Quick and Easy Green Beans Recipe. Ways to Riff Try this technique with cut asparagus, broccoli or cauliflower florets, thinly sliced zucchini or yellow squash, or quartered radishes. You can also try with carrot chunks, butternut squash cubes, or halved Brussels sprouts just double the cook time and add more water if the pan dries out. Cook tender leafy greens spinach, baby kale, Swiss chard, or mustard greens this way just use a Dutch oven or other large pot with a lid. Balsamic Green Beans there. How to Cook Fresh Green Beans. Available all year round, green beans are a nutritious addition to any meal. Before cooking green beans, wash them thoroughly in clean. These simple, tender green beans are a tasty and nutritious complement to any dinner dish. Bring a large saucepan of water to boiling. Add 1 tablespoon salt and the green beans. Cook beans for 3 to 4 minutes or until crisptender. Drain beans and immediately plunge them into ice water. Let the beans sit in ice water for 3 minutes or until cool.