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Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans

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Sweet and tart with a little zing, and perfectly easy for a holiday meal or weeknight supper.
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Cranberry orange glazed green beans are a new and healthy alternative to the traditional Thanksgiving green bean casserole. You can definitely balance the holiday indulgences with some healthy holiday side dish recipes. Step away from the canned soup and french fried onions. It’s time to lighten up your green bean recipe by making these slightly sweet and tangy glazed green beans with cranberries and orange.

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Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans Recipe

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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 Slow Cooker BBQ Rubbed Turkey Breast into the crockpot. Then I met a friend for a light lunch and stopped at the grocery store. When I got home, since the little guy was up from his nap. So 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. Consequently, the boys were rapidly approaching meltdown city.

While I had the turkey cooking, no side dishes were ready. In addition, 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 Lemon Parmesan Roasted Broccoli I had planned 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. Of course he couldn’t figure out if he wanted bacon or sausage with his pancakes. Consequently this meant I couldn’t look at the menu and decide what I wanted. By that time our waitress disappeared. Once we finally. 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. 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.

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.

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

Easy green beans recipe with dried cranberries and orange glaze in a yellow serving dish

Orange Glazed Green Beans with Dried Cranberries

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. 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.

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.
  • Loving this recipe, but want to change up the flavors a bit? Next time try Pineapple Pecan Glazed Green Beans!

Orange Glazed Green Beans with Dried Cranberries

What else can you make with dried cranberries?

Cranberry Bliss White Chocolate BarkCranberry Almond Energy Balls (and Baby Bites)

Cranberry Orange Glazed Green Beans in a yellow serving dish

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

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.

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!

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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: 15.7% | Vitamin C: 17.4% | Calcium: 4.6% | Iron: 6.5%

Originally published on Nov 2, 2014

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Comments

  1. Hi! Looks delicious! Do you blanch the beans after they are done cooking and then return them to the pan for the sauce?

    Reply

    • Hi Heather,

      I don’t blanch the green beans, but that’s because my family prefers them to be on the softer side. However, you can definitely blanch them after cooking to keep them tender-crisp.

      Reply

    • Hi Sharon,
      Yes, you can absolutely make this ahead! I usually reheat it in a skillet, but if you cover the baking dish with foil, it should reheat well at 350 F. I would think 20-25 minutes should warm it through.

      Reply

    • Lynn, it’s difficult to say how much volume-wise, because green beans vary in size. However, the recipe calls for a pound of green beans and 1/4 cup of dried cranberries, so I suggest that if you need to be specific with portion size that you use a kitchen scale and weigh out 5 oz per portion.

      Reply

    • Kate, a pound of green beans (which is what the recipe calls for) will typically serve 4 adults as a side dish. Hope this helps!

      Reply

  11. That look amazing!! I love that it’s a healthier version. YUMMY!!! thanks for linking up to the Create LInk Inspire party. You are being featured today on Nap-Time Creations in some great fall food!! Check it out! Emily

    Reply

  14. “No short ribs at a diner.” I’ve comitted that to memory, just now. Sorry you had such a rough day, but at least it was a learning experience for you readers, right? 😉

    I know it sounds crazy, but what kind of green beans to make is always my biggest dilemma for Thanksgiving. So many options. Just printed this to add it to the pile of options.

    Reply

  17. I almost always eat at home, even when I’m running late and in a hurry. Usually it’s a good decision, but I totally understand how you felt. These green beans look amazing! Such a fab side dish!

    Reply

  20. The combination of cranberry and orange totally makes me think of the holidays. I don’t like green beans unless they’ve got some kind of awesome flavor going on, and these totally do!

    Reply

  22. Your doctored up green beans look terrific! I love the addition of dried cranberries. Sorry for the lackluster meal at the dinner…but at least dinner was ready for the next day 🙂

    Reply

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