Spicy Berry Green Beans Recipe

When I think of fresh summer produce, green beans and bright berries immediately come to mind. I spent many hours in my youth helping Mom harvest these fruits and vegetables (and more) from the garden, and the reward for my labor was learning to love all these tasty fruits and veggies early in life. It was only recently though that I had a light bulb moment and realized that berries and green beans would be amazingly delicious paired together in a single, simple side dish.

Savory and sweet with just a light peppery bite, my recipe for Spicy Berry Green Beans makes a colorful addition to your family’s plate. Even veggie-avoiders suspicious of the greenness of green beans will be won over by the welcoming red of strawberries. I mean, really – who can say “no” to any type of berry?!

And, who can say “no” to a 15-minute side dish? Not me! The first step is stir-frying the fresh green beans in a bit of olive oil until crisp-tender and various parts of the bean are beginning to caramelize. Don’t overcook the green beans, rendering them limp and lifeless – no one likes to be reminded of mushy canned green beans!

While stirring the green beans, I multi-task and make a spicy-sweet sauce created from Raspberry Dressing & Marinade from Litehouse as the base. It’s a super simple sauce, requiring only a quick whisking together of the raspberry dressing, soy sauce and Sriracha sauce, which can be scaled up or down to suit your heat preferences. You’ll have leftover dressing in the bottle, and it’s perfect on all kinds of salads from green leaf salads to quinoa salads – or even paired with cheese.