Mashed green beans (boereboontjies)

In South Africa, a roast dinner just wouldn't be complete without these delicious mashed green beans, or boereboontjies. Why not try them for yourself with your next roast and see what I mean?

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• Mashed Green Beans
• Where did mashed green beans originate?
• What you will need
• What to do
• Mashed green beans FAQ
• Save for later
• Related recipes
• 📋The recipe

Mashed Green Beans

This recipe for green beans is a deliciously different way of preparing beans that I am sure your family will love.

Mashed green beans are made by boiling together green beans, potatoes and onion and then mashing them up with lashings of butter and freshly ground black pepper. They are served as a side dish with any roast meat.

This way of preparing beans can be compared to Irish colcannon, which uses cabbage instead of beans, or the British bubble and squeak where leftover vegetables are mixed with mashed potatoes and then fried until the underneath is brown and crispy. It's also very similar to traditional Scottish rumbledethumps which is a root vegetable mash.

It is also a great way of getting your children to eat their greens.  When my children were younger they turned their noses up at anything resembling healthy vegetables. But they were more than happy to wolf down huge helpings of mashed green beans.

Where did mashed green beans originate?

Mashed green beans or 'boereboontjies' (pronounced boo-ra bwoyn-keys) is a traditional South African dish, originating from the early Dutch settlers, most of whom were farmers. Boere is the Afrikaans word for farmer, and boonjties means beans, so boereboontjies simply translates as Farmers' Beans.

Because farming was such a hard life and all manual labour in those days, hearty, starchy food was a way of keeping the workers well-nourished during their working day. Mixing vegetables with potatoes was one way of adding an extra helping of starch into the diet.

Also, money was scarce in those days, and this method of cooking the beans was a way to make the vegetables stretch to feed more mouths!

But whatever the reason, I'm glad that this recipe has survived the test of time. And I hope you agree with me that these beans will make a welcome addition to your mealtimes.

What you will need

Equipment

You certainly won't need much by way of equipment to make these mashed green beans. Just a sharp knife, a chopping board, a colander and a saucepan (with a lid).

Ingredients

**You can get the complete list of ingredients and full instructions on how to make these mashed green beans on the printable recipe card at the end of this post**

This recipe will be sufficient for 4 to 6 people as a side dish.

There are only three main ingredients:

• Green beans - topped and tailed and cut into half-inch lengths
• Potatoes - peeled and cut into large chunks
• Onion - peeled and quartered or cut into 8 pieces, depending on the size.

The quantities don't really matter - you just need to get the ratio correct. One quantity of beans, the same quantity of potatoes and half a quantity of onions.

So, for 300 grams of beans, you will need 300 grams of potatoes and 150 grams of onions.

You will also need a lump of butter to mash with the vegetables, and salt and pepper for seasoning.

This dish benefits from lots of pepper, so start off with what you think you will need and then taste. I can practically guarantee that you will add more (I always do 🙂 )

What to do

Start by preparing the vegetables, and that's basically all the work done.

Tip - don't try to mash this using a potato ricer. The texture will be wrong. You are looking for a nice chunky mix.

Serve as an accompaniment to any roast meat.

You can adapt this recipe by substituting an equal quantity (by weight, not volume) of washed, chopped spinach for the beans. It is equally delicious. (Add extra pepper to this one - the spinach loves it)!

You can also make this recipe with carrots, but go easy on the black pepper with this one!

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Mashed green beans FAQ

Can I freeze mashed green beans?

Absolutely! These beans freeze really well. I always look out for specials on beans in the supermarket, take them home and cook up a big batch. Then I freeze them in plastic bags in sufficient quantities for one meal.

To use them from frozen, tip the frozen beans into a saucepan on low heat. Stir occasionally, until the beans have defrosted. Then increase the heat slightly until the beans are piping hot. Serve immediately. Do not refreeze.

If you have made this dish with spinach or carrots, you can freeze and defrost it in the same way.

Can I double up on this recipe?

Yes - that is what I tend to do if I have bought a large quantity of beans. Just keep the ratio correct, i.e. 1 quantity of beans, the same quantity of potatoes and half a quantity of onions.

Related recipes

There are many similar recipes on my vegetable recipes page. Here are a few you may enjoy:

📋The recipe

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