If You're Not Putting This Canned Vegetable In The Air Fryer, You're Truly Missing Out

Canned green beans have spent far too long being treated like a pantry underdog. Sure, you can turn canned green beans into a comforting side dish with enough effort, but their flavor and texture often leave a lot to be desired. There's a much more interesting way to cook them sitting right under your nose: putting them in the air fryer.

Having already been heat-processed during canning, the goal isn't to make them tender — they're already tender — the goal is to make them a little crisp. Moisture is the enemy of crispiness, so you need to lose some of the excess moisture they accumulated in the can by draining the beans thoroughly first. You can pat them down with paper towels, or you can let them air dry for a few minutes, but this step cannot be skipped if you want to get your green beans crispy in the air fryer.

When it comes to making this side dish or snack your own, the seasoning is everything. You can instantly boost the flavor of canned green beans with herbs, for example. Depending on how you're serving them, Mediterranean-style crispy green beans can be tossed with oregano, garlic, lemon zest, and a little olive oil, then finished with toasted pine nuts for even more texture. There's also an Asian-inspired version where you skip the dried herbs altogether and reach for sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and a little soy sauce (or tamari), finishing it off with sesame seeds and a spoonful of chili crisp.

The type of green beans you buy also affects the outcome. Whole green beans give you large pieces that are just asking to be seasoned well. Depending on how long you cook them, they can get crunchy enough to mimic chips. Season them with lots of salt, smoky paprika, garlic, chili, or nutritional yeast and serve them with a dip, such as ranch, hummus, or a lemony tahini. If you opt for cut or French-style green beans, your final dish should have lots of smaller browned edges, which are better suited to being the crispy vegetable side dish to a larger meal, such as salmon, chicken, or pasta.