Creamed Potatoes With Green Beans

Potatoes and green beans in a cream sauce
Diana Rattray
Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 35 mins
Servings: 4 servings

The combination of new potatoes with fresh or frozen green beans makes a delicious side dish. Even if it isn't the season for new potatoes, the dish is wonderful with baby potatoes or fingerling potatoes.

Small fresh whole green beans are excellent in this dish, but frozen or larger green beans are good as well. New potatoes and French green beans (haricots verts) were used in the pictured dish.

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 pounds small new potatoes

  • 12 to 16 ounces fresh green beans

  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

  • 1 1/2 cups light cream, or milk

  • 1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, optional

  • Salt, to taste

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

For the Potatoes and Green Beans

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Scrub the potatoes and cut larger ones in half. Peel them if desired.

  3. Trim the green beans and rinse well. If the green beans are large, slice them into 1- to 2-inch lengths.

  4. Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan. Cover with water and 1 teaspoon of salt; bring to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low; cook for 8 minutes.

  5. Add the prepared green beans to the potatoes and continue cooking for 9 to 12 minutes longer, or until the potatoes and green beans are tender. 

  6. If using frozen or the smaller fresh French green beans, add them about 12 minutes after the potatoes begin to boil and cook for about 6 to 8 minutes longer.

For the Cream Sauce

  1. Meanwhile, make the cream sauce. Melt the butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.

  2. When the foaming subsides, add the flour. Cook the roux for 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

  3. Gradually whisk the light cream or milk into the roux. Cook until thickened, stirring constantly.

  4. Add chopped parsley, if desired. 

  5. Taste the sauce and add salt and pepper, as needed.

Finishing the Dish

  1. Drain the potatoes and green beans and transfer to a serving dish.

  2. Pour the sauce over the green beans and potatoes and stir gently to coat the vegetables.

  3. Serve hot and enjoy!

Tip

  • What are new potatoes? New potatoes are freshly dug potatoes. Most potatoes are "cured" for a few weeks or longer, but new potatoes are sold right after they come out of the ground. The skin of new potatoes is very thin and flaky. No peeling is necessary, just rub the loose skin off with your hands or a soft brush and cook.

Recipe Variation

  • Use chopped chives instead of parsley in the sauce.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
432 Calories
23g Fat
50g Carbs
10g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4
Amount per serving
Calories 432
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 23g 30%
Saturated Fat 13g 64%
Cholesterol 68mg 23%
Sodium 235mg 10%
Total Carbohydrate 50g 18%
Dietary Fiber 7g 25%
Total Sugars 9g
Protein 10g
Vitamin C 31mg 154%
Calcium 155mg 12%
Iron 3mg 18%
Potassium 1286mg 27%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)