These Easy Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pistachios are a fantastic side dish for your holiday meal! So much flavor with so few ingredients and little effort! 91 calories and 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
At the risk of offended half of the Thanksgiving-celebrating world, I have a confession to make. Are you ready? I just can’t stomach green bean casseroles. Just can’t do it. I’ll happily pile my plate with roast turkey, stuffing, potatoes, gravy and cranberry sauce, but the casserole will get passed up every single time. Someone, anyone, please pipe up and tell me that I’m not alone in this.
Second confession: I craved bowl upon bowl of condensed cream of mushroom soup throughout my second pregnancy. Meaning that we bought flats of it at Costco for nine months. So, my shunning of green bean casserole has little to do with canned soup itself and more to do with very, very tender (dare I say soggy?) green beans.
That’s where these easy green beans with prosciutto and pistachios come in. Tender-crisp green beans, tossed with a little olive oil, crispy prosciutto, toasty pistachios and plenty of herbs. My kind of side dish!
Easy Green Beans with Prosciutto & Pistachios
There are a couple of tips to ensure that this recipe comes out perfectly.
First up…don’t overcook the green beans! I used haricot verts, which literally means “green beans” in French, but actually refers to the skinny, shorter green beans often found in cellophane packages at your grocery store. Because the haricot verts are so skinny, it takes very little time to cook them to tender crisp. One to one and half minutes in boiling, salted water should do the trick. Two minutes is almost too long.
Second tip? Immediately after draining the green beans, plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the tender veggies from cooking further. Because the cooking happens so quickly, I suggest preparing a bowl of ice water ahead of time.
All that’s left to do is to cook the prosciutto and shallots, toast the nuts and toss it altogether with the green beans and a healthy sprinkle of fresh herbs. Easy, fresh and beautiful!
Other green bean recipes you may enjoy:
Green Beans with Balsamic Roasted Shallots (a family favorite)
Fresh Green Beans with Bacon, Mushrooms & Herbs
Green Beans with Lemon & Toasted Almonds
Easy Greens Beans with Prosciutto & Pistachios
These Easy Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pistachios are a fantastic side dish for your holiday meal! 91 calories and 2 Weight Watchers Freestyle SP
Ingredients
- 1 lb. green beans (haricot vert)*, trimmed
- 2 oz. prosciutto, roughly chopped
- 2 tsp olive oil, divided
- 1 shallot, minced
- 1/4 cup pistachio halves, toasted in a dry skillet
- 2 tbsp minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tbsp minced fresh thyme
- 1/4 tsp ground pepper
Directions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water until cool. Drain the beans again and set aside.
- Place the prosciutto in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook until the prosciutto is starting to crisp, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a piece of paper towel.
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in the skillet, then add the shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is browned and tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the green beans, remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, pistachios, parsley, thyme and pepper to the shallots. Cook for about 1 minute to heat the green beans. Toss with the prosciutto. Serve.
Recipe Notes
Weight Watchers Points: 2 (SmartPoints), 2 (Points+), 2 (Old Points)
*Haricot verts are skinnier than standard green beans, so take less time to cook. If using thicker green beans, adjust the cooking time accordingly.
Disclosure: We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
em>
Leave a Reply