Sautéed green beans and tomatoes require just 4 ingredients and make for an easy, healthy and flavorful dinner side dish!
My grandmother, who we called Jamma, had gorgeous hands, I always thought.
They were wrinkly, old lady hands, to be sure, but she had long, slender fingers and a plethora of rings and bracelets that made her hands jingle and dance when she used them.
And she used them a lot. She was always keeping busy - or at least talking and gesturing.
I can picture her hands in a mixing bowl, or cleaning some raw chicken or turkey, or stirring a pot. If it wasn’t food, she always had a book, a sewing project, a drink if it was that time of day. (She was a bourbon drinker like me 😊)
And one task I could help with, even when I was young, was snapping beans.
We’d sit side by side at a table with a bowl between us for the beans and a discard bowl for the ends. I would fumble and fiddle with my beans, trying to snap off the ends and snap the long ones in half.
She worked effortlessly, efficiently, snapping and chatting and never missing a beat.
I feel like we ate a lot of green beans. Green beans are kind-of a Southern staple. Mostly, we cook them to death. 😂
I remember when I was older and I first asked my mom, over the phone probably, how long to cook green beans and she said with a sort-of shrug, “25 minutes. Or 30 or more. However long you let them go…" It's not a precise kind of thing, cooking green beans to death.
Some people can only do the really cooked, tender, super soft green beans. Others prefer them with some crispness. I can honestly go both ways.
These green beans and tomatoes though are one of the cook-the-fool-out-of-the-beans recipes so that they are melt-in-your-mouth tender.
And combined with the tomatoes, it’s a great, easy recipe with just a few ingredients but tons of flavor.
A few notes on these sautéed green beans and tomatoes:
- I used a regular can of diced tomatoes, but you could substitute stewed tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, petit diced tomatoes or another flavor if you want to change this recipe up a bit.
- You can let the green beans simmer for as long as you need on low, if you’re working on the rest of dinner. Or doing homework with the kids. Or got distracted by Facebook.
- You could top these green beans with Parmesan cheese or crumbled bacon - or both.
I served these green beans and tomatoes with my balsamic pork tenderloin with thyme and microwaved 10-minute baked potatoes. These also would be great with my crunchy baked Parmesan chicken.
Here’s to precious family food memories and to hoping I love my old lady hands when I have them as much as I did my grandmothers.
And be sure to check out my fellow Recipe Redux members below and see their food memory recipes.
Enjoy!
~ Kathryn
What's one of your favorite food memories? I'd love to hear from you - leave a comment below!
Sautéed green beans and tomatoes
Sautéed green beans and tomatoes are an easy, healthy and flavorful side dish!
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- ½ small onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed (about ¾ pound)
- 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
- ⅓ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
- Add onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.
- Add garlic and green beans and saute 3-4 minutes more minutes.
- Add undrained tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes and up to 30 or 40 minutes, until green beans are tender. Stir occasionally.
- Taste and adjust seasonings and serve hot.
Notes
I used a regular can of diced tomatoes, but you could substitute stewed tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, petit diced tomatoes or another flavor if you want to change this recipe up a bit.
You could top these green beans with grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled, cooked bacon - or both.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 49Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 233mgCarbohydrates: 6gFiber: 2gSugar: 3gProtein: 2g
rachel @ atheltic avocado
What an easy and delicious side dish! Pinned 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks Rachel!
Dawn @ Girl Heart Food
That's so sweet!! I can just picture your grandmother now. Funny how certain things just stick with us. I love green beans....they are definitely at the top of my veggie list. I usually like them nice and crispy, barely cooked, but I know what you mean about cooking them to death. I know my grandmother (aka nan), cooks brussels sprouts until they are almost mush. But they are still good 😉 I've never had green beans with tomatoes before, but it sounds and looks healthy and delicious. Pinned! Hope your week is going good! xoxo
Kathryn
Thanks Dawn! This is one of my favorite ways to eat green beans! XO
Jodi @ The Average RD
I have green beans and tomatoes from the garden sitting on the counter waiting to be used. I will be making these tonight! Thanks for sharing your story 🙂
Kathryn
Thanks Jodi! I hope you love it!
Brynn at The Domestic Dietitian
What a sweet memory! I love grandma's that drink bourbon! I also literally laughed at loud at your mom's response to how long to cook the beans "however long you let them go"...so funny!
Kathryn
Bourbon-drinking grandma's are the best! I look forward to being one myself (a long time from now) 😉
anne
These look delicious! My mother used to make something similar with zucchini rather than green beans - I like this better!
Kathryn
Thanks Anne! I hope you try it!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary
My grandmother had lovely hands too! I wonder if that's a requirement for grandmothers? 😉 Anyways, love that you have fond memories with her in the kitchen!! And I LOVE green beans with tomatoes!! That used to be my all time favorite side growing up! Like, I requested them whenever my mom allowed me to give my two cents for dinner. Yours look perfect, Kathryn! I could eat the entire dang pan of these, plus another pan, in about 3 seconds flat. SO GOOD! Can't wait to make this, chicka! Cheers!
Kathryn
It must be a requirement! Aww, glad this brings back good memories for you too 😉 XO
Adina
I think the only difference between your grandma's green beans and the Romanian green beans my grandma used to make is that my grandma used sunflower oil (quite a lot of it) instead of olive oil... I didn't like them as a kid but I make them now all the time and eat them with mashed potatoes... so good! And I vividly remember my grandma's hands as well, it is the only thing I got from her, we are completely different types but have exactly the same hands... 🙂
Kathryn
Aww, that's so sweet! Love the idea of serving these with mashed potatoes too - yum!
Courtney
Such a simple but lovely side dish-- I love green beans and I love tomatoes, so this looks perfect to me!
Kathryn
Thanks so much Courtney!
Dolores
Hi! I'm new here. This sounds delicious. My very good friend used to make green beans like this but with fresh tomatoes and then she stirred in sour cream at the end. They were so good. Have you ever heard of this before? I wonder if it was a family thing. Her Mama was a great cook.
Kathryn
Hi and welcome Dolores! So happy to have you! I have not heard of that sour cream trick but it sounds delicious! Would add a great creaminess and tang to the dish. 🙂
Melissa
I’m having my annual Halloween party for kids and grandchildren. This recipe will be “the bomb” if they still say that lol
Kathryn Doherty
Yay, I hope everyone loves them Melissa!