Main Page
Homemade dinner
Meat with string beans in a frying pan

Meat with Green Beans in a Skillet

The perfect dish for a cozy family dinner! Meat with green beans in a skillet is a take on Hungarian-style goulash without potatoes. Add a little more water and it turns into a wonderful thick soup! Feel free to swap in other vegetables or meats and add your favorite herbs and spices.

Pearl

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Beef

700

Green beans

300

Bell pepper

Onion (one small, one larger)

Carrots

Tomato paste

Vegetable oil

Water

Fresh herbs

Salt

Ground black pepper

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 50 % 9 g

Fats 33 % 6 g

Carbohydrates 17 % 3 g

100 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make meat with green beans in a skillet? Start by prepping everything on the ingredient list. Which meat is best? Boneless beef is ideal, and tender young veal works just as well—the dish comes out every bit as delicious. If your meat is frozen, thaw it first. You can use thin or wide green beans, fresh or frozen. During cooking I like to pour in about 70 ml (⅓ cup) of red wine.
Step 2:

Rinse the beef and pat it thoroughly dry with paper towels or a kitchen towel—there should be no excess moisture on the meat, which really matters. Cut the beef into small, evenly sized cubes.
Step 3:

Peel a small onion. Heat refined vegetable oil in a skillet. Add the onion and fry over high heat until golden, then discard it—it has done its job flavoring the oil.
Step 4:

Peel a large onion and cut it into medium squares.
Step 5:

Add the beef to the hot oil. Fry over a high flame until browned on all sides, stirring constantly. At this point I pour in the dry red wine (70 ml / ⅓ cup). You can skip this and the next step and go straight to Step 7.
Step 6:

Stir and wait until the wine has cooked off.
Step 7:

Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, for 15–30 seconds. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn the heat down as low as it goes and simmer the beef, covered, for one hour. Check on it now and then to make sure it isn't sticking; if needed, add a splash of boiling water, just 2–3 tablespoons.
Step 8:

Meanwhile, prep the vegetables. Peel the carrots. Halve the bell peppers and remove the seeds and cores. Cut the beans into short pieces, trimming the tips on both ends if needed.
Step 9:

Cut the peppers into small cubes and slice the carrots into thin rounds.
Step 10:

Add all the vegetables and the tomato paste to the skillet.
Step 11:

Pour in one cup of water. If the goulash won't fit in the skillet, transfer it to a larger pot. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the flame to a minimum and simmer everything, covered, until all the ingredients are tender (it took me about an hour, depending on the cut of beef and how young the animal was).
Step 12:

Taste the finished dish for salt and add more if needed. Season with ground pepper and sprinkle with finely chopped fresh herbs.
Step 13:

Serve hot on its own or alongside potatoes or another side.

In essence, this is a meat goulash without potatoes. You can swap the green beans for any other vegetables in whatever amounts and proportions you like, and replace the beef with pork, chicken, rabbit, turkey, or mushrooms.
Enjoy!
Wash the meat and be sure to pat it dry with a paper towel; otherwise the extra moisture will keep it from searing and it will steam instead.
Keep in mind that how you cut the carrots affects the final result: grated carrots break down into the sauce during cooking and blend in evenly, while carrots cut into strips or cubes hold their shape.
Oils are only healthy up to a certain temperature—the smoke point—beyond which the oil starts to burn and forms toxic compounds, including carcinogens. For how to judge frying temperature and choose the best oil for the job (and which to avoid), see here.