Dehydrating green beans is a simple and budget-friendly way to stock your pantry with this tasty, and versatile vegetable. If you're building your food storage, prepping for camping or hiking trips, or just looking for a healthy snack alternative, this guide will show you everything you need to know to get started!

Large Pinterest Pin image of dried fresh green beans.

Why I use dehydrating as part of my meal planning:

As a hard core meal planner I love stocking my pantry with my favorite dehydrated vegetables. Dehydrated Grape Tomatoes, Yellow Squash, Bell Peppers, Mushrooms and even frozen mixed vegetables make their way into my soup and stew pot all year long.

The benefits of dehydrating vegetables:

I don't have to worry if my favorite vegetables are in season because I always have some in my pantry.
I don't have to make any last minute runs to the store when I'm cooking.
I don't have to worry about freezer burn.

Neither will you once you get the hang of dehydrating.

I use multiple ways to preserve my produce. Dehydrating is just one food preserving method I use in my meal planning.

An example of the ways I meal prep and make sure I always have a stocked pantry and freezer on hand is canning, quick pickling or making refrigerator pickles, freezer meals and freezer meal prep.

Dehydrating fresh green beans, string beans or wax beans to use as an ingredient in my recipes is part of my meal planning. Dehydrating is one of the easiest kitchen preserving skills you can master and it really comes in handy if you have a garden. And if you don't garden you can buy in-season produce at the farmers markets or grocery store when prices are low.

Meal preppers will love having a stash of dried green beans to use in my dried vegetable soup mix.

Dehydrating Equipment

Dehydrator: I am using my Excalibur 9 Tray Dehydrator. If you are new to preserving with dehydration you can use a round counter top dehydrator, the oven or even an air fryer. If you are using a smaller appliance or the air fryer keep in mind you may need to dry multiply batches depending on how many pounds of green beans you have to process.
Mesh tray liners: These flexible reusable tray liners are a must have as far as I am concerned. They keep the food from falling through the wide gaps in the trays. Some food drying appliances come with them.
Sharp knife: You'll need to carefully trim off the ends of each green bean.
Large bowl or sink tub: I love to buy inexpensive sink size tubs or basins at the dollar store. They come in very handy when you are blanching, harvesting or preparing large quantities of fruits, vegetables and herbs.
Large colander: You will use this to wash, rinse and drain. If you have a salad spinner you can use the one from it.
24 quart or larger stock pot: you will need this large pot when you are blanching the beans.
Optional: Salad Spinner: a salad spinner is one of my favorite tool when dehydrating. You can spin most of the water off what any of the vegetables or fruit you wash or blanch. This will help cut down on some of the dehydrating time.

You only need 2 ingredients

Below is a quick look at the ingredients and directions. You can find the entire ingredient amounts and step by step directions in the recipe card below. P. S. You can also save your favorite recipes to your personal recipe box! ⬇️

Fresh green beans
Salted water

Blanching Green Beans

Do you really need to blanch vegetables before dehydrating them?

You might be thinking that blanching is an unnecessary step. You will still have edible vegetables once your done if you skip blanching them but most fresh vegetables benefit and should be blanched before dehydrating.

The most obvious problem you will run into if you skip this step is that the color of the vegetable is going to radically change after a few months.

I've been dehydrating for over 25 years and I have seen it first hand. I ended up throwing out jars of food because the color was so unappealing I wouldn't cook with it.

New to preserving with a dehydrator? Grab my FREE Quick Guide to Dehydrating.

👇See the step by step directions below!

Recipe Prep

Wash the fresh green beans in cold water to remove any dirt or debris. Drain well in a colander.
You will need an container large enough to make an ice bath to flash cool the blanched beans.

Washed fresh green beans in a plastic white sink tub.

Step by Step Directions

Step 1: Trimming and Cutting: Using a sharp paring knife carefully trim the ends and any bad spots. Cut each whole green bean down to 1-2 inch pieces and put them in the colander, a bowl or I like to use an inexspensive plastic tub that fits in my sink.

Trimmed and cut string beans in a white plastic tub.

Step 2: As you are trimming and cutting the green beans bring a large stock pot full of salted water to a boil. If you start heating the pot while you are cutting the beans it should be boiling by the time you are done prepping the beans. This will help save you some time.

Step 3: Blanching: Dump the cut green beans into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil. Set a timer for 4 minutes. While you are blanching the green beans prepare an ice bath by filling a scrubbed clean sink, or a very large bowl with ice cubes. If you have a double sink you can drain on one side and use the other side for the ice bath. If not set the bowl or tub aside as you will need to drain the blanching water into the sink. I will be using the plastic tub that fits in my sink.
Step 4: Once the 4 minute blanching time is up carefully drain the beans in a large colander in the sink. Pour the hot drained beans into whatever vessel you are using for the ice bath. You should already have it filled with ice cubes. Add cold water until the hot green beans are covered. Allow the beans to cool completely before draining them in the colander again.

Notice the bright vibrant color of the beans after they have been blanched.

Bright vibrant green blanched green bean pieces in a large plastic tub.

Step 5: Drying: Remove as much water from the cooled beans by either spreading them out on a large cookie sheet and gently patting them with a lint free cloth towel or a bunch of paper towels. I like to use my salad spinner for this part. It will remove most of the moisture very quickly.

Step 6: Loading the trays: Spread the blanched green beans over your dehydrator trays that have been lined with silicone or plastic mesh screens. The mesh screens will stop the smaller pieces from falling through the spaces in the trays as they dry and shrink. Leave some space between the pieces so the hot air will flow freely.

Loaded drying trays before placing in the dehydrator.

Step 7: Dehydrating: Load the trays into the dehydrator as you fill them until you've loaded all of the trays. Set the temperature of the dehydrator to 135 F. if your dehydrator has a temperature control setting. Set the timer for 8 to 12 hours. The amount of time it takes to fully remove all of the moisture and properly dry will vary. How wet the vegetable was, how closely you packed the trays and even the humidity of your how will effect the drying time.

Step 8: Rotating the trays: After 4 hours rotate the trays and check to see how dry the pieces are getting. If they have shrunk considerably and are getting hard by 4 hours you will need to shorten your dehydrating time. You should check on them every hour or two to see how dry they are getting.

Step 9: It took 7 ½ hours for my green beans to dehydrate completely. The beans should feel hard and crisp. As you can see the pieces have shrunk by about 50%.

Dried green bean pieces on a dehydrating tray.

Step 10: Cool the dried beans on the counter completely before transferring them to glass jars to condition.

Step 11: Condition the jars of bean in a dark cabinet for 1 week. Every day shake the jar to move the pieces around. Check closely for any moisture that is forming on the inside of the jar.

If there is any moisture return them to the dehydrator and dehydrate them again for another hour or two until completely dry.

Dehydrated green beans in a wooden bowl.

How I use Dehydrated Green Beans

Dried green beans can be used in place of fresh in most soups, stews and casseroles.

You can add them to a dried vegetable soup mix so you have ready to add vegetable mix on hand to add to recipes.
I like to add a scoop when I am making soups or stews that will simmer on the stove. This way the dried beans will rehydrate with no other work involved.
If I am adding them to a casserole recipe, salad, or serving as a side dish I will rehydrated them in hot water. To do this place the amount of beans you need in a bowl and pour a cup of hot water over them. Once they have plumped up drain and add to the recipe.

📌Pro Dehydrating Tips

Things that can effect to the drying time

How thick and the size you have cut the beans.
How wet the beans were when you loaded them into the dehydrator.
The dehydrator model you are using.
The temperature of the dehydrator. If you are using a dehydrator that does not have a temperature setting you should check the manufacturers information to see what temperature your model is running at. Usually these types of dehydrators run at a higher temperature. Some as high as 165 F. You will need to adjust the time considerably. But don't worry you can over dehydrate vegetables. You will still be able to eat them.
The temperature and humidity of the area you live in: I live in humid Florida and during the summer months it will take longer for me then it may take for you if you live in a low humidity area.
The temperature and or humidity of your home: The outside environment will make a difference.
How to know when the green beans are done dehydrating. Green beans are done dehydrating when they are hard and crispy. Press down on the center of a thick bean to check and make sure the center has dried.

Dehydrating green beans is an easy and effective way to make the most of your garden’s bounty or store-bought produce. With just a bit of effort, you’ll have a shelf-stable, nutrient-packed ingredient ready for soups, casseroles, or on-the-go snacking. Give it a try and enjoy the satisfaction of preserving fresh vegetables while saving money.

Dehydrated Vegetables

Check out these other easy step by step directions to preserve seasonal produce with a dehydrator.

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