Roasted Green Beans with Cranberries and Walnuts
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Roasted green beans with tart cranberries and crunchy walnuts make the perfect simple yet elegant holiday side dish.
If you’ve never tried roasted green beans, you’re in for a real treat. Unlike boiled green beans that can be bland and squeaky, roasting brings out their natural sweetness and gives them a tender, caramelized flavor. In this version, dried cranberries add a pop of color and tart-sweetness, while walnuts bring a savory crunch. It’s a simple yet elegant side dish, perfect for the holidays.
What You’ll Need To Make Roasted Green beans with Cranberries & Walnuts
Step-by-Step Instructions
Begin by toasting the walnuts.
While the walnuts toast, rehydrate the cranberries: Place the cranberries in a small heat-proof bowl.
Cover with boiling water and let sit until the green beans are cooked.
To roast the green beans, line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Toss the green beans with the garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper, and sugar directly on the prepared baking sheet.
Roast the beans for 15 minutes, then stir with a spatula to promote even cooking. Continue roasting until beans are tender, slightly browned and just starting to shrivel, about 10 minutes more.
Add lemon zest, lemon juice, drained cranberries, and walnuts.
Toss well.
Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice if desired.
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Roasted Green Beans with Cranberries & Walnuts
Roasted green beans with tart cranberries and crunchy walnuts make the perfect simple yet elegant holiday side dish.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced into quarters
- 1¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest, from one lemon
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, from one lemon
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- ½ cup walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack in the middle position. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil. Place the walnuts on the prepared baking sheet and bake until until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Keep a close eye on the nuts so they don't burn. When cool enough to handle, transfer the nuts to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Place the foil back on the baking sheet (you'll use it for the green beans) and increase the oven temperature to 450°F.
- Place the cranberries in a small heatproof bowl. Cover the cranberries with boiling water and set aside.
- Directly on the foil-lined baking sheet, use a rubber spatula to toss the green beans with the olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and sugar. Roast the green beans for 15 minutes, then stir with a spatula to promote even cooking. Continue roasting until the beans are tender, slightly browned and just starting to shrivel, about 10 minutes more.
- Drain the cranberries.
- Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, drained cranberries, and toasted walnuts to the green beans. Toss well, then taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (8 servings)
- Calories: 104
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 15 g
- Sugar: 9 g
- Fiber: 4 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 301 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Comments
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I see in one of the comments below someone used frozen green beans instead of fresh. I would like to try that also, but not sure how it will turn out. In your opinion, if I saute the frozen green beans and then add the other ingredients and then toss, do you think it would work out? Thanks for your input!
Hi Tricia, for the best results, I recommend sticking with fresh green beans — sorry!
I think there is a typo by the pictures. cover the CRANBERRIES with boiling water until cooked, not GREEN BEANS. Can’t wait to try it!
Hi Joann, thanks for taking the time to write – I just took a peek and the text is actually correct. What I’m trying to convey is that the cranberries should be covered with boiling water until the green beans are cooked. Hope that clarifies!
Hi Jenn:
If I make this recipe the day before the holiday and refrigerate it overnight, how long should I plan on reheating in microwave?
Plan on making your brisket recipe for the holiday too. Thank you for all of your wonderful recipes. My family and I have enjoyed every one!
Mary
Hi Mary, I’d start with 1 minute. If it needs more, I’d go in 20-second intervals. Enjoy!
Hi Jenn,
Can this recipe be doubled?
Thank you!
SF Ana
Sure, just make sure to use 2 baking sheets so you don’t overcrowd the green beans. Enjoy!
Fantastic! Our new favorite bean dish. We used yellow beans because that’s what we had, and the taste is soooooo amazing!
Made this tonight. Didn’t have lemon zest, but I did do the walnuts and cranberries. Oven temperature info was not given, so here’s what I did.
used frozen green beans, set them out to thaw a couple hours before cooking. Did the hot water and dried cranberries thing for about ten minutes.
oven = 425F
walnuts in for 15 minutes.
Then pulled out the walnuts, put them in a bowl with the (thawed) green beans, softened cranberries, some diced garlic (three cloves), olive oil, kosher salt, tossed them to mix thoroughly.
Put the whole shebang onto a baking sheet in the 425F oven for another 15 minutes.
Turned out pretty good, actually. Probably 20 minutes, even 25 minutes at 425F would have been more interesting if you’re into some charring of the beans.
The upshot with this recipe is that even a retired engineer can make something approximating it, and have it turn out okay.
I see you used frozen green beans instead of fresh. I would like to try that also, but not sure how it will turn out. I don’t believe that Jenn recommended using frozen, but am curious since that’s what you used.
And what a fine thing it would be for us beginners if you actually described what “roast” means for an oven setting. Nowhere is temperature mentioned.
I’m going to give it a whirl at 425F and see what happens.
Hi John, You may have overlooked it, but for future reference, the oven temp should be set to 450°F. Hope the green beans came out nicely!
Jen, do you think this would be okay to make ahead and just reheat?
Yes, Sure, you can get away with it. I’d reheat them briefly in the microwave before serving. Enjoy!
When you call for kosher salt, do you mean coarse or fine? I’ve checked a few grocery stores and only found “coarse” kosher salt. I’ve used fine sea salt, but I’d like to know what you use!
Thanks!
Hi Sue, it’s coarse. I use Morton’s brand. Hope that helps! 🙂
Public Service Announcment: put the cranberries in the boiling water as directed, i.e. right before you toss the beans. If you try to put them in ahead of time, the cranberries will lose much of their colour and flavour.
Great dish with good balance as always. My partner refuses vegetables and after forcing him to eat a bean, he said it was good and actually had a small helping. That’s a win in my book.