Baked Green Bean Fries

You know the old adage: add bacon or fry something to make ANYTHING taste more delicious.  It's totally true.  But did you know that you can trick your taste-buds into thinking something baked is equally delicious to fried?

Enter Panko bread crumbs.  Panko bread crumbs are light and crunchy, the pathway to crispy baked anything.  Thank you, Japanese friends.  I love getting the fried green beans at TGI Fridays but the guilt of turning a healthy vegetable into something fried and not so healthy always made me feel a tinge of regret.  So this healthier at home alternative was awesome!  I used my CSA green beans and halved the recipe.  I served it with a homemade sauce consisting of greek yogurt, ketchup, paprika, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.  Chris and I happily gobbled them all up.  We wished we had made the full recipe for ourselves lol.

Edited 7/13/12: This recipe was featured on Yummly's list of Guilt-Free Fries of Every Variety so it's now Certified Yummly.  Thank you very much for this honor!


Baked Green Bean Fries

Yield: 6 appetizer or side portions (about 10 green beans). 

Ingredients

• 1/2 lb green beans
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup skim milk
• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp onion powder
• Kosher salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.
2. Fill a large pan with 2-3 inches of water and bring to a boil. While water comes to a boil, trim the green beans. Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set aside.
3. Blanch the beans for 3 minutes and immediately remove them to the ice bath.
4. To prepare beans, gather three bowls. In the first bowl, combine the flour and spices. In the second bowl, combine the egg and milk, whisking to combine. In the third and final bowl, place the panko and season with salt and pepper. Remove 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture and whisk into the egg/milk mixture.
5. Pat the beans dry and dredge in the flour mixture, then into the milk/egg mixture, and finally into the panko to coat. Arrange the beans in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil which has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Prepare all of the beans in that manner. Lightly spray beans with olive oil spray.
6. Bake beans at 425 F for 15 minutes, or until slightly browned.

Source: Originally from Savory Reviews as adapted by and seen on Prevention RD

Nutrition Information (per serving): 139 calories; 1.5 g. fat; 36 mg. cholesterol; 194 mg. sodium; 27.5 g. carbohydrate; 0.7 g. fiber; 6 g. protein