Miso Sesame Green Beans

These miso sesame green beans are simple and utterly delicious!

I have Mary from One Perfect Bite and her 50 Women Game Changers in Food Group to thank for this recipe. I happened upon the group a couple of weeks ago and immediately wanted to join, which is kind of unusual for me (I’m usually not much of a joiner.)

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The group is cooking their way through the Gourmet Live list of 50 Most Important Women in Food. I am arriving at the party a little late, since they are already up to #41 – Elizabeth Andoh, who is considered to be the foremost English speaking expert on Japanese Home Cooking.

An American, Andoh traveled to Japan for graduate studies, fell in love with the country, met her Japanese husband, and essentially never left.

She began A Taste of Culture culinary arts programs in the 1970’s shortly after completing a course of formal culinary training at the Yanagihara Kinsaryu School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine, in Tokyo and was Gourmet Magazine’s correspondent in Japan for more than 30 years.

I had never heard of Andoh and know absolutely nothing about Japanese Home Cooking, but with the internet anything is possible.

I came across a 2005 NPR column by Heidi Swanson, of 101 Cookbooks, entitled “Cookbooks to Give and Get,” which spoke highly of one of Andoh’s books. In the article, Swanson said, “Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (affiliate link) is a wonderful book by Elizabeth Andoh focused on Japanese home-style cooking… Be sure to try the Green Beans Tossed in Creamy Miso-Sesame Dressing.”

A few more clicks led me to the recipe for these miso sesame green beans, which seemed completely doable, with a few modifications and adaptions.

I used tahini in place of the Asian white sesame paste and picked up a container of sweet white miso at Whole Foods to make the simple sauce.

And the recipe works perfectly within the Weight Watchers guidelines too. I’m always on the lookout for ways to make vegetables more delectable and what better way than to toss them with an interesting healthy sauce?

How Many Calories and WW Points in Miso Sesame Green Beans?

Each serving of these delightful miso sesame green beans has about 68 calories.

To see your WW Points for this recipe, track it in the WW App!
(You must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)

1 SmartPoints (Green plan)
1 SmartPoints (Blue plan)
1 SmartPoints (Purple plan)
2 PointsPlus (Old plan)

Recipe Notes

**Look for white sesame paste and seafood stock in Asian grocery stores. The white sesame paste is called shiro neri goma, or smooth white sesame paste.

I used tahini (Middle Eastern sesame paste) in place of the Asian white sesame paste, since it’s what I had in the pantry and water in place of the seafood stock with great results. The next time I’m at an Asian market, I will check out the real thing.

You can keep the sauce in a tightly closed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

You can also make the sesame paste from scratch by grinding toasted sesame seeds. For more complete details you will want to check out Elizabeth’s book.

In this brief video, Elizabeth Andoh explains the principles of Washoku…

If you’ve made Miso Sesame Green Beans, please give the recipe a star rating below and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. And stay in touch on Pinterest, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest updates.

5 from 6 votes

Miso Sesame Green Beans Recipe

By Martha McKinnon | Simple Nourished Living

Simple and delicious miso sesame green beans – lightly boiled green beans tossed with a simple sesame miso dressing and sprinkled with sesame seeds.

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 5 minutes mins

Total: 15 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Equipment

• Mixing Bowls
• Silicone Whisk
• 5-Quart Pot

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Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons white sesame paste**
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons sweet white miso
• ▢ Salt, to taste
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons seafood stock** or water
• ▢ 16 ounces green beans
• ▢ 1-1/2 tablespoons white sesame seeds (optional)

Instructions 

• In a bowl, whisk together the sesame paste and miso until creamy and blended.
• Taste, and if the mixture seems too sweet, stir in salt to taste.
• To thin the mixture to a saucy consistency, stir in stock or water, one spoonful at a time. Set aside.
• Clean the green beans and then snap or cut off their stem ends.
• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, add the beans and cook for 3 to 5 minutes or until bright green. Drain the beans then let cool at room temperature.
• Just before serving, toss the green beans in the sesame-miso sauce and garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.

Notes

Serving size: 1/6th recipe

WW Points: 1

Check your WW Points for this recipe and track it in the WW app.
(Must be logged into WW on a smartphone or tablet.)

1 SmartPoints (Green plan)

1 SmartPoints (Blue plan)

1 SmartPoints (Purple plan)

2 PointsPlus (Old plan)

**Look for white sesame paste and seafood stock in Asian grocery stores. The white sesame paste is called shiro neri goma, or smooth white sesame paste.

I used tahini (Middle Eastern sesame paste) in place of the Asian white sesame paste, since it’s what I had in the pantry and water in place of the seafood stock with great results. The next time I’m at an Asian market, I will check out the real thing.

You can keep the sauce in a tightly closed glass jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

You can also make the sesame paste from scratch by grinding toasted sesame seeds. For more complete details you will want to check out Elizabeth’s book.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/6th recipe, Calories: 68kcal, Carbohydrates: 7.9g, Protein: 3.2g, Fat: 3.6g, Saturated Fat: 0.2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 0.4g, Sodium: 62mg, Potassium: 172mg, Fiber: 3.2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 524IU, Vitamin C: 9mg, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Tried this recipe?Mention @simplenourishedliving or tag #simplenourishedliving!

Source: Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (affiliate link) by Elizabeth Andoh

If you like miso sesame green beans you might also like

• Green Beans with Ground Pork stir fried with minced garlic, ginger, chilis and soy sauce and served over white rice, or low carb cauliflower rice.
• Easy, healthy and full of flavor, Slow Cooker Creole-Style Green Beans are braised with chopped onion, salsa, a little brown sugar and olive oil.
• An excellent side dish for steak, burgers or any barbecued meat, Slow Cooker BBQ Bacon Green Beans have just 103 calories in each serving.