Name: Vegetarian Green Bean Bundles with Garlic Butter
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 1 lb green beans, (about 48 beans); 1 med red bell pepper; 4 long chives; 2 tablespoons butter; 2 cloves garlic (minced); 1 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin); sea salt and pepper to taste

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Wrapped with a chive ribbon, these Vegetarian Green Bean Bundles will add a "wow" factor to a special holiday meal. Lightly steamed and drizzled with garlic browned butter, they make a spectacular side dish you can prepare ahead. This post describes how to tie green bean bundles with a chive ribbon. Keto-friendly.

a platter of vegetarian green bean bundles tied with chives — Green Bean Bundles without bacon!

Looking for a showstopper side dish for a holiday dinner? Try these Vegetarian Green Bean Bundles with Garlic Butter!

Sesame Ginger Green Beans and Skillet Parmesan Pecan Green Beans are two of my favourite green bean recipes, but last year for Thanksgiving dinner I decided to try a new addition to my usual holiday side dishes.

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❤️ Why you'll love this recipe
🛒 Ingredients
🔪 How to make Green Bean Bundles
👍🏼 Tip: Make these green bean bundles ahead of time!
🔁 Possible Variations
Storing Leftovers
🍽 Serving suggestions
🗒 More side dish recipes
📖 Recipe

❤️ Why you'll love this recipe

Fresh green beans are always popular for a holiday meal. They're a veggie that most people seem to like, so you can feel confident they'll be gobbled up! Try these bundles instead of traditional green bean casserole.
Vegetarian. I've come across many recipes for Green Bean Bundles wrapped in bacon or prosciutto, but I decided to make this recipe meat-free for the vegetarians around my table. These Vegetarian Green Bean Bundles without bacon were the result!
Delicious! They're tasty and they make a beautiful presentation.
Easy to serve. These are so handy for a large dinner party as they come in their individual serving packets!
A showstopper! Would I make these for a simple weeknight dinner? Probably not, but for a holiday dinner like Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter, they make a spectacular vegetarian side dish.

close up view of bean bundles tied with a chive ribbon and drizzled with garlic butter

🛒 Ingredients

fresh green beans: I like to use haricots verts (also called French green beans) with this recipe as they're slender and they cook quickly. I've also made these bundles with fresh beans from the garden. The thicker the beans, the longer they will take to cook.

red bell pepper: I like to slice these in slender strips. They add colour and interest to the bundles.

chives: these make a perfect little (edible) string to tie the bundles instead of using a slice of bacon or prosciutto. If you don't have fresh chives, green onions will also work if they're very fresh. They don't seem to be quite as strong as chives, however.

garlic butter: easy to make with fresh minced garlic cloves and a little olive oil.

trimming green beans to remove stems — Slice the stem end of the beans but leave the tip on for presentation.

🔪 How to make Green Bean Bundles

Trim the stem end of the beans by snapping or cutting it off. You can remove the tip if desired. I like to leave it on.
Lay a long strip of chive (or green onion if you don't have chives) on your work surface. (Chives are stronger than green onions, which may tend to break, depending on how fresh they are).
Divide the beans into serving size bundles(about 10-12 beans), and add two or three thin red bell pepper strips to each one. Lay the bundles across the chives. Tie the chives around the bundles with a knot to secure them.
Bring an inch of water to a boil. Use tongs to place the bundles in your steamer basket. Steam for 3 - 5 minutes or until the beans are tender-crisp.
Meanwhile, heat butter in a small skillet, add garlic and swirl until butter begins to turn brown. Add a little olive oil.
Transfer the bundles to a serving platter and drizzle with garlic butter. Serve!

bundled green beans with red pepper and garlic butter on a white platter

👍🏼 Tip: Make these green bean bundles ahead of time!

I love recipes that I can prep ahead of time when I'm making a meal with lots of different dishes. These bundles are ideal for making ahead. Trim the beans, slice the peppers and tie them up with a chive ribbon.

Then all you'll have to do is cook the bundles and drizzle them with warm garlic butter before serving.

You can even make the garlic butter ahead and refrigerate it until you cook the beans.

🔁 Possible Variations

You can add a little heat to the garlic butter by sprinkling in a pinch or two of dried red pepper flakes.

These would also be amazing with a drizzle of Sesame Miso Vinaigrette instead of garlic butter! Or feel free to top them with a few spoonfuls of Basil Cashew Pesto.

Or keep it simple and drizzle these little bundles with lemon butter, then sprinkle with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Garnish with lemon slices for extra squeezes.

vegetarian green bean bundles with garlic butter tied with a chive ribbon — Green bean bundles with brown butter, tied with a chive ribbon make a spectacular side dish.

Storing Leftovers

If you have leftover bean bundles, refrigerate them within two hours to avoid bacteria forming. You can reheat them in a skillet with a little butter or oil, just until heated through.

🍽 Serving suggestions

Serve these green bean packages along with Air Fryer Rolled Stuffed Turkey Breasts, Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots with Honey-Mustard Glaze.

Add a healthy side salad like this Winter Persimmon Kale Salad or Pomegranate Mandarin Salad with Avocado and Feta.

And for a super simple but spectacular finale to your meal, serve this 2-ingredient Affogato Coffee Dessert!

When you make these vegetarian green bean bundles, please leave a comment and a rating and let me know how they turned out for you. Thanks in advance!

This post was originally published in 2018. I've updated it with extra information and photos to make it more helpful.

🗒 More side dish recipes

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