Green beans are an excellent source of fiber and protein. They are also high in magnesium and potassium. If you have some leftover green beans that you do not want to waste, you may be looking for a delicious recipe that you can use them in.
Soup is a hearty and healthy meal that will keep you full and hydrated. Practically any vegetable can be used to create a great-tasting soup, and green beans are no exception.
Below, we have provided you with a green bean soup recipe that is easy to prepare and takes less than an hour to cook. It doesn’t call for a lot of ingredients and it is likely that you will have most readily available in your cupboards.
Ingredients
- Fresh green beans – 2 pounds
- Garlic – 1 clove
- A sprinkling of salt
- Fresh Parsley – 1 sprig
- All purpose flour – 3 tablespoons
- Onion – 1 chopped
- Vinegar – 3 tablespoons
- Sour Cream – 1 cup or 1/2 cup whipped cream or 1 cup of light cream
Optional Ingredients
- Bacon – 2 slices
- Carrots
- Potatoes
Making the green bean soup:
Step 1:
To begin, you will need to prepare any ingredients that need to be chopped before adding them to your recipe.
Step 2:
In a large saucepan on medium heat, add your green beans to water and combine with the garlic and parsley. Allow them to cook until they soften.
Step 3:
In a separate saucepan on medium heat, combine the onions and carrots, (if you are going to be using them) and cook in olive oil for a couple of minutes. Keep stirring these ingredients slowly to prevent them from sticking to the base of the pan.
As these ingredients start to absorb the oil, you may wish to add some water from the pan that is cooking the beans. This is going to enhance the moisture.
Step 4:
If you are going to be adding bacon, you can now add it to a separate saucepan and cook it until it becomes crispy. Once it has, you can then remove it from the heat and set it aside until you are ready to use it.
Step 5:
Reduce the heat of your vegetables and allow them to simmer for approximately 15 minutes. Make sure that you do not overcook your vegetables but only cook them until they seem tender.
Step 6:
Once you have cooked all of your ingredients, you will then need to combine them in one saucepan. If you are using bacon, you can now add this to the saucepan too along with a sprinkling of salt, some vinegar, and the cream.
Step 7:
Stir all of the ingredients inside one of the saucepans until everything is well mixed. Continue to cook until it is thoroughly heated. Then serve it whilst it is still hot.
Step 8:
If desired, you may wish to garnish your soup with some leftover parsley and a small amount of pepper.
Additional Tips:
There are some optional ingredients that you may wish to add to your green bean soup along with the basic ingredients e.g potatoes.
Should you decide to add these ingredients, you will need to prepare and cook them during the earlier stages of the cooking process. Wait until they have cooked through thoroughly before mixing with the rest of the ingredients that make up your soup.
What beans can be used in green bean soup?
Whilst it is recommended that you use fresh green beans in your soup, there are other varieties that you can use if you do not have any fresh ones available.
You can use frozen green beans but you will need to defrost them beforehand and reduce the cooking time so that they do not turn mushy. Another option is to use canned green beans.
These beans will not need to be cooked for as long so you will need to allow the rest of your vegetables to cook first before adding the beans towards the end of the cooking process.
Preparing your green beans for your soup
Whenever you use green beans for cooking you need to trim and cut them beforehand. If you have the time available, you can also blanch the beans before using them to cook.
Not only will this start to cook the beans slightly so that they will not need to be cooked for as long with the other ingredients, but it will also preserve the rich green color.
Though choosing not to blanch them isn’t going to make a significant difference to the taste, you may notice that when added to your soup they start to turn a little bit brown.
How long will green bean soup last in the fridge?
If you have made more green soup than you can eat, you may be wondering whether you can preserve it to eat in a couple of days. After all, you’ve dedicated your time to making this dish so you don’t want it to go to waste.
You will be pleased to know that your soup can be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days from the day that you make it. When you decide to eat it again then you can reheat it and it will be just as tasty as it was the first time.
Final Thoughts
There you have it, an easy recipe that you can follow to make a delicious green bean soup. You do not need to use a lot of fancy ingredients and it is likely that you will already have most of the ingredients at home and ready to use.
The longest part of the process will be cooking the ingredients as you will need to wait until they soften. After this, you will just need to mix all of the ingredients, and then it is going to be ready to eat.
If desired, you can then select some additional ingredients to season and slightly enhance the flavor of the soup depending on your taste preferences.