Description
When healthy meets flavorful, you’ve got a dish that just won’t quit! This delicious Vegan Green Bean Almondine combines wholesome green beans in a beautifully savory almond sauce sprinkled with toasty almonds. Perfect for an everyday accent side dish, and yet special enough for your holiday dinner table. Don’t miss this yummy way to get in those nutrient-packed green beans!
Whole Food Plant Based, vegan, plant based, oil free, refined sugar free, gluten free, and no highly processed ingredients.
Ingredients
- ½ cup raw almond slices, divided
- 1 lb. fresh green beans *
- 1/3 cup red onion, minced *
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
Sauce Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup water
- ¼ cup vegetable broth *
- 2 teaspoon almond butter *
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
- 1 Tablespoon reduced sodium tamari *
- ½ teaspoon garlic power
- ½ teaspoon onion powder
- 2 teaspoons dried minced onions
- ½ teaspoon dried crushed thyme leaves *
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt *
- 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
- Pinch dried ground mustard powder (+/-) * (optional)
Instructions
- Toast the almond slices, see recipe notes for instructions, set aside.
- Prep the minced red onions and garlic, set aside.
- Place the Sauce Ingredients into a small bowl, whisk well to combine, set aside.
- Place 2 cups of water into a large ceramic/enamel lined or nonstick skillet, bring to a boil, then place the green beans in the skillet with a sprinkle of sea salt, cover the skillet with a tight-fitting lid, and steam/boil the green beans for 4 minutes, the steam/boil time is largely dependent upon how tender you enjoy your green beans.
- When the green beans have reached the desired tenderness, remove the green beans from the skillet, set aside. Dump out any remaining hot water from the skillet, then return the empty skillet to the stove and add the minced red onions, sauté over medium heat until soft, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add a splash of water if they start to stick or burn.
- Add the minced garlic to the skillet with the onions, sauté for 30 seconds, then add the Sauce, stir well to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then immediately lower to a simmer.
- Add the green beans and most of the toasted almond slices (retain a small amount for decorating the top of the dish). Stir well to combine. Simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Plate and sprinkle the remaining toasted almond slices on top.
Notes
*Fresh Green Beans: Fresh green beans work best with this recipe, but you can also use frozen or canned. For frozen, at Step 4, simply sauté the green beans in a few tablespoons of water until they reach the desired tenderness, then remove them from the pan, remove any remaining water before going to Step 3. For canned green beans, skip Step 4 entirely, and add the canned green beans (drained) in Step 7.
*Minced Red Onions: Mince (finely chop) the red onions by hand, do not place them in the food processor to mince. Food processors will turn the onions into soup as it will make them release too much water.
*Vegetable Stock: We use Pacific Organic Low Sodium Vegetable Stock. We love this brand because it is Whole Food Plant Based compliant, as it does not contain MSG, has no oil, and does not contain any highly-processed ingredients.
*Almond Butter: The almond butter can be swapped out for tahini or any nut/seed butter with the understanding that the flavors will slightly change dependent upon what you use.
*Tamari: We used San J Tamari Soy Sauce, Gluten Free, Reduced Sodium. You can substitute the tamari with reduced sodium soy sauce, Braggs Liquid Aminos, or Braggs Coconut Liquid Aminos.
*Dried Thyme Leaves: We use Penzeys French Thyme. It has amazing flavor. If you can’t find dried thyme leaves, you can use ground thyme, but use half the amount.
*Toasted Almond Slices: Place the almond slices into a skillet. Heat until the almonds become fragrant and toasted about 4 to 5 minutes. Keep them moving around the pan as they burn easily. Remove from the pan until ready to use them.
*Sea Salt: Please adjust the sea salt based upon your family’s sea salt preferences and/or based upon dietary needs.
*Dried Ground Mustard Powder: Our family was completely divided over the used of the dried ground mustard powder. It pops the tang flavor up. You can also use Dijon mustard if you wish with the understanding that it changes the complexity of flavors. Some family members preferred leaving the mustard powder out of the recipe completely to allow the true green beans to shine while others opted for a bolder flavor by adding a pinch (or more) of mustard powder (+/-) or Dijon mustard (+/-).
*Serving: 4 (sides)
*Storage: Refrigerate, use within 5 days.