Sous Vide Green Beans

Sous vide green beans are an incredibly easy to whip up side dish that brings the flavour! Fresh green beans cooked to perfection then sauteed in butter and topped with Parmigiano Reggiano will soon become your favourite. This recipe is also make-ahead friendly.

I’ll never forget the day I realized I actually liked green beans. I was pregnant with my first baby, the size of a whole house, and hungry. (Spoiler: I liked food a lot back then too)

We were on a girls’ weekend camp-out, and my cousin produced a plate of steamed green beans tossed in butter, salt and pepper.

All I can remember was eating them like the damn cookie monster. Not proud. Well-fed, but not proud.

I’ve been chasing that green bean high ever since.

This sous vide green beans recipe is dedicated to chowing down.

Green beans in a cast iron skillet after being sauteed.

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Tips + Tricks

No. 1 –> Green beans aren’t very dense, you may find yourself needing to weigh down the sous vide bag to keep them submerged. This can be done numerous ways, but my favourite way for this recipe is to use kitchen tongs wedged on the edge of the water bath.

No. 2 –> Learn more about sous vide on my Sous Vide 101 post.

Sous vide green beans in a small baking sheet.

Key Ingredients

Green beans: Smaller, slender green beans are generally the most tender, try to pick those if you can! Fresh garden beans are the best, but in a pinch, frozen green beans will work too – just reduce the cooking time by 10 minutes.

Parmigiano Reggiano petals: This aged cheese is sharp and rich in flavour. It’s the perfect complement to these tender salty green beans. If you can’t find Parmigiano Reggiano, you can substitute parmesan. I like to use petals for this recipe because after a coarse chop, they are a perfect size and don’t disappear, but grated will work too!

Butter: Butter makes everything better. Fact.

Ingredients for the sous vide green beans displayed on a table.

How to make sous vide green beans

  1. Prepare sous vide water bath to 186f.
  2. Wash and discard any bruised or gnarly green beans, then chop the ends off. Even if they’ve been pre-cut, I like to give them a clean, fresh edge.
  3. Lay the green beans into a vacuum seal bag in as close to a single layer as you can. The more packed they are, the better. Then seal the bag.
  4. Cook the green beans at 186f for 35-50 minutes. 35 minutes would have them cooked, but bright green, and snappy, while 50 minutes would result in a softer, more tender texture. The beans in these photos have been cooked for 50 minutes.
  5. With 3-5 minutes of sous vide time left, add the butter to a cast iron skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Coarsely chop the parmigiano reggiano petals.
  6. Remove the beans from the water bath and pour the entire contents of the bag into the preheated skillet.
  7. Sautee the beans in the hot butter for 30-45 seconds, season with salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Remove the skillet from the heat, and sprinkle aproximately 3/4 of the coarsely chopped parmigiano reggiano before transferring to a serving dish.
  9. Pour the pan juices from the skillet over the green beans, then top with remaining cheese before adding a finishing salt and pepper.
  10. Serve hot.

Got leftovers?

These sous vide green beans can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, simply add the beans to a skillet and warm up over medium-low until heated through.

Make ahead

Sous vide green beans can totally be made in advance. If you’re a weekend meal prepper, whip up a batch of these guys and simply cook them for only 35 minutes, then drop them into an ice bath after the sous vide water bath for about 10 minutes before placing in the fridge for later use.

When ready to serve, heat the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet. Once it’s hot, dump the contents of the sous vide bag into the skillet and sauté for approximately 2 minutes or until heated through, then follow the remaining directions to finish the recipe.

More sous vide recipes to love!

Don’t have a vacuum sealer?

This recipe can still be made, no problem! Use the water displacement method.

Run a couple inches of water in your sink. Add all of the green beans to a freezer duty ziplock bag, then submerge the bulk of the bag into the water, keeping the sealing zipper out of the water. Once the weight of the water has pushed out the air, zip the bag closed.

This method will most definitely require you to weigh down the bag, as the water displacement method is less efficient at removing air from the bag than the vacuum sealer.

Picking up the green beans with tongs to move to serving tray.

Sous vide circulator: OK. You need one of these, says the small appliance addict. But seriously, even Kevy said he loves our little sous vide. We’ve got the Instant Pot Accu Slim circulator, and it rocks!

Vacuum sealer: Yes, you can cook sous vide without a vacuum sealer, but it’s so much easier with one. My failure rate with a Food Saver is 0. I’ve had some dicey luck with zip lock style bags and long or high heat cooks.

If you love this recipe, please give it a star rating or leave a comment below! This helps me to create more content you enjoy!

📖 Printable Recipe

xPicking up the green beans with tongs to move to serving tray.

Sous Vide Green Beans

Allyson Letal
Sous vide green beans are a delicious side dish with minimal hands-on time. The rich and sharp Parmigiano Reggiano is the perfect pair for tender green beans.
5 from 3 votes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Additional Time 5 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Side Dishes, Sous Vide
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 91 kcal

Ingredients
  

  • ¾ lb fresh green beans
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano petals
  • salt + pepper to taste.

Instructions
 

  • Prepare sous vide water bath to 186f.
  • Wash and discard any bruised or damaged green beans, chop the ends off.
  • Lay the green beans into a vacuum seal bag in a single layer. Seal the bag.
  • Cook the green beans at 186f for 35-50 minutes. 35 minutes results in bright green and somewhat crisp beans, while 50 minutes would result in a softer, more tender texture.
  • With 3-5 minutes of sous vide time left, add 2 tablespoons butter to a cast-iron skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Coarsely chop the2 tablespoons Parmigiano Reggiano petals.
  • Remove the beans from the water bath and pour the entire contents of the bag into the preheated skillet.
  • Sautee the beans in the hot butter for 30-45 seconds, season with salt and pepper to taste.
  • Remove the skillet from the heat, and sprinkle approximately 3/4 of the coarsely chopped Parmigiano Reggiano before transferring to a serving dish.
  • Pour the pan juices from the skillet over the green beans, then top with remaining cheese before adding a finishing salt + pepper to taste..
  • Serve hot.

Notes

make ahead

Sous vide green beans can totally be made in advance. If you’re a weekend meal prepper, whip up a batch of these guys and simply cook them for only 35 minutes, then drop them into an ice bath after the sous vide water bath for about 10 minutes before placing in the fridge for later use.
When ready to serve, heat the butter over medium-low heat in a skillet. Once it’s hot, dump the contents of the sous vide bag into the skillet and sauté for approximately 2 minutes or until heated through, then follow the remaining directions to finish the recipe.

got leftovers?

These sous vide green beans can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days. To reheat, simply add the beans to a skillet and warm up over medium-low until heated through.

don’t have a vacuum sealer?

Run a couple inches of water in your sink. Add all of the green beans to a freezer duty ziplock bag, then submerge the bulk of the bag into the water, keeping the sealing zipper out of the water. Once the weight of the water has pushed out the air, zip the bag closed.
This method will most definitely require you to weigh down the bag, as the water displacement method is less efficient at removing air from the bag than the vacuum sealer.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 91kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 2gFat: 7gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 18mgSodium: 247mgFiber: 2gSugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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