These apricot glazed green beans are made with just a handful of ingredients, creating a quick and tasty green bean side dish.
Green beans almondine is a classic French dish that tastes amazing, but I wanted to make a vegan and more lazy/weeknight version with less chopping. You know me, some days I just can’t be bothered to deal with onion and garlic. It comes in waves.
My solution to adding complementary flavor to green beans, with some complexity but less hassle, was to toast some sliced almonds right in the skillet alongside the vegetables, and then dollop in some apricot preserves (perhaps leftover from making a glazed tofu roast?). The flavor trifecta created by this method is surprisingly nice, and the apricot preserves cling the almonds to the green beans so it’s easy to eat it all together.
Be sure to use an apricot spread that is actually made of apricot. While it’s possible to find apricot jam at the store that’s naturally-sweetened with fruit, the other fruit used (usually apple or grape) will dilute the apricot flavor, which won’t be as good in this particular dish. I used Santa Cruz brand in in this recipe (link is to show you the product; the price on Amazon as of writing is much higher than in grocery stores). The only fruit in it is apricot.
You might have noticed that my green beans are sliced up into pieces. If I’m trying to make some kind of visually fancy dinner spread, I’ll leave them whole, but otherwise I like my green beans cut into approximately 1 1/2″ pieces. They cook more evenly that way and can be eaten without a knife. Your author is not a fan of the sound of knives scraping on plates. I do the same thing with asparagus, which apparently is literally a crime. *shrugs*
When I’m trimming the ends off of green beans I like to use the edge of my knife to line up a bunch of them at once, and trim them all with a single cut. Then I rotate them and do the same thing on the other side, like in the photo below. For me personally it is the fastest method to prep them.
To be sure that your pan-roasted glazed green beans are a success, get the almonds and the apricot preserves measured out in advance. This recipe moves super quickly, which is a blessing but can also be a curse!
I hope you enjoy these apricot glazed green beans with almonds! It’s a great recipe to have in your back pocket for a quick side dish with dinner, or just to munch on.
Apricot Glazed Green Beans
Ingredients
- 12 oz green beans trimmed and cut into 1.5-inch pieces
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 oz sliced almonds (1/4 cup)
- 2 oz apricot jam or preserves (1/4 cup)
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Heat the vegetable oil in a sauté pan or skillet over medium heat (medium-high if using an electric stove). Once hot, add the green beans and a sprinkle of salt, and stir. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Stir in the almonds, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, until almonds are toasted and green beans are crisp-tender, 3-4 more minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Add the apricot jam to the pan, stirring well to coat as the jam softens.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve. This dish is best eaten right away. However, leftovers will keep for a couple of days. If you specifically plan to have leftovers, I recommend undercooking the green beans slightly.
Nutrition
Adapted from Green Chef.
I'm Shannon, the writer and photographer of Yup, it's Vegan! I'm a morning person based in Baltimore, USA. My mission is to create healthy plant-based recipes that anyone would enjoy, using seasonal produce with inspiration from global flavors.
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