Crunchy Green Bean Snack

Inside: Green beans as a snack? Can you imagine? It’s true! Bake these babies in an oven, and you won’t believe how good they taste! Try our simple Crunchy Green Bean Snack recipe, and see for yourself.

Calling all confirmed vegetable haters! Have I got a recipe for you. It starts with a pound of frozen green beans, the thinner the better, a drizzle of olive oil before baking, and a nice shake of salt right out of the oven. Unbelievably yum!

I’d like to say I was the genius behind this recipe, but I’m not. I heard about it from Linda’s Low Carb Menus and Recipes years ago, and I’m not sure when I first gave them a try, but I’ve been making them since then. (She credits someone named Chris for the recipe, so I will, too. Thanks, Chris, whoever you are!)

For us they’re mainly a side dish to go with hamburgers because they remind me of fries. Notice, I did not say they taste exactly like fries, but roasting them brings out a fry-like similarity that makes them a treat for me. We typically eat them with no sugar added catsup. When we did a food photo shoot last summer, my mostly vegetable-hating daughter kept nibbling on them between shots. I saw that as a good thing. . .

Now I would be remiss if I didn’t give you a few warnings about preparing this recipe. It is a little tricky! The reason for that is because ovens range in temperature–your 375 degrees might not be what my 375 is. I bake them on a sheet pan and place the pan on a rack in the center of my oven, and at about an hour, I start checking them for brownness. Once they start getting close, I’m opening the oven every two or three minutes until I get them about as close as I can without burning them. The trick is to get them brown without getting them black. You won’t get every bean brown, and you will have spots of green, but you don’t want the beans to be under cooked with the consistency of a fruit leather. It might take some practice, but stay with it! Definitely worth it when they turn out right.

As I mentioned above, the thinner the green beans, the better. So think haricot verts for this recipe. Aldi has the perfect size with their Season’s Choice brand Extra Fine Green Beans which comes in a one pound bag. I dump the frozen contents from the entire sack on a lined baking sheet, drizzle with olive or MCT oil, and forget about them for an hour. Because I don’t know how hot your oven bakes, I recommend you start checking them at about 45 minutes–just in case.

I’ve basically given you the recipe already, but here it is in our nifty recipe box form.

Notes: I’ve given most of my notes and comments above, but it occurred to me these might be good with different seasonings, such as barbecue or any of the toppings used on popcorn. If you try it, let me know. Enjoy!

Are you a fan of green beans? Tell us about it in the comments.

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