Miso Sesame Green Beans (Easy Japanese-Inspired Side Dish)

Looking for a fresh way to dress up green beans? These Miso Sesame Green Beans are tossed in a creamy, savory sauce that’s packed with umami flavor and comes together in just minutes.

The combination of white miso and sesame creates a rich, nutty dressing that transforms simple steamed green beans into a side dish worthy of company. It’s proof that a handful of pantry ingredients can make everyday vegetables much more exciting.

Whether you’re serving grilled chicken, salmon, steak, or tofu, these Japanese-inspired green beans add plenty of flavor without a lot of effort.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Ready in about 15 minutes
• A delicious change from plain steamed green beans
• Creamy, savory, and full of umami flavor
• Easy enough for weeknight dinners
• Naturally vegetarian
• Great served warm or at room temperature

Ingredients & Notes

• Green beans – Fresh green beans work best. Trim the stem ends before cooking.
• White sesame paste – Traditional Japanese sesame paste creates the smoothest sauce. Tahini is an easy substitute and works surprisingly well.
• Sweet white miso – Also called shiro miso. Its mild, slightly sweet flavor is perfect for this dressing.
• Water or seafood stock – Used to thin the dressing to the perfect consistency. Water works beautifully.
• White sesame seeds (optional) – Add a little crunch and a nice finishing touch.

How to Make Miso Sesame Green Beans

1. In a bowl, whisk together the sesame paste and miso until creamy and blended.
2. Taste, and if the mixture seems too sweet, stir in salt to taste.
3. To thin the mixture to a saucy consistency, stir in stock or water, one spoonful at a time. Set aside.
4. Clean the green beans and then snap or cut off their stem ends.
5. 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.
6. Just before serving, toss the green beans in the sesame-miso sauce and garnish with sesame seeds, if desired.

Recipe Tips

• Cook the beans just until crisp-tender so they stay bright green.
• Immediately drain the beans to prevent overcooking.
• Add the dressing just before serving for the freshest texture.
• Taste the sauce before serving—different brands of miso vary in saltiness.

Variations

• Use asparagus, broccoli, or sugar snap peas instead of green beans.
• Sprinkle with sliced scallions.
• Add crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat.
• Top with chopped roasted peanuts or cashews for extra crunch.
• Stir the leftover sauce into cooked noodles or drizzle over roasted vegetables.

Serving Suggestions

These green beans pair especially well with:

• Grilled salmon or this Easy Miso Glazed Salmon
• Roast chicken
• Easy Miso Glazed Pork Tenderloin
• Steak
• Tofu or tempeh
• Steamed rice or brown rice

Storage

Store leftover green beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

The miso-sesame dressing can also be made ahead and refrigerated separately for up to 2 weeks. Stir well before using.

How Many Calories and WW Points?

Each serving of these delightful miso sesame green beans has about 68 calories and 1 WW Point.

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.)
2 PointsPlus (Old plan)

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.)

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: This recipe was adapted from Elizabeth Andoh’s wonderful cookbook, Washoku: Recipes from the Japanese Home Kitchen (affiliate link), with a few simple substitutions to use ingredients I already had on hand.

More Easy Vegetable Side Dishes

• 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.