Orange Cranberry Green Bean Recipe

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Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans are tossed in a sweet and tangy glaze made of Dijon mustard and orange marmalade, then bejeweled with dried cranberries. This easy side dish has just a few ingredients and is ready in about 20 minutes. It is fast enough to serve with a busy weeknight dinner. But it’s also a fresh alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving green bean recipe to lighten up your holiday meal. 

What happens when you have been running extremely boring errands with an extremely cranky child all day?

Well, in a moment of hangry meltdowns (might have been me, might have been the small child, might have been both of us), you end up at a diner fighting with the aforementioned small child about whether he wants bacon or sausage with his pancakes. And to top it all off, you make the mistake of ordering short ribs. At a diner. Yeah, that was several life lessons all rolled into one stressful dinner experience.

Then you have epic dinner remorse because you come home and the aromas in your house remind you that you had put a BBQ Turkey Breast in the Crockpot that morning.  And in less time than it took the diner to make the kid’s pancakes, you could have whipped up this easy and healthy green bean recipe.

Learn from my mistakes, people. 

Have a few simple ingredients in your fridge and pantry at all times so you can throw together something simple like this.

The orange marmalade adds a bit of sweetness to the beans, with some tart flavor from the dried cranberries. A wee bit of dijon mustard pulls it all together and balances it out with a little zing. Perfect fall flavors for a perfect vegetable side dish.

Better than the diner short ribs.

Orange Glazed Green Beans with Dried Cranberries

This easy fresh green bean recipe comes together in mere minutes. The most time-consuming part is popping the ends off of the green beans. So to really save time, buy the ones that are already prepped.

Once you’ve got your beans cooked, it literally takes about two minutes to add the other ingredients and make it all glazy good. It’s the perfect vegetable side dish for any occasion.

My family polished off this batch of beans, so if you’re making it for a big holiday meal, I’d highly suggest doubling or tripling it.

Here is a brief overview so you can see just how easy it is to make. Scroll down to the printable recipe card for the full quantities and details.
But don’t skip my PRO TIPS below!

Ingredients

There are only five main ingredients:

• Green beans – I use fresh green beans and steam them in a pot. But you can also use one of those microwave steamer bags of fresh beans or even frozen ones.
• Fresh sage – you can also use dried, you’ll just use less than the fresh herbs.
• Orange marmalade
• Dijon mustard
• Dried cranberries

Plus olive oil, salt, and pepper.

BRIANNE RECOMMENDS:

A couple of kitchen gadgets will make this recipe extra easy:

STEAMER BASKET – I can’t live without my steamer basket. I have so many pots and pans, so I don’t need another special one with a steamer insert. Since this is collapsible, it works in any size pot or pan. For a dish like this, I will use it in my deep skillet, steam the beans, drain the water, and saute them right in the same pan. If I need to steam a bunch of broccoli or cauliflower, I’ll use a larger pot. I do tend to just use a little cheap version, but I am tempted to get this one with the better grip on the handle.

TONGS –  I love my tongs and use them daily. You can use them to get the hot steamer basket out of the pot, grab any stray green beans, and to toss the beans in the glaze. Since they have the silicone tip, they won’t scratch your pots and pans.

Directions overview – scroll to the recipe card for the full set of instructions

1. Cook green beans to desired tenderness.
2. Heat olive oil in a pan.
3. Saute green beans and sage.
4. Stir in orange marmalade, Dijon mustard, dried cranberries, salt, and pepper.

Brianne’s pro recipe tips

Cooking the green beans

• My family likes soft green beans, but I know many people like them more crisp-tender. Therefore, cook them to your preference.
• I used fresh green beans and steamed them in a pot, but you can use one of those steamer bags, or even frozen beans.
• You could also make Instant Pot green beans, then toss them in a pan with the glaze ingredients. In fact, I’d suspect you could just switch your Instant Pot to “Saute” mode and finish off making them right in there.

Make it a meal

You can definitely add this easy green bean recipe to a weeknight dinner since they come together super fast and easy. But it is also a refreshing addition to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner and they are also lovely for a Sunday meal.

You can easily double or triple this recipe if you are serving it at a large family meal.

Weeknight dinner

• Honey Balsamic Steak Bites
• Brown Rice
• Easy Baked Beans

Sunday supper

• Balsamic Roast Chicken
• Baked Potatoes
• Buttered Carrots and Peas

Thanksgiving feast

• Roast Turkey
• Caramelized Onion Mashed Potatoes
• Corn Pudding Casserole
• Orange Cinnamon Cranberry Sauce

Christmas menu

• Cranberry Garlic Prime Rib
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Butternut Squash
• Horseradish Cheddar Mashed Cauliflower
• Roasted Butternut Squash Quinoa with Pomegranates

Holiday ham

• Baked Ham
• Asparagus Mushroom Quinoa Pilaf
• Honey Roasted Carrots

More recipes to make with dried cranberries

• Slather some Cranberry Orange Cream Cheese on your bagels.
• Drizzle Cranberry Apple Cider Gravy over chicken, turkey, or pork chops.
• Cranberry Bliss White Chocolate Bark is an easy holiday sweet treat perfect for gift-giving.
• Combat that hangry afternoon slump with Cranberry Almond Energy Balls.
• 65 Recipes Using Cranberries

More fresh green bean recipes

• Pineapple Pecan Green Beans change up the flavors but are just as sweet and sassy.
• White Wine Lemon Green Beans and Mushrooms take a simple dish and give it a “twist”.
• Creamy Green Beans with Mushrooms are made in a skillet and taste like classic green bean casserole, only lighter and fresher.
• Balsamic Green Beans with Goat Cheese and bold, tangy, and so simple.
• And here are 15 Fresh and Flavorful Green Bean Recipes.

Quick and delicious family meals without the stress!

Learn to make dinner in a snap with my 3 secrets!

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4.8 from 8 votes

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

Sweet and tart with a little zing, and perfectly easy for a holiday meal or weeknight supper.

Prep: 5 mins

Cook: 15 mins

Total: 20 mins

Servings: 4

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Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans, ends snipped off
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 2 Tablespoons orange marmalade
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• a few grinds of black pepper

Instructions

• Steam green beans to desired doneness (or cook according to package directions if using fresh green beans in a microwave bag).
• Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
• Add green beans and sage, and saute for a couple of minutes to let them brown slightly.
• Sitr in the marmalade, mustard, and cranberries, and season with salt and pepper.
• Cook for another minute or two until the glaze thickens and coats the green beans.

Notes

This recipe is easily doubled or tripled to serve more people.

Nutrition Facts

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

Amount Per Serving

Calories 92 Calories from Fat 9

% Daily Value*

Fat 1g2%

Sodium 317mg13%

Potassium 239mg7%

Carbohydrates 20g7%

Fiber 3g12%

Sugar 14g16%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 785IU16%

Vitamin C 14.4mg17%

Calcium 46mg5%

Iron 1.2mg7%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Keywords: orange glazed green beans

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Originally published on Nov 2, 2014