11 Best Green Beans Substitutes

Green beans are a wonderful side to many meals, and in many cultures, green beans are the star of the dish rather than just a side. Although green beans are a common vegetable, they may not be available when you need them since they are a seasonal produce. If you don’t have it on hand or prefer frozen green beans, come up with an appropriate substitution. So, what are the finest green bean alternatives?

Green bean replacements include asparagus, broccoli, carrot sticks, green peas, lentil, chickpeas, cauliflower, green pepper sticks, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, and spinach.

Green beans are quite adaptable and may be eaten in a variety of ways. The wonderful thing about green beans is that they are readily interchangeable with a variety of other tasty, healthy, and adaptable veggies. In the following sections, I’ll go through the greatest green bean alternatives and why they work.

Best Substitutes for Green Beans 

When replacing green beans, you must know exactly what you are substituting, whether it is the texture, the flavor, or both. There are various excellent green bean alternatives, but you must be familiar with their texture and flavor characteristics in order to recognize which substitute works best in which context.

Some of the greatest green bean alternatives and the scenarios in which they operate best are listed below.

Asparagus

In terms of texture and flavor, asparagus is a good alternative for green beans. It’s somewhat bitter, but otherwise neutral and open to the flavors around it. It may be pan-fried, simmered, steamed, or baked.

It’s delicious as a side dish with minced beef and mushrooms, or in a fresh salad. It resembles green beans in texture, shape, and color. You may utilize it in the same manner you would green beans.

Broccoli

Broccoli may give you with green beans flavour and attractiveness in salads, baked, fried, or steamed foods. Broccoli, on the other hand, has a stronger taste than green beans but a softer texture.

However, if you are prepared to make a little concession, it may provide extremely comparable outcomes to green beans. However, whereas green beans need somewhat longer boiling time, broccoli cooks significantly faster, so keep this in mind and adjust the cooking time appropriately.

Carrot sticks

Carrot sticks make excellent pan-fried, baked, and steaming green bean alternatives. You cannot simmer or boil them because they will lose their consistency. They will turn to mush with a fork press, while green beans retain their body even when boiling.

You cannot substitute carrot sticks for green beans in salads because they are too thick and will not hold up.

Carrots are likewise sweeter than green beans and need more time to boil. So, if you don’t mind a little sweeter meal that takes a little longer to prepare, use them steamed, roasted, or fried.

Green peas

Green peas are a wonderful alternative for green beans, despite the fact that they have nothing in common other than their gorgeous green hue. They have a similar flavor and work well in any cooking style.

Green peas may be cooked in a variety of ways, including boiling, steaming, simmering, and baking. In principle, you may fry them as well, but it is not the traditional method to prepare green peas. Nonetheless, they will be delicious.

Salads are not the greatest place to substitute green peas for green beans, but canned green peas can suffice. Green peas have a similar flavor to green beans, however they are somewhat sweeter.

Lentil 

Lentil works well as a green bean alternative, however it is a bit more limited in its use. Lentil is best cooked or simmered. It is not suitable for steaming or baking. So, if you want to cook your green beans by boiling or simmering them, lentil is the man for the job.

It also works great in salads, however you must soak the lentil for at least three hours before using it.

The lentil has a distinctive earthy flavor that remains throughout the meal even when severely seasoned. Nonetheless, it is incredibly healthy and adaptable, so it works well as a substitute for green beans.

However, you will have to make a textural compromise since lentils become somewhat creamy when cooked, while green beans keep their delicious crunchiness.

Chickpeas 

Chickpeas are an unusual green bean alternative, but they work. Chickpeas may stand in for green beans in salads. You can cook chickpeas instead of green beans, but the meal will taste nothing like what you expected.

Because chickpeas must be soaked before used in a salad, their texture will be similar to that of green beans. They will have the familiar green bean crunchiness, but they will be somewhat crumbly. Furthermore, chickpeas need a different flavor than green beans, therefore I don’t suggest them for anything other than salad.

You may season a chickpea salad the same way you would a green bean salad since they taste neutral when soaked and are quite sensitive to flavors.

Cauliflower 

Cauliflower may be used in place of green beans in everything except salads. It may be steamed, roasted, or boiled. Although you can boil it, I don’t encourage it if you’re going to use cauliflower as a green bean alternative since it softens much more than green beans.

Fresh, it may be used as a green bean replacement in a salad, although it is difficult to chew and is seldom consumed raw. Steamed cauliflower is the finest method to utilize it in a salad.

In essence, cauliflower has a neutral flavor and absorbs any ingredients that are added. The best way to season cauliflower is to use the same spice you would use for green beans.

Green Pepper Sticks 

Green pepper sticks are an excellent replacement for green beans in salads. They’re delicious baked or pan-fried, but you can’t use green pepper sticks instead of green beans since they soften and the purpose is lost.

Although they taste quite different from green beans, green pepper sticks have the same fresh crispness and may be seasoned in the same way.

Cabbage 

Fresh salad works well as a replacement for green beans in salads. Although tasty when cooked or steamed, it does not fare well since it tastes nothing like green beans. As a result, if you wish to replace cabbage for green beans, you should not steam, bake, or boil it.

If you wish to replace cabbage for green beans in prepared recipes, use sauerkraut, which is fermented cabbage. Aside from the crunch, sauerkraut and green beans share nothing.

Still, they utilize the same materials, so anything you plan to cook your green beans with may also be used to prepare sauerkraut. Because the seasoning for sauerkraut and green beans vary, they cannot be used interchangeably.

Brussel Sprouts

Green beans may be replaced with Brussels sprouts. You may prepare them in the same manner that you would prepare green beans. They’re best roasted, but they’re also tasty cooked, pan-fried, or steamed.

They’re crisp and refreshing in a salad. Brussel sprouts have a flavor comparable to green beans but a bit like cabbage since they are from the same family. You may also use the same seasoning for Brussels sprouts as you would for green beans.

Spinach  

For salads, substituting green beans for spinach is a great option. It does not, however, function any other way. Spinach softens when cooked in any manner, therefore it is not a suitable alternative for green beans.

Cooked spinach is not a viable alternative for green beans, despite the fact that it may be combined with many of the same components.