This simple, healthy side dish has a wonderful combination of flavors and will be ready in 15 minutes!
I love birthdays. Especially family and friends’ birthdays! I love to bake cakes, get balloons and pick out the perfect gift for that special someone. But then there’s MY birthday. Eh. I am not one of those people that hate their birthday, but it’s just another day, right? Happy birthday to me!
My middle son asked what special breakfast they were going to have for MY birthday. Yes, I do always make special breakfasts for them on THEIR birthdays. Isn’t it hilarious that they thought I was going to make them something special for my birthday? I guess that’s normal for us moms. But it still makes me laugh. I don’t really want a special breakfast. What I want is someone to do all the laundry in my house, then clean my entire house while I go to bar method and get a massage. Yeah… that’s not happening. I do plan on going out to dinner with my 3 little men and the hubby and have a quiet night at home. That’s just as good. Well, almost as good. 😉
Is it weird to post a green bean recipe on m birthday? Maybe a little bit. Don’t even think I won’t be making these Birthday Cookies today and eating a whole bunch!
Ok, let’s talk green beans and the holidays. I’ve had that green bean casserole with the canned mushroom soup and I think people really like it? I don’t love creamy stuff like that. But I love these green beans! This dish is simple and healthy and can be ready in 15 minutes. It’s a perfect, quick dish for the craziness and chaos of the holidays.
Balsamic Glazed Green Beans with Cranberries and Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 teaspoon honey I used raw honey, but you can use 100% maple syrup if you'd like it to be vegan
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 12 ounces green beans ends trimmed
- 2 tablespoons sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons dried cranberries
Instructions
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In a small bowl, mix together balsamic vinegar and honey. Set aside.
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Place garlic and oil in large skillet and cook under medium heat for 2-3 minutes until softened.
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Add green beans and stir. Cook for about 10 minutes until green beans are still bright green and crispy.
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Add balsamic mixture, almonds and cranberries and mix again. Cook for another 2 minutes.
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Serve immediately.
Does your family have any birthday traditions? We let the birthday girl (or boy) pick what restaurant they’d like to eat at for dinner. That’s always fun when you have two kids born on the same day and they can’t decide on a restaurant…
Anyway, thank you for all of the birthday wishes! I am so thankful for all of you!
Happy birthday beautiful friend!
Obviously, I eat IHOP on my birthday, which is coming up next week! WOO,.
I also many have to eat these GORGEOUS green beans! LOVE the cranberries and almonds! Pinned!
I am shocked you go to IHOP for your birthday Taylor! 😉 Happy early birthday to you! XO
The green beans look delicious and a very Happy Birthday to you! On our birthday’s they get a birthday dinner choice (either home cooked meal or eat out). They generally want to stay in and thankfully I get the same treatment on my birthday. Though half of the time I just pick something I know they can make for me, not necessarily what I would have liked. I enjoy that more. Have a great day!
Thanks Carrie! XO
I love green beans. This is a new way for me to prepare them. Thank you!
Happy birthday to you girl! And what a way to celebrate with this dish, sweet salty and downright delicious. These green beans seriously sound incredible. Totally gonna be on my thanksgiving menu this year!
Thank you Krista!! XO
We make green beans really similar but I’ve never added the cranberries! I can’t wait to try these!
I hope you like them Serena!
I like the looks of YOUR green beans so much better than the usual!
Lol! Thank you Dorothy!
Happy, happy birthday! I love how festive and pretty this green bean dish is!
Happy Birthday!! I love green beans with almonds, it’s one of my favorites. Adding the cranberries makes it look so festive – totally birthday worthy!
PS. These green beans look like my kind of birthday dish:)
Happy Birthday! How cute is it that they thought that all family birthdays meant something delicious – that’s a high compliment:)
Hello … hope you had a good birthday. I totally agree with you … I’m so done with stringbean casserole … I skip that one. I am definitely going to make these for Christmas!
Love to all…
Thank you Aunt Grace! XO
i hope you had a great birthday! My son is the same way. I make him a special breakfast, so he thinks I need to make one for myself as well. Kids are funny.
Love these green beans for the holidays or for any night of the week!
Hoping this recipe will work with frozen green beans, since none of the fresh seemed, well, um, fresh….
Yes it would work Drea! And I know what you mean, they are so hot or miss these days. I hope you like it!!
Good thing I have all the ingredients on hand to make these delicious balsamic beans for dinner tonight. They look incredibly delicious.. and healthy too!
These great beans are definitely happening in my kitchen soon! Yum! 🙂
I hope you like them Jocelyn! 🙂
A relative brought this dish to Christmas dinner and I could not get enough! I’m so happy I just found it on Pinterest! Sent it to my sister-in-law too!
YAY! I love hearing that Tara, thanks so much! Happy New Year!
Hi! This looks delicious, but don’t the dried cranberries contain added sugar? I have yet to find any without. Do you know of a brand?
I bought mine from amazon, and yes they are hard to find! These are what I have bought: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007A2LQRM/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B007A2LQRM&linkCode=as2&tag=laurkellnutr-20
I hope that helps! 🙂
For better or worse I try out new recipes when having guests over for dinner. I made this recipe for the first time this past Thanksgiving and it was a hit! Thank you!
Wow, that is risky, Mandy! 😉 I am SO glad you liked it! I make it almost weekly!!