Green beans are such a great texture for oral exploration! With various ways to prepare and cook them, the degree of softness and texture will vary, with canned green beans being the softest.
They’re also packed full of essential nutrients that babies need for optimal growth and development.
Being green vegetables, they tend to be in the category of foods kids typically refuse. So introducing them as early as possible, and often, is a great strategy for exposure and for increasing the likelihood of your baby or toddler eating them in the future.
Table of Contents
When can babies have green beans?
Babies can safely eat green beans as soon as they start solids at around 6 months, provided they’re showing all the developmental signs of readiness.
Fun fact
Fun fact
Green beans are known by many common names, including French beans, string beans, snap beans, and snaps (1).
Green beans are eaten around the world and are sold fresh, canned, and frozen. They can be eaten raw or steamed, boiled, stir-fried, or baked in casseroles (1).
Watch these sweet babies eat green beans!
Watch these sweet babies eat green beans!
Baby Charlie is 8 months old (7 months adjusted) and is enjoying whole green beans.
Baby Huxley is 8 months old and is eating cut green beans.
Baby Nathan is eating green beans just as he’s turning 9 months old.
Are green beans a choking hazard for babies?
Green beans can be a choking hazard for babies, due to their cylindrical shape (which is the same shape and is of similar size to a baby’s airway).
No matter what, under 12 months of age, we want to serve cooked green beans either whole (so baby can munch down and flatten them, thereby removing their cylindrical shape) or sliced vertically down the middle (in bite-sized or whole pieces).
Always make sure you’re offering your baby appropriate foods based on their skill level and ability to chew their food thoroughly.
How to choose fresh green beans
Harvesting green beans
If you’re choosing to grow your own green beans at home, that’s a great choice! They’re some of the easiest crops to grow, and they grow quickly (2). They’re typically ready around 50-60 days after planting (for pole-grown beans) (2). They can be harvested from the middle of the summer into the early autumn (2).
Bonus – toddlers LOVE to help with gardening and it counts as an exposure to the food, helping to make it more likely they’ll actually eat it. Keep this in mind as your baby continues to grow towards toddlerhood!
All that said, the trick with green beans is getting the timing just right for harvesting. If you wait too long, they won’t be as crisp and will have lost a lot of their flavor (2). If you pick them too early, they won’t have developed enough flavor either (2).
You want beans to be young, tender, crisp, and slightly sweet (2). To get this, you should harvest standard green beans when they’re about 4 inches long, the width of a pencil, are firm to touch with no obvious bulges (which would indicate that the seeds inside had developed, making the pod too stringy), and come away from the plant easily when pulled slightly (2).
You can always test one by checking to see if it comes off the plant easily, and if it makes a crisp snap when you break it in half – this means the beans are perfect for harvesting (2)!
Store-bought green beans
If gardening isn’t for you – that’s ok! Store-bought green beans are just as good.
When choosing fresh green beans at the grocery store, keep in mind that they tend to go bad quickly and refrigeration won’t help (3). They’ll become limp and wrinkled, indicating that they’re losing their sweetness and moisture (3).
Therefore, ensure that you’re choosing beans that are still firm, with no wrinkles or soft spots (3). You’ll also want to use them fairly quickly after purchasing them as they won’t last too long in the fridge at home (3).
Storing fresh, raw green beans
Store them in the plastic bag they came in (or transfer them to a Ziplock bag to store if they didn’t come in one) (4). Keep them in the crisper of your fridge, unwashed, and they should last up to 7 days (4). They’ve gone bad if you notice that they’ve started to brown, wrinkle, or feel slimy (4).
If you know you won’t be able to use them in time, you can freeze them.
First, make sure that they’re still fresh, firm, and ready for eating (5). Then wash and blanch them (5). This means that you cook them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes until they’re bright green and then immediately transfer them to a bowl of cold water with ice (5).
Dry the green beans thoroughly, place them on a baking sheet, spread them apart so they don’t stick to each other, and put the sheet in the freezer (5). Once they’re frozen, transfer them to a freezer bag for storage and use them within 6-8 months (5).
Are canned or frozen green beans ok to serve?
Yes, they are. Either is fine to serve your baby, following the phases outlined below for safety.
If you’re choosing to purchase canned green beans, check for an option with no added salt and that comes in a can with a BPA-free liner as well. You can also rinse them before use to remove excess salt if you can’t find a no-salt-added option.
How to serve green beans according to the Texture Timeline™
These are the safest, suggested ways to serve food to your baby based on the scientific, developmental, and clinical research and expertise available to date and are vetted by pediatric doctors, speech-language pathologists, and dietitians. However, please note that babies can technically choke on anything, including purees. Always take into account your child’s individual abilities and needs and check with your doctor or feeding therapist on the safety of offering these foods to your baby. Be mindful of how to set up a safe eating environment and please know that all material, opinions, advice, and information found on mylittleeater.com is for informational and educational purposes only. See our disclaimer for more information.
What is the Texture Timeline™?
A tool exclusive to My Little Eater that allows you to start solids with your baby using purées, finger foods, or a mixture of both. We sort all foods into different phases of the timeline based on texture difficulty, presenting multiple ways to serve each food depending on what you and your baby are ready for.
You can start with any phase of the Texture Timeline™. The goal is to always be moving forward on the timeline so that you can advance your baby to more challenging textures in a timely manner. This will allow your baby to develop and practice new eating skills and ensure that they don’t stay stuck on one texture for too long.
Using the Texture Timeline™ can help to prevent picky eating, all while keeping the feeding process enjoyable and less stressful for you because you can ease into the difficult textures that often cause more anxiety and worry.
Green bean prep
Always thoroughly wash vegetables before cutting them. You can clean them by rinsing them underwater and gently rubbing the skin with your hands to remove any residue.
Prepare green beans for cooking by cutting off both tips of the raw green beans first.
Texture Timeline™ Phase 0
Whole (raw) (Palmar Grasp)
Offer a whole, raw green bean for baby to explore in their mouth, reduce their gag reflex, practice lateralizing with their tongue, and get used to the idea of eating finger foods.
Without teeth, this hard, whole resistive food is too hard for babies to break off pieces or take bites.
Note: This is only safe for babies if they DO NOT have teeth yet. Once they have teeth and can take bites, move to Texture Timeline™ Phase 2.
Texture Timeline™ Phase 2
Canned (whole or bite-sized) (Palmar or Pincer Grasp)
Canned green beans (whole or bite-sized) have a cylindrical shape, which can be a choking hazard for babies.
Cut canned green beans vertically down the middle to reduce their cylindrical shape, no matter the size or length in which you’re serving them. They can be eaten using the palmar grasp if served in long pieces, or with a pincer grasp if served in smaller, bite-sized pieces.
Canned green beans are the softest option and will break down very easily in your baby’s mouth.
Texture Timeline™ Phase 3
Steamed (whole) (Palmar Grasp)
Steam green beans for about 5-7 minutes, or until soft and tender. Offer the whole green bean for your baby to munch on which will reduce the cylindrical nature of its shape. Baby can pick these up using their palmar grasp.
Important note
Roasted (not shown) produces a much more stringy texture and doesn’t break down as easily in your baby’s mouth. We recommend offering roasted green beans closer to 10-12 months of age.
Storing leftover cooked green beans
If you have green beans left after cooking some for your baby (and you!), they can be stored in an airtight container for 3 to 5 days (6). Be sure to let them cool down first and then store them in the fridge within an hour to prevent bacterial growth (6).
If you can’t use them within that time frame, you can store them in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month (6).
Nutritional benefits
Green beans make an excellent addition to your baby’s diet, as they offer many essential nutrients babies need for optimal growth and development including (7):
- Protein to help fuel your baby’s growing body.
- Fiber which is beneficial for digestion and gut health.
- Folate for cell growth and genetic functions.
- Vitamin A for eye, and skin health, and it functions as an antioxidant.
- Vitamin C for maintaining a healthy immune system and skin health (it’s a great food to pair with plant-based iron sources to help with iron absorption).
- Vitamin K for creating proteins needed for blood clotting and building strong bones.
Green beans also provide a host of phytonutrients (7). These are beneficial plant compounds that function as antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents in our bodies (7).
Many research studies suggest that phytonutrients help to reduce the risk of a wide variety of chronic illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, and cancer, to name a few (7).
Can babies be allergic to green beans?
Green beans aren’t considered to be one of the top allergenic foods for babies and can be introduced alongside other non-highly allergenic foods without having to wait (the 2-day wait rule is for top allergens only).
Allergies to green beans are rare, but not impossible! If you suspect your baby or toddler has an allergy, it is best to consult with your doctor for appropriate treatment, diagnosis, and medical advice.
To get instant access to all of the foods in the Texture Timeline™ Food Video Library, along with our signature course for starting solids with evidence-based research and expert guidance, enroll in our Baby Led Feeding Program!
Complete with video lessons, printable resources for everything along the way, and an app to access it all at your fingertips, it’s like having a team of feeding experts in your pocket supporting you every step of the way.
Simple salmon & green bean sheet pan dinner
This meal is an excellent source of DHA for your baby, thanks to the salmon, along with many other vitamins and nutrients.
However, these green beans are roasted and will therefore have a more stringy texture to them. They are not considered safe from 6M when cooked this way, and we recommend waiting to cook this option for your baby until they’re between 10 and 12 months old.
Use your discretion, based on their developing skills, to determine if your baby can handle the stringy texture at 10 months, or if they need to wait until closer to 12 months. This recommendation is made with the assumption that if your baby is offered this more difficult texture at 10 months, or older, they’ve already had significant practice with green beans in other forms and have advanced through the Texture Timeline™.
Salmon, green beans, carrots, and red onion
Equipment
- 1 baking sheet
- 1 medium bowl
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (divided)
- 2 lemons (juiced, zested)
- 4 garlic cloves (minced) or ½ tsp garlic powder
- 1/3 cup fresh dill (finely chopped) or 1 tbsp dried dill
- black pepper (to taste)
- 1 1/4 lbs salmon fillet
- 4 cups green beans (trimmed)
- 4 carrots (medium, peeled, sliced into thin coins)
- 2 cups red onion (sliced)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC) and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Whisk together half of the oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, dill, and pepper in a bowl to create a marinade. Put the salmon in the marinade and set aside.
- Add the green beans to one side of the baking sheet, followed by the carrots and onion, remembering to leave room on the other side for the salmon. Drizzle the remaining oil onto the vegetables and season with pepper (to taste). Toss the vegetables to ensure they’re all evenly covered in oil.
- Place the salmon beside the onions, pouring any leftover marinade on top.
- Bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft enough to pass the squish test (can be squished between your thumb and forefinger). Check it at 15-20 minutes to see if the salmon is done, remove the salmon as soon as it’s cooked through to prevent overcooking and the salmon becoming too dry for your baby. If needed, place the sheet pan back in to finish cooking the vegetables.
- Plate and serve.
Notes
Pin it to save this info & recipe for later!
References
- https://justfunfacts.com/interesting-facts-about-green-beans/
- https://www.homesandgardens.com/gardens/when-to-pick-green-beans
- https://www.seriouseats.com/how-to-buy-and-prepare-green-beans
- https://www.simplyrecipes.com/green-beans-5199325#toc-how-to-store-green-beans
- https://www.foodnetwork.com/how-to/packages/food-network-essentials/how-to-freeze-green-beans
- https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/how-long-do-beans-last/#:~:text=Your%20cooked%20beans%20last%20about,prevent%20the%20growth%20of%20bacteria
- Chaurasia, S. Green beans. In Nutritional composition and antioxidant properties of fruits and vegetables (pp. 289-300). Academic Press, 2020.
Bianca Gruenewald, RD
Bianca is a Registered Dietitian and works in a client support role at My Little Eater Inc. She's a proud auntie to her three year old niece and four year old nephew!
Bianca Gruenewald, RD
Bianca is a Registered Dietitian and works in a client support role at My Little Eater Inc. She's a proud auntie to her three year old niece and four year old nephew!
Mallory Roberts, SLP
Mallory is a Speech-Language Pathologist, Infant Feeding Specialist, and Craniosacral Therapist. She's also a busy mom of four little ones!
Mallory Roberts, SLP
Mallory is a Speech-Language Pathologist, Infant Feeding Specialist, and Craniosacral Therapist. She's also a busy mom of four little ones!
