Orange Glazed Green Beans with Cranberries

11/6/19

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans is an easy vegetable side dish recipe that you can whip up in no time. Crisp tender beans and dried cranberries are tossed in a glaze made of Dijon mustard and orange marmalade. So fast that you can serve it with a busy weeknight dinner. But it’s also a fresh alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving green bean recipe. It’s time to lighten up your green bean recipe and make a healthy holiday side dish. 

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 dish 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. 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.

What do you need to make Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans?

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.

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.

How do you make Orange Green Beans with Cranberries?

Here is a quick overview to show you just how simple it is. Check out the video and scroll to the recipe card for all the details.

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.

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans recipe tips…

• 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.
• You can easily double or triple this recipe if you are serving it at a large family meal.
• Want to change up the flavors but keep it just as simple, sweet, and sassy? Try Pineapple Pecan Green Beans! And for a more savory “twist”, you might enjoy White Wine Lemon Green Beans and Mushrooms. And here are 15 Fresh and Flavorful Green Bean Recipes.

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What else can you 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.

Looking for more easy side dish recipes?

• Corn Pudding Casserole
• Oven Roasted Balsamic Vegetables
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts and Butternut Squash
• Lemon Parmesan Roasted Broccoli
• Easy Baked Beans
• Buttered Carrots and Peas

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans Recipe

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

I hope you’ll leave a comment and give it a FIVE STAR rating or share a photo on this pin on Pinterest!

Print Recipe

5 from 5 votes

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

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

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time20 mins

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Cuisine: American

Keyword: orange glazed green beans

Servings: 4

Calories: 92kcal

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

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

Calories: 92kcal | Carbohydrates: 20g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 239mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 785IU | Vitamin C: 14.4mg | Calcium: 46mg | Iron: 1.2mg

Originally published on Nov 2, 2014