You know what I always say about Thanksgiving — that there aren’t enough veggies and green foods on the table to balance out all the starch, protein and BEIGE. If it were up to me, I would just make dishes called “harvest salad” and a sweet potato casserole and be a happy camper.  There is such an abundance of produce right now, the options are exciting and endless.  Am I the only person who finds mashed potatoes to be boring?

The answer in my house is “yes.”  My people cannot have a Thanksgiving without mashed potatoes and turkey and two different kinds of stuffing.  Well, that’s all fine.  But since I am doing the cooking and I am CEO of Thanksgiving, there will be salads (notice the plural) and there will be green vegetables.  Like these delicious roasted green beans with lemon and thyme.  And ironically although no one says they’re excited about the vegetables, I never have a green bean left.

This is a pretty perfect Thanksgiving side dish.  Green beans and lemon go beautifully with turkey.  It’s light, healthful and not from a can (please say no to canned green beans – they’re just not good in so many ways.)  The flavors are clean and simple.  And it’s a snap to prepare.  The only tricky part is that this recipe needs an oven, but check the notes at the bottom for how you can prep ahead.

If you really can’t use your oven, then feel free to blanche the beans the day before in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes.  Then drain them and shock them in an ice water bath.  Drain and pat dry.  The next day, saute the beans and shallots until hot.

And you might be thinking, “I can’t decide between this promising recipe and the perfectly awesome and healthified green bean casserole you posted last year.”  And I would say, I like how you think.  We should be friends.  Keep checking in regularly because I have SO many fantastic Thanksgiving recipes and videos to share with you, AND my weekly Thursday tips to keep you ahead of the game.  XO