Green beans

When are green beans in season?

You can start to find them at farmers markets usually sometime in June and until September. See what else is in season at the same time: June, July, August, and September.

While green beans might not seem like a specialty item worth seeking out at a farmers market, I encourage you to give it a try. Green beans actually lose their quality quickly after harvest as they convert sugars into starches, go limp as they lose moisture, and lose flavor as well.

A really fresh green bean has a nice 'snap' to it and a nice vegetal flavor. Most green beans destined for the supermarket were bred to be more fibrous to help maintain their shape even with moisture loss. If you're lucky, you might find varieties bred more for flavor at a farmers market.

See what's currently in season:

How to buy & store

Green beans should feel firm enough that they would snap easily in half. Look for ones that don't have soft spots or brown spots.

Store them in a perforated plastic bag or open container in the fridge, ideally the crisper drawer which controls humidity levels. They should last up to a week in the fridge.

Recipes

Each recipe has been reviewed to make sure all ingredients are in season at the same times as green beans, or that the ingredients are in-season all year.

Green bean fries with a trio of dipping sauces - recipe by Platings and Pairings

Heirloom tomato salad with green beans and chevre - recipe by Healthy Seasonal Recipes

Green bean and egg salad with garlic parmesan vinaigrette - recipe by Diethood

Garlic parmesan green beans - recipe by Foodie with Family

Southwest brussels and beans - recipe by A Spicy Perspective

Peanut and green bean curry - recipe by Quite Good Food

Thanksgiving green bean casserole with fresh green beans

Here's the deal - green beans won't be at local farmers markets after September for most of the US. But Florida's season is just getting started when everyone else's ends.

Our Thanksgiving green beans are supplied by Florida (with some imports from Mexico). While I normally wouldn't share a recipe reliant on that, some rules are worth breaking!

I also have a make-ahead green bean casserole version of this recipe. It's the same recipe, but with make-ahead instructions.