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How to make canned green beans taste better

Reality is that most people don’t have a garden. And if you want to get even more real, it’s probably safe to say you haven’t so much as stuck your pinky finger in any dirt to grow anything, ever. But you like yourself some good green beans and would love that home-grown, slow cooked taste on your dinner table.  You can actually get it from a canned green bean. Here’s every tip you need to make canned green beans taste better–or dare I say–good enough you won’t even need a garden. 

a plate of green beans with bacon on a napkin

The secret to make a canned green bean taste better isn’t the least bit difficult, I promise.

And while my grandmother and even my mom still use the bacon or ham-hock approach to their beans, I’ve gone a different route over the last year or so and I have to say, they make some pretty fabulous green beans–leaving them tender and full of slow-cooked flavor when they didn’t take very long at all.

You can use my great bean approach with any style you like.

The trick here is simple: you need canned beans, some beef bouillon and two cooking times. Now don’t die…let me explain.

A note on salt and bouillon

You start by dumping your canned beans into a pot (don’t drain them).

Then I use my favorite beef bouillon called Better Than Bouillon or you can use a cube of it if you’d prefer.

You can find either of these in the soup section of your grocery store.

Certain brands of bouillon are very salty. Powdered ones are terrible. Please keep this in mind and start with half as much if you are afraid of over salting.

I’ve never had any issues with Better Than Bouillon being too salty but I cannot speculate on the others–some can ruin a dish easily so try to get what we know works.

a shallow bowl of cooked green beans with a serving spoon on a napkin

Then you turn your beans on high heat and bring them to a boil. Turn the heat down to medium-high and then cook about 90% of the water off.

When there’s a 1/2 left in the bottom of the pan, turn your beans off and walk away.

If you can, leave them sitting on the stove top for several hours. It’s fine to leave them there all day while you’re gone to work or you can put them in the fridge if that freaks you out and do the second step when you get in.

The final step is to bring them back to a low simmer and cook off the rest of the liquid and serve–that takes about 10 minutes or so.  

A long rest between cooking gives the bouillon time to really get in to the beans and they take on a soft, slow-cooked flavor.

No one will ever know you don’t have a half-acre of them in the back yard.

I’ll attempt to make this in to a logical recipe you can follow.

a plate of green beans with bacon on a napkin

How to make canned green beans taste better

Just because your beans come canned and from a grocery store doesn’t mean they can’t have that classic slow-cooked flavor you crave. Easy steps and no-fuss. 
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings 4 people
Author Rachel Ballard

Ingredients
  

  • 2 14.5 ounce cans green beans of your choice canned in water
  • 1 teaspoon beef bouillon base 1 cube beef bouilon would also work but watch the salt!

Instructions
 

  • In a medium sauce pan, empty in the cans of green beans with their water. Add the beef bouillon. 
  • Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium-high and cook until the water reduces by 3/4. Turn off heat and set beans aside on the stovetop or in the fridge for one to two hours or overnight is fine. 
  • When ready to eat, bring the beans back to a simmer on the stove top and cook to remove the remaining water. Serve warm. 

Nutrition

Calories: 63kcal
Tried this recipe?Tag us on Instagram @feastandfarm and hashtag it #feastandfarm
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American

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183 Comments

  1. I have many canned quarts from last years garden and need to use them up. My husband and I realized we don;t care too much for the mushiness of canned green beans. Won’t cooking them this long to evaporate the water make them even mushier?

    1. Hey Susan, I can my own green beans so I understand your train of thought here. Depending on the variety of bean you raise you certainly will get some types that are softer or firmer after they are canned. Not being able to see yours or evaluate their texture makes it hard for me to say what will happen to yours, but we’re only talking about a total cook time of about 25 minutes or so total–not an all day event–so there shouldn’t be any issue. I use this process for my green beans all of the time and we don’t think anything of them being soft and “cooked down” as we call it. The beans hold their shape just fine and aren’t a pile of mush. You can certainly give them a try if you’d like. –Rachel

    1. I think salt content in the water of canned beans can really vary a lot. I’ve never had trouble with mine being too salty, but maybe I’m buying a brand that you aren’t using. You could try buying salt free ones and then taste the water as you add the bouillon until it’s right. How does that sound? I’m a huge supporter of tasing things as you go to get the seasoning right, and the water from the beans sure won’t hurt you. –Rachel

  2. Your photo looks like it has bacon and possibly onion sprinkled into the green beans. The recipe, posted, doesn’t mention these ingredients. Do you use them? If so, how and when, in the cooking of the green beans?

    1. Well you certainly get the award for attention to detail Amy. Those were just bacon bits and I only put them on there to make the picture prettier. You don’t need ’em. 🙂 –Rachel

  3. Can I mass produce these for a party do you think? And would add more bullion if I’m upping the amount of beans of keep the bullion the same?

    1. Yes Whitney you sure can. Just be mindful of how much bouillon you throw in. Some brands are really more salt than they are flavor. Please note my recommendation in the post. You’d want one teaspoon of Better than Bouillon paste for every 28 ounces of beans. –Rachel

  4. I just read your recipe and got a copy of it. Beef bouillon is what I’ve been missing all along and the cooking twice. I’m so excited to try this. I’m not one that cooks, so I’m going to surprise my family at thanksgiving and bring an actual dish!

    1. Yes girl–you will be bringing a dish to Thanksgiving! Way to go! I will say to be very careful what bouillon you use. Some are so salty they ruin things. If you can get your hands on Better than Bouillon that’s what I want you to use. If not, get some of the cubes wrapped in foil and use just one cube per two cans of beans. You can do it! –Rachel

    1. Stephanie the water won’t evaporate in a slow cooker, but you could do the “second cook” in there. Cook them down on the stove top first, then move them to the slow cooker when you are ready to reheat them and they should be just fine. Enjoy! –Rachel

  5. 5 stars
    What a clever idea! I didn’t have time to do all that as my dinner was literally in 15 minutes from finding your page, but I threw a cube in the bowl after heating the beans in the microwave for 3 minutes, stirred it a bit, threw it back in for 1 more minute, and let it sit until supper. Better flavor than anything I’ve ever managed to get out of canned beans!

    1. Hey Betty, I actually pressure can my beans too but I don’t add the bouillon to mine. I just do it when I put them in the pot to cook. That way if you are using your beans in another recipe by chance you won’t have that beef flavor if you don’t want it. Just my thoughts. Thanks! –Rachel

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About the Author

Rachel Ballard, RN, BSN brings more than 20 years of professional nursing expertise to Feast and Farm. With a love for nutrient dense foods that support wellness, she works to distill complex health information and current trends into recipes that fuel the best version of yourself. Read more about Rachel here.