They are still good for you. But, they are certainly healthier if you don’t overcook them. And, they taste a lot better that way too.

Can you use another type of green bean in this recipe?

Sure you definitely can. You may not know exactly what variety of green beans you’re buying at the grocery store. So, whatever type of fresh green bean you have should work fine in this recipe. You can probably even use yellow wax beans if you want to. Although, the flavor will be slightly different.  It’s a good idea to freeze extra green beans in the summer when you have an excess. That way, you can recreate this Blue Lake green beans recipe all year long.

Equipment you need for this recipe

This Blue Lakes green beans recipe is very simple. So, all you really need is a pot, a saute pan, a colander, and an orange zester. Hopefully, these are things that you already have on hand in the kitchen. Check out the simple recipe below to get started. You can pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board so that you can refer to it again.