Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts make a unique Thanksgiving side dish. This easy green bean recipe is loaded with garlic, bacon, cranberries, and chopped walnuts.
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This blog post was part of a paid SocialMoms and Calphalon blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.
Creating this Cranberry and Walnut Green Bean Recipe
When my husband and I registered for wedding gifts back in the day choosing which pan set would best suit our needs was a big task. I don’t remember what pots and pans we ended up.
I do remember a plethora of different shapes and sizes. After a few years I realized many of those pans were rarely used, if at all.
10 years later, Calphalon has the answer to our wedding registry woes. Your Set offers home cooks the ability to select the pots and pans piece by piece as they build their own custom set from the best of Calphalon.
Don’t need teeny tiny sauce pans or gigantic stock pots? Calphalon Your Set has the solution: don’t add them to your custom cookware set. It is as simple as that!
Because Calphalon offers such a unique twist on classic pot and pan sets with their new customization options, I decided to create a unique twist on green beans to be served at Thanksgiving.
What I Love About Green Beans with Walnuts and Cranberries
My flavor inspiration: Cranberries, Green Beans, Bacon, Garlic, and Walnuts.
I love the challenge of tweaking old recipes into something new, or using a classic ingredient as inspiration for a new recipe.
This is part of my creative process and occurs everyday that I am at work in my kitchen.
Instead of cream and butter laden green beans, I opted to blanch my green beans and then sauté them in just enough butter and garlic.
Then I mixed in just a bit of crumbled bacon for flavor.
For a little sweet and a little crunch I topped the Sautéed Green Beans with some dried cranberries and chopped walnuts.
If that isn’t rich enough for you after switching from a traditional Green Bean Casserole, add some crumbled blue cheese on top.
For me, I didn’t find that necessary (though it is delicious).
Tools Needed to Make Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts
You’ll need a few kitchen tools to prepare this easy green bean recipe with walnuts and cranberries. Here’s what I recommend having on hand before beginning:
- Measuring Cups and Spoons – to measure the ingredients in this easy recipe.
- Cast Iron Pan or Large Baking Sheet – to cook the bacon (I like to cook bacon in the oven).
- Large Saucepan or Pot – to blanch the green beans.
- Large Bowl – filled with ice water to plunge the green beans into after blanching.
- Large Skillet – to sauté the green beans and garlic in.
- Wooden Spoon – for stirring while sautéing.
- Serving Platter or Bowl – to serve the cranberry green beans with walnuts.
What is in this Cranberry and Walnut Green Beans Recipe
This recipe for cranberry green beans with walnuts requires just a few ingredients to make. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:
- Fresh Green Beans or Haricot Verts
- Butter and Olive Oil
- Fresh Garlic
- Bacon
- Dried Cranberries
- Chopped Walnuts
- Salt and Black Pepper
For the complete ingredient list and detailed instructions to make this cranberry and green bean recipe, scroll to the bottom of this post for the FREE printable recipe card.
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How to Make Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts
This recipe is so easy to prepare! Here’s a quick overview of the process:
First, you’ll boil and blanch the green beans. After that, plunge the green beans into ice water to stop the cooking process.
Then, sauté the garlic in the butter and olive oil. Add the bacon and green beans and continue cooking until green beans reach desired tenderness. Stir in the cranberries and walnuts. Season with salt and pepper.
The above is simply a quick summary of how to make this easy green bean recipe. Check out the full recipe in the free printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for all the detailed instructions.
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FAQ for Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts
Got questions about how to these green beans with walnuts and cranberries?Here are the answers to a few commonly asked questions.Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments on this post and I’ll respond with answers.
What Can I Substitute for the Dried Cranberries
You could try substituting dried cherries, currants, or golden raisins. I haven’t tested it, but those are my suggestions.
Can I Use a Different Type of Nuts?
Sure! Pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, or pine nuts would probably all taste great in this recipe.
What Could I Substitute for the Bacon?
I would use chopped pancetta or prosciutto in place of the bacon if you’re looking for an alternative, though you’re probably more likely to have bacon on hand than the other options.
Can I Make this Cranberry Green Bean Recipe Vegan?
Yes, simply replace the butter with additional olive oil and omit the bacon. You’ll likely need to add some extra salt to replace loss of flavor from those ingredients.
Will this Recipe Work with Frozen Green Beans?
We prefer using fresh green beans to make this walnut green bean recipe, but you can certainly make it with frozen if you’d like. Here are my tips:
- Skip the blanching step. Frozen green beans are already plenty soft to go straight to sautéing
- Thaw and drain them completely first to remove as much excess moisture as possible.
What is the Best Way to Store Leftover Green Beans with Walnuts?
Once the leftover green beans are cooled to room temperature, transfer them to an airtight container within 2 hours of serving and store in the refrigerator.
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Try these Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts!
Next time you’re looking for a delicious recipe for cooked green beans, give these Cranberry Walnut Green Beans a try!
Did you love the unique flavor and pretty presentation? Leave a comment below and give it a review for others to see what you thought of this delicious green bean recipe.
On Instagram? Share your photo and tag me with@goodlifeeatsand#goodlifeeatsrecipes. I’d love to see your photo of this green bean side dish!
More Green Bean Recipes
Enjoy summer green beans all year long by freezing them! This post explains How to Freeze Green Beans, how to blanch green beans for freezing, how to thaw frozen green beans, and more!
Garlic Bacon Sautéed Green Beans with Roasted Mushrooms make a great Thanksgiving side dish.
This Italian Sausage Soup with Orzo is a great clean out the fridge recipe! It’s packed with veggies, Italian sausage, orzo, and more!
This updated version of the classic Turkey Soup is loaded with vegetables, noodles, and plenty of flavor thanks to fresh thyme and parmesan!
Made with fresh green beans, minced shallot, and crumbled feta cheese, this Green Bean Pasta is quick and easy to assemble.
Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can always head over to check out the recipe index to look for more recipes.
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What are your tips for making a unique green bean recipe?
Cranberry Green Beans with Walnuts
Yield: serves 4 - 6
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Instead of cream and butter-laden green beans, I opted toblanch my green beans and then saute them in just enough butter and garlic. These sauteed green beans will be your new Thanksgiving favorite.
Ingredients
- 12 ounces green beans, I prefer Haricot Verts
- 2 teaspoons butter
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 ounces cooked and crumbled uncured hickory bacon (about 10 oz. uncooked bacon)
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 2 ounces chopped walnuts
- salt and pepper, to taste - if desired
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl with ice water. Set aside. In a 3 quart saucepan, bring water to a rolling boil. Add the green beans and boil for 1 1/2 - 2 minutes.
- Remove and drain the beans and plunge into the bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and preserve the bright green color. Remove the beans when cold and pat dry. Discard the water
- In a 3-quart stainless steel saute pan (I used my AccuCore Stainless Steel Saute pan by Calphalon) melt the butter with the olive oil over medium heat. When melted and hot, add the garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add the green beans and saute with the garlic and butter for about 2 - 3 minutes.
- Toss the bacon into the green beans and continue to saute until bacon is heated through and desired tenderness is reached for the green beans.
- Transfer the green beans to a serving dish and sprinkle with the walnuts and cranberries. Serve immediately.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 6Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 167Total Fat: 12gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 13mgSodium: 220mgCarbohydrates: 12gFiber: 3gSugar: 7gProtein: 6g
GoodLifeEats.com offers recipe nutritional information as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. Although GoodLifeEats.com makes every effort to provide accurate information, these figures are only estimates.
This blog post was part of a paid SocialMoms and Calphalon blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own.
