Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

11/2/14

Cranberry orange glazed green beans are a new and healthy twist on traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole.

#SundaySupper is helping you balance out all of the upcoming indulgences with a menu of recipes to help you Lighten Up the Holidays. Step away from the canned soup and french fried onions and lighten up your holiday vegetable side dishes by making these slightly sweet and tangy Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans.

How to Make Glazed Green Beans with Cranberry Orange

So I’m feeling pretty cruddy right now. As in, like, physically and mentally. This morning I went through all the effort to pop a nice turkey breast into the slow cooker. Added some parsley, onion, carrots, celery, apple, rosemary, the whole nine yards. I met a friend for a light lunch, stopped at the grocery store, and when I got home, since King Stuff was up from his nap, we decided to make a run to the furniture store so that The Hubby could show me a bedroom set he saw.

Well, several bedroom sets, a few dining room tables, a couple BeautyRests, and the 7-minute TempurPedic memory foam mattress experience later, it was rapidly approaching dinnertime, the boys were rapidly approaching meltdown city. While I had the turkey cooking itself, no side dishes were ready, and I was pretty hungry and not thinking clearly myself. That’s the sort of thing that happens after you try to go furniture shopping with small children. So in that foggy-headed moment, the diner up the road felt a whole lot closer and faster than getting all the way home and trying to figure out something that would cook quicker than baked sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli to go with the turkey.

Yeah, not exactly. There is a room for private parties at the diner, and of course, prime dinnertime on a Saturday night, naturally there HAD to be a party going on. And naturally my little guy needed a dry diaper and my big kid had to pee and then he couldn’t figure out if he wanted bacon or sausage with his pancakes which meant I couldn’t look at the menu and decide what I wanted and then our waitress disappeared and of course by the time we got our order in, the kitchen was bogged down with cooking all of the entrees for the party, and our orders had to wait.

There’s only so much “I Spy” that’s gonna keep a kid calm when mom and dad just made him NOT run all over the furniture store and now he just wants his pancaaaaaaaakkkkeeeesssssss! Heck, I was pretty hangry myself. After all of that, my dinner wasn’t even that good. Life lesson – don’t order short ribs at a diner. Not a good idea. And, to top it all off, when we got home and I had to get the turkey out of the crockpot and into the fridge, it smelled amazing. Dinner remorse, big time. What doesn’t feel amazing is my tummy. Yeah, just a little angry with myself right now.

Oh well, tomorrow we’ll have turkey and maybe I’ll make another batch of these cranberry orange glazed green beans…

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans are a refreshing addition to Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner.

Try them instead of that heavy, creamy casserole. They are also lovely for a Sunday meal, but really can be made super fast for a tasty addition to weeknight dinners. Once you’ve got your beans cooked, it literally takes about two minutes to add the other ingredients and make it all glazy good. I even took a shortcut and used the bags of fresh green beans that have already had the stems snapped off, and you can cook right in the microwave. That’s definitely a much better shortcut than stopping for dinner at an overcrowded diner.

The orange marmalade adds a bit of sweetness, 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. 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.

Want some more healthy veggie sides?

• Butternut Squash Gratin with Sage Pesto & Gorgonzola
• Horseradish Cheddar Cauliflower Gratin
• Cornmeal Crusted Asparagus

Do you prefer to eat out or in?

Enjoy the cranberry orange glazed green beans recipe!

5 from 3 votes

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Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

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

Course: Side Dish, Vegetable

Author: Brianne @ Cupcakes & Kale Chips

Ingredients

• pound of fresh green beans
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon minced fresh sage or 1 teaspoon dried
• 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

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

In addition to the cranberry orange glazed green beans, here is the entire menu to help you Lighten Up the Holidays…

Drinks

• Lightened Up Eggnog by The Redhead Baker
• Low Calorie Pumpkin Pie Malted Milkshake by Kudos Kitchen by Renee

Appetizer or starter

• Gruyere Cheese Puffs by Sustainable Dad
• Lighten-up Sausage Rolls by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Spaghetti Squash, Pears and Kale with Shrimp by The Wimpy Vegetarian
• Lightened Up Cornbread Stuffing by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Spicy Eggplant Dip by Cooking Chat
• Carciofi alla Trapanese by Manu’s Menu
• Fresh Salmon Carpaccio by Food Lust People Love

Main Dishes

• Holiday Beef Tenderloin with Sweet Potatoes, Tomatoes and Corn by Family Foodie
• Mini Mushroom Shepherd’s Pies by Killer Bunnies, Inc
• Grandma’s Mac n’ Cheese by What Smells So Good?
• Lean Mean Cheeseburger Soup by The Foodie Army Wife
• Roasted Butternut Squash & Chicken Sausage Soup by Hot Momma’s Kitchen Chaos
• Lightened-Up Fettuccine Alfredo by Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen

Side Dishes

• Roasted Brussels Sprouts by Brunch with Joy
• Butternut Squash Orzo Pasta by Life Tastes Good
• Hearts of Palm, Artichoke, Avocado and Butter Lettuce by That Skinny Chick Can Bake
• Quick and Easy Sweet Potato by The Educators’ Spin On It
• Lentil & Mushroom Stuffing by Foxes Love Lemons
• Almond-Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Broccoli by The Texan New Yorker
• Tangy, Spiced Red Cabbage by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Honey Ginger Glazed Carrots by Ruffles & Truffles
• Shrimp Salad with White Wine Vinaigrette by eating in instead
• Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans by Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Roasted Garlic Cauliflower Mash by The Girl In The Little Red Kitchen
• Green Beans with Rosemary Garlic Butter by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Mediterranean Lentil Stuffed Delicata Squash by The Little Ferraro Kitchen
• Leaner Green Beans by Noshing With The Nolands
• Spiced Tri-Colored Carrot Salad by Take A Bite Out of Boca
• Horiatki Salata by Peaceful Cooking
• Healthier Potluck Broccoli-Cauliflower Salad by The Weekend Gourmet
• Farro Stuffing with Cranberries and Walnuts by The Dinner-Mom
• Roasted Parsnip and Apple Soup by Curious Cuisiniere

Desserts

• Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Sweet Apple Bites by Mama’s Blissful Bites
• Individual Cheesecakes by Nosh My Way
• Light and Luscious Chocolate Cheesecake by A Kitchen Hoor’s Adventures
• Pumpkin Pie Pudding by The Life and Loves of Grumpy’s Honeybunch
• Healthy Brownie Recipe | Applesauce Brownies by The Perfect Brownie
• Peanut Butter Coconut Mini Bars by Basic N Delicious
• The Blondie Recipe by Wallflour Girl
• Cinnamon Roll Granola Bars by Pies and Plots
• Skinny Ninja Cheesecake by NinjaBaker.com
• Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Pumpkin Blondie by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz