This simple yet flavorful miso green beans recipe uses a flavorful orange miso sauce. Using a staple Japanese ingredient elevates your green beans with umami-packed flavor!
Recipe Science
- Blanching and shocking green beans preserve their vibrant color and crisp-tender texture by quickly cooking and cooling them.
- Yellow miso adds a mild, sweet, savory, and umami-rich flavor to the beans.
- Reducing broth with miso, ginger, garlic, and orange juice creates a balanced sauce that coats the beans with acidity and sweetness.
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Why It Works
If you’re looking for a simple side dish packed with flavor, these miso green beans are a must-try. The combination of tender, crisp green beans tossed in an orange miso sauce brings a burst of umami and bright citrus notes to your plate. It’s easy to elevate your meal with bold Japanese-inspired flavors, whether serving it alongside a weeknight dinner or a holiday feast.
To ensure perfect texture, the green beans are quickly blanched to lock in their vibrant color and crispness. They’re then tossed in a fragrant sauce made from orange juice, miso paste, ginger, and garlic. This delicious combination makes these green beans an irresistible addition to any meal!
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Beans: You can use traditional green beans, string beans, or more slender haricot verts. I love eating a rainbow of colors for a healthy meal. I couldn’t resist the tri-color beans at the market—especially the purple ones. Their vibrant color comes from anthocyanins, a potent phytochemical that adds extra nutrients to your plate.
- Miso: Yellow miso paste has a balanced fermented sweet and savory taste.
- Oil: Olive oil briefly sautes the minced garlic and ginger, blooming their pungent flavor and aromas and infusing them into the orange miso sauce.
- Aromatics: Adding ginger and garlic enhances flavor with a bold, aromatic kick. Ginger brings a fresh, slightly spicy warmth, while garlic adds a savory depth.
- Broth: Vegetable broth helps to dissolve the miso paste, dispersing the umami flavor into the sauce.
- Citrus: Sweet and tangy orange juice balances the savory miso paste.
- Cabbage: Slices of crisp purple cabbage add a crisp texture and vibrant color to the dish.
- Breadcrumbs: Toasted panko breadcrumbs add a contrasting crunchy texture.
- Sesame Seeds: Adds a delicate, nutty, and seedy flavor to the green beans. Use toasted sesame seeds for a more fragrant topping.
- Herbs: Mild cilantro leaves add a fresh herb flavor as a garnish for the dish.
See the recipe card below for all ingredients and measurements (US and metric).
Ingredient Substitutions
This green beans with miso sauce is easy to customize! Try these tasty options:
- Using Frozen Green Beans: Blanch the frozen beans until tender, adjusting the cooking time.
- Miso Swaps: For a savory flavor, use red miso paste, which is more tangy, salted, and pungent. White miso is mild, sweet, and flavorful. A splash of soy sauce enhances the umami flavor.
- Oil Options: Use soybean oil, peanut oil, avocado oil, coconut oil, or sesame oil.
- Breadcrumbs Substitutes: Use traditional breadcrumbs for a finer texture. Alternatively, make homemade breadcrumbs for a larger crumb size. This works well with gluten-free bread and for dietary restrictions.
- Herbs: Add sliced green onions, chives, mint, parsley, or basil.
How to Make Miso Green Beans
Step 1: Cook the Beans
In culinary school, we learned the importance of “blanching and shocking” to cook fresh green beans perfectly. It may sound simple, but it’s easy to overcook them. Start by bringing a large pot of salted water to a rapid boil. They’ll cook unevenly if the water cools too much when adding the beans.
Blanch the beans for just a few minutes until they turn vibrant in color. This signals they’re ready. Test one for a crisp-tender texture before transferring it to an ice bath to stop the cooking process and preserve its color and crunch.
Step 2: Cook the Aromatics
Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger and saute for 1 minute, constantly stirring until fragrant. This step releases their aromatic flavors, creating a flavorful base for the orange miso sauce.
Step 3: Add the Seasoning
Add the green beans to the skillet and toss to coat in the garlic and ginger mixture. Pour in the broth, miso, orange juice, and zest, stirring to combine. Cook for about 4 minutes, allowing the liquid to reduce and the sauce to thicken, coating the beans. Once the sauce has been reduced, turn off the heat and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Step 4: Toast the Breadcrumbs
Heat a small pan over medium heat and add the Japanese panko bread crumbs. Stir every few minutes to ensure even toasting, allowing them to develop a golden color, which should take about 5 minutes. Toasting the panko gives it a nutty flavor and crunchy texture, adding a delicious finishing touch to your dish.
Step 5: To Serve
Toss the green beans with purple cabbage and transfer them to a serving dish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, toasted panko bread crumbs, and fresh cilantro for added texture and flavor. It’s delicious served with crispy teriyaki tofu or miso glazed salmon!
Frequently Asked Questions
Uncooked green beans have natural gasses between the skin and pigment, giving it a dull-looking color. When you bring raw green beans in contact with boiling water, the high heat releases the gas, and the green pigment rises to the surface. A bright green emerges, and it’s what you want to serve. What often happens if we let the beans cook too long is acids and enzymes are also released into the cooking liquid, which causes the green pigments to dull and lose their vibrancy. Cooking the beans in boiling water for just a few minutes and then shocking in cold water can help keep those lovely beans green.
The main difference between white, yellow, and red miso paste is their fermentation time and flavor. White miso is mild and slightly sweet due to a shorter fermentation, making it great for lighter dishes. Yellow miso has a balanced, earthy flavor with a moderate fermentation time, which is ideal for versatile use in sauces and soups. Red miso is fermented the longest, giving it a deep, salty, umami-rich taste, perfect for hearty dishes like stews. Each type offers a unique depth, depending on the flavor profile you’re aiming for.
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If you tried this Miso Green Beans Recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
Miso Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- ¼ cup vegetable broth
- 2 teaspoons yellow miso paste
- 2 tablespoons orange juice
- 1 teaspoon orange zest
- 2 tablespoons panko bread crumbs
- ½ cup sliced purple cabbage, ¼" thick
- ½ teaspoon sesame seeds
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
Instructions
- Cook the Beans – Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until crisp and tender, about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain and transfer to a bowl of ice water to cool. Drain water and set aside.
- Cook the Aromatics – Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic and ginger, and saute for 1 minute, constantly stirring until fragrant.
- Add the Seasoning – Add the green beans and toss to coat. Add the broth, miso, orange juice, and zest. Stir to combine and cook until the liquid is reduced, about 4 minutes. Turn off the heat once the sauce reduces and coats the beans. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
- Toast the Breadcrumbs – Heat a small pan over medium heat. Add panko bread crumbs, stirring every few minutes to evenly toast them until golden, about 5 minutes.
- To Serve – Toss the beans with purple cabbage and transfer to a serving dish. Top with sesame seeds, toasted panko bread crumbs, and cilantro. Serve warm.
Notes
- Storing: Refrigerate and store in an airtight container for 3 days.
Nutrition Facts
Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000-calorie diet. All nutritional information is based on estimated third-party calculations. Each recipe and nutritional value will vary depending on the brands you use, measuring methods, and portion sizes per household.
Elena Merklin says
Looks great!!! I have never seen purple beans on my market, how to they taste?
Jessica Gavin says
Thank you Elena! They taste just like the green variety 🙂