Fresh Green Beans Almondine

Traditional Green Bean Almondine is good but we like to go beyond simply good and upgrade that to exceptional around here.

In this vegetable side dish you get a delicious fusion of flavors and textures with tender crisp green beans, lively garlic, salty bacon, crunchy almonds, sharp parmesan, and tart lemon.

It turns an ordinary vegetable into something with crowd-pleasing flavor that will be the talk of the meal.

People may very well be saying "I never knew green beans could be so delicious!"

And you'll be happy with the fact that it really is quite easy to make. Try this at your next holiday get together or for a fancy Sunday supper.

Sautéing Green Beans

I think for many the go to ways to cook green beans are to boil, steam and roast them. But after trying this simple skillet method though you'll probably realize sautéing green beans hasn't gotten the attention and praise it deserves.

I'd say it's easily one of the best ways to make them! Once you try them you may likely be thinking "Who knew green beans could be so good?" And you can have them crisp-tender and ready in under 15 minutes! It's the perfect side dish.

Even the kids might come to enjoy "those green things" on their plate rather than turning their noses to another vegetable. Nutrition for the win!

It's amazing what that lightly browned flavor of sautéing can do, along with a hint of butter. This is such a tasty way to upgrade to fresh green beans!

Looking for more healthy soup recipes? Try my classic Vegetable Soup, Cabbage Soup and Lentil Soup.

So this is me, I eat pretty healthy most of the time so I can make room for dessert all the time. I'm kidding (sort of). But really, I think balance is important, which doesn't really mean dessert every day but sometimes I think it's necessary.

I've said it before, all the healthy food is definitely good for your physical health but I say the sweet stuff is good for my emotional health because how could I survive without sugar (especially chocolate)? Addicted? Maybe. Content with that, definitely.

This soup has got to be one of the healthiest I've ever made though. It is packed with so many fresh, healthy ingredients and it really does taste amazingly delicious!

I've learned that light and healthy recipes don't need to be boring, they just need to have the right blend of flavors and good seasoning and it makes such a big difference.

You’ll love how this soup is very filling without all lots of added fats or empty carbs. Plus it makes a big pot-full so you can have some for lunch for the next few days.

And yes, this minestrone soup recipe does call for quite a few ingredients but don't shy away from this recipe because of that. It's worth it!

Photography credit: Jess Larson

To make it a cozy meal consider serving this with homemade 1 Hour Dinner Rolls or No Knead Bread.

The Best Vegetable Soup

Not only is this soup delicious, but it's also so easy to make. It just takes some chopping of ingredients and a bit of simmering until you've got a soup everyone will love!

This is a recipe you'll definitely want to add to your dinner or lunch rotation. And it yields a pot full and makes great leftovers!

What Vegetables Should I Add to Vegetable Soup?

You can put whatever vegetables you like in this soup, from seasonal fresh veggies to frozen ones. Here's a list of what I used;

• carrots
• celery
• tomatoes
• potatoes
• green beans
• corn
• peas
• yellow onion and garlic

You may also want to stir in spinach or kale right towards the end of simmering. Sweet potato or butternut would be a fun autumn soup version. I sometimes like to add kidney beans or cannellini beans for more protein and texture.

The Best Green Bean Casserole!

We've all had our fair share of nasty green bean casseroles. You know the kind with mushy, lifeless canned green beans and canned condensed mushroom soup (with lots of strange ingredients).

This version is made from scratch and is a million times better! It's worth the few extra steps, I promise! You'll never look back to that lazy version.

You may likely even find green bean casserole haters becoming true believers.

Want a beef filled cabbage soup? Also try my Cabbage Roll Soup, it tastes just like a cabbage roll without all the extra time and hassle.

I love this recipe for a few reasons. It's flavorful, it has minimal calories, it's so easy to make, it's packed with nutritious ingredients and it makes great leftovers that reheat well. It's also a great recipe for sicks days, or recovering from being sick days.

Cabbage Soup Video

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It only requires just a bit of chopping and sautéing then you just let everything simmer together until it's tender. Really, this cabbage soup recipe is as easy as can be!

Ingredients Needed for Cabbage Soup

• Olive oil - don't use another type of oil, it won't taste as good.
• Cabbage - stick with the standard green cabbage here. Napa cabbage would wilt too much.
• Carrots - you don't need to peel carrots before chopping, but do scrub and rinse clean l if skipping that step.
• Celery - slice somewhat thin so it ends up tender by the time the other veggies are done.
• Yellow onion - what would we do without this staple ingredient? It adds so much flavor. The yellow variety will taste best here.
• Bell pepper - I like to stick with red bell pepper since it has the most ripened flavor of all the varieties.
• Garlic - use freshly chopped garlic for best flavor.
• Green Beans - frozen green beans will work great as well.
• Canned petite diced tomatoes - fire roasted tomatoes will taste great too.
• Low-sodium chicken broth - vegetable broth can be substituted.
• Italian seasoning - wanting to make your own blend? You could also just use 3/4 tsp oregano, 3/4 tsp basil and 1/2 tsp thyme.
• Parsley - this adds nice vibrant color and light fresh flavor at the end.

How to Make Cabbage Soup on the Stovetop

• 1. Saute mirepoix veggies: olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat, add the onions, carrots and celery then saute 6 minutes. Add in the garlic and saute 1 minute longer.
• 2. Stir in remaining vegetables, broth and seasonings: stir in cabbage, bell pepper, tomatoes, green beans, broth, Italian seasoning and season with salt and pepper to taste.

• 3. Boil then let simmer: Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until veggies are tender, about 15 minutes.
• 4. Finish with parsley: Stir in parsley and serve warm.

How to Make Cabbage Soup in a Crockpot

1. Add all ingredients to a 6 or 7 quart slow cooker, except parsley.
2. Cover and cook on low heat until veggies are all tender, about 8 hours, or high for about 4 hours.
3. Stir in parsley.

How to Make Cabbage Soup in an Instant Pot

1. Set Instant Pot to "saute" setting and saute the onion, celery and carrot for a few minutes, then garlic for 1 minute. Set to "off" setting.
2. Pour in remaining except parsley.
3. Secure lid and set valve to sealing position.
4. Set to "manual" mode and select 15 minutes.
5. Let pressure come down naturally for 10 minutes then you can carefully quick release any remaining pressure. Stir in parsley.

Will this Recipe Work for the Cabbage Soup Diet?

I'm no doctor or dietician so I'm not one to promote a diet or diet recipe. But if you are looking for "the cabbage soup diet recipe" then this one will fit the bill.

What to Serve with Cabbage Soup?

I like to serve this with fresh whole wheat bread, covered with a layer of creamy butter of course. Garlic bread or cheese toast is another good option. Or just go with crackers, can't go wrong with those.

How Long Does it Keep?

It will stay fresh for up to 4 days in the refrigerator.

Can I Freeze Cabbage Soup?

Yes this cabbage soup can be frozen in an airtight container up to 3 months.

Tips and Possible Variations:

• Be sure to allow enough time to simmer so vegetables are tender.
• For extra flavor add more herbs, and you can also use fresh herbs like oregano, thyme, basil and rosemary.
• For an added protein and to make this soup more filling you can add in cannellini beans, kidney beans or chick peas. Lentils would be a good option too just add more broth.
• You could add hamburger or sausage to the soup, brown before simmering with the soup.
• Add a little lemon for extra flavor, or red pepper flakes for a little kick.

More Delicious Cabbage Recipes to Try

• Cabbage Roll Soup
• Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls
• Roasted Cabbage Wedges
• Coleslaw
• Egg Roll in a Bowl

It's perfectly hearty and filling thanks to the tender chunks of protein-rich beef and abundance of nutritious vegetables. Plus it's a versatile recipe so feel free to replace veggies with others you may have on hand.

Vegetable Beef Soup

After simmering for an hour on the stove top this soup has such a delicious rich flavor and the beef is so deliciously tender. This is a perfect comforting fall and winter soup but when you've got lots of vegetables to use up in the summer this is the recipe to make!

Want to see how easy this Vegetable Soup Recipe is? Watch the video!

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Note that the soup will be a little brothier than what's pictures, I like to remove some of the broth so you can see the ingredients in the soup. But with that said you can use less broth if desired or even simmer the soup uncovered during cooking (just go easy on the salt).

Gnocchi Soup with Vegetables

This soup is packed with nutritious veggies, it's super tasty thanks to that fresh pesto, plus it's easy to make. So in other words all around dinner win!

I'm craving it all over again just looking at it!

To give you an idea of taste, just think about your favorite minestrone then adding fresh pesto and gnocchi to that.

I mean why didn't I think of this before! Upgrade upon upgrade to one of my favorite kinds of soup! I'm totally a minestrone and vegetable soup lover.

Ingredients for This Soup

• Olive oil
• Fresh veggies including onion, carrots, celery, garlic, zucchini and spinach
• Frozen Italian green beans
• Low sodium chicken broth
• Canned diced tomatoes
• Dried thyme
• Salt and pepper
• Potato gnocchi
• Fresh basil
• Parmesan cheese

Scroll below for full printable recipe.

How to Make This Gnocchi Soup

• Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion, carrots, and celery and saute 7 minutes, add garlic and saute 2 more.
• Add chicken broth, tomatoes, green beans, thyme and season with salt and pepper to taste.
• Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then add in zucchini, reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer until veggies are almost fully tender, about 12 - 15 minutes.
• Stir in gnocchi, cover and simmer until gnocchi are tender, about 4 minutes. Stir in spinach and let wilt, about 1 minute.
• Prep pesto in food processor while soup is cooking.
• Serve warm with parmesan and pesto over each serving.

Easy Vegetable Soup

This recipe is brimming with veggies and it couldn't be any easier to make! The food processor does the chops the garlic and onion and the remaining veggies are pre-cut.

It also just uses an Italian herb blend instead of adding a bunch of different herbs. To measure out the Italian seasoning you can just use a scant 1 Tbsp to simplify it.

Then for added protein there's some canned pre-cooked chick peas to keep if filling. You don't even need to rinse them, just drain them and add them in.

It really has got to be is the easiest soup I've ever made! But it's still so delicious and hearty, and it has a simple well balanced flavor.