These holiday-style cranberry green beans are a breeze to throw together and combine nutty browned butter, sweet cranberries, toasted almonds, and sharp blue cheese.
Sides, sides! Give us the SIDES!
Team Side Dish is in serious session now. We’re getting down to the nitty-gritty of Thanksgiving prep and that obviously calls for more sides options.
I decided that holiday green beans desperately needed a makeover in the direction of browned butter. With everything else just as awesome like cranberries, blue cheese, and almonds.
The end result is a pan full of green beans that will MORE than be able to compete against traditional side dishes like green bean casserole.
It also looks just stunning on any table with all those gorgeous ruby dried cranberries studded on top!
These Green Beans feature…
- Rich browned butter and garlic
- Toasted almonds, dried cranberries, and blue cheese
- A quick recipe that comes together in only 15 minutes
Making the Green Beans
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Green beans
- Unsalted butter
- Garlic
- Rosemary
- Blue cheese
- Dried cranberries
- Slivered almonds
How to Prep Green Beans
Prep the green beans for this recipe by washing them well and snipping the ends off. If green beans are exceptionally long feel free to trim them in half for easier serving.
Tips for Perfect Green Beans
- Blanche green beans – this means to boil the green beans until crisp-tender and then immediately plunge in ice water to stop the cooking process. This will preserve the bright green color in the green beans and prevent them from getting overcooked.
- Brown butter – swirl butter around in a pan over medium heat until a deep golden brown.
- Sauté green beans – a quick saute in the browned butter will finish cooking the beans and heat them through for serving.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these green beans.
- Use another dried fruit – try raisins or golden raisins.
- Skip the nuts – you can skip the almonds or use another nut such as pecans, pine nuts, hazelnuts, or walnuts.
- Try another cheese – use grated Parmesan, asiago, feta, goat cheese, or cheddar in place of the blue cheese.
- Add more veggies – try adding a sautéed shallot, mushrooms, zucchini, or sweet pepper to the beans.
With how easy these green beans are to whip up, you’ll quickly find that they belong at any and every dinner occasion! You can easily swap out the toppings for other ones based on what you have in the house and they’ll be a hit every time.
This is how you do those holiday veggie side dishes, folks!
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More easy side dishes for your holiday table!
Browned Butter Cranberry Green Beans
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Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 2 medium cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 1/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
- 1/4 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted
Instructions
- Bring a medium pot of lightly-salted water to a boil. Add green beans and boil 3-5 minutes until beans are crisp-tender. Drain beans and immediately plunge in ice water to stop the cooking process. Drain beans and set aside.
- Melt butter in a medium skillet over medium heat, swirling occasionally 3-5 minutes until butter is a deep golden brown. Add green beans and sauté in butter 2-3 minutes until beans are heated through. Add garlic and rosemary and cook 1 additional minute until fragrant.
- Season beans with salt and pepper to taste and garnish with blue cheese, cranberries, and almonds. Serve warm and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 10/23/25.
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
Wow finals already? I’m sure this semester flew by for you! And I’m definitely all about the sides too. These green beans are genius, Sarah! I’ve never thought to combine them with browned butter, let alone cranberries. Sounds perfect for Thanksgiving!
Kelly // The Pretty Bee: Allergy Friendly Eats says
I always feel like the weirdo because I don’t even care about the turkey, I just want all the sides! And this sure looks like a delicious one!
Sarah says
Haha! I’m totally the kind of weirdo too! Sides are just where it’s at. 😉
Jen | Baked by an Introvert says
The sides are the best part of Thanksgiving and these green beans just stole the show. They look delicious, Sarah!
Sarah says
Agreed! Thanksgiving sides just rock. 😉 Thanks Jen!
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
OMG, I seriously LOVE green beans, but I hate that sooo many thanksgiving side dishes hide them or overcook them. However, THESE green beans are totally fabulous – this is how green beans need to be devoured! Loving the brown butter (because YES to that on everything), cranberries and blue cheese! Perfection, my dear! Cheers to a fabulous Thanksgiving, Vacation and to avoiding studying for finals! 🙂
Sarah says
Exactly! Green beans just needed a little makeover is all. 😉 Thanks so much for the kind words as always, Cheyanne! Have a great Thanksgiving. 🙂
Rachel @ Bakerita says
I want these on my Thanksgiving table!! Love that you added brown butter – it seriously makes everything better 🙂
Sarah says
Yes! Browned butter is just a magical thing, I swear. 😉
Jess @ whatjessicabakednext says
Love side dishes! These beans look delicious, loving the browned butter!
Sarah says
Thanks Jess! xoxo
annie says
This is a texture-lovers dream. The crisp green beans, the smoosh of the cheese, the crunch of the nuts. Now this is how you cook green beans! My mother in law always cooks hers in the slow cooker, where they turn to mush. Um, what.
This is a great idea for a last-minute Thanksgiving side!
Sarah says
Haha! It sounds like those mushy green beans need a little upgrade! Hopefully you get to try this recipe, Annie! 🙂
Nora | Savory Nothings says
Holiday veggie sides SO deserve to shine! I love this recipe, makes green beans so incredibly special! I love them plain just as much, but they sure deserve to play dress up for the holidays 🙂
Sarah says
Exactly! Veggies deserve the chance to shine!
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu says
Only you could make green beans look so darn good! Gorgeous Sarah! You make me want to eat my veggies! 🙂
Sarah says
Aww thank you, lady!! xoxo
Danielle says
I think the sides are the best part of Thanksgiving, especially if they look like this! These green beans look so perfect, I love the cranberries and blue cheese in these too!
Sarah says
So with ‘ya on that one, Danielle! The TG sides just rock.
marcie says
You enjoy cooking and good luck studying for those finals! And these green beans…I could eat the entire pan! These need to happen stat. 🙂
Sarah says
Thanks Marcie! I’d definitely prefer eating the entire pan of these green beans over studying! LOL.
Simon says
Very healthy