String beans are a basic staple for most kitchen pantries, but did you know they come in purple?
Royal Burgundy beans are as delicious as they are colorful, making them a great addition to your favorite recipes. They’re also a great way to teach kids about growing veggies. They might even get them to eat more of them!
Learn everything you need to know about Royal Burgundy beans, how to cook with them, and how to grow them in your garden.
What Are Royal Burgundy Beans?
Royal Burgundy beans are an heirloom variety of snap beans.
They grow in an upright bush that usually reaches 15 to 20 inches tall. They aren’t climbing or pole beans, but their foliage is green like other types of beans.
What makes this variety so unique is its deep purple outer shell. The insides are green with beige seeds. Each bean will reach a mature length of about 5 to 6 inches.
These beans have a crisp, mild flavor that’s fairly similar to more common green beans. They can be eaten raw or cooked and are considered a stringless variety.
Recipe Inspiration for Royal Burgundy Beans
Cooking with Red Burgundy beans is actually really interesting because they change color!
Once they’re tender, they turn from dark purple to green. It’s not only fun to watch, but it also lets you know when they’re perfectly cooked.
You can cook with them any way you like. They can be steamed, sautéed, roasted, or left raw.
There are so many delicious ways you can prepare Royal Burgundy beans, whether you cook them until they’re green or leave them raw and purple.
Whip up a quick and easy stir fry. All you need is a couple of other vegetables of your choice, a protein, and soy sauce if you like it. Let your pan get nice and hot, then cook your ingredients and serve with rice. Or you can have them by themselves, Szechuan style.
Salads are also a great and flexible way to cook with these beans. You can throw together a colorful bean salad or use the raw purple beans in a more classic lettuce salad with your favorite toppings.
If you’re on a health kick, you can steam the beans and add flavor with a little salt, pepper, and lemon juice. It’s a super simple but still delicious side dish you can pair with almost any meal.
Health Benefits of Royal Burgundy Beans
String beans are very nutritious and a great vegetable to include on your plate.
Royal Burgundy beans contain lots of fiber, folic acid, and vitamins C, A, and K. They’re full of antioxidants and are very low in calories.
They’re especially beneficial for people living with diabetes, eye problems, risk of heart disease, degraded bone health, or a compromised immune system.
Growing Your Own
Royal Burgundy beans are a really fun variety to grow, especially once you start to see the purple beans against their green foliage.
They can be grown in rows, containers, or raised beds. They grow well in a wide range of climates but can be sensitive to frost. If you live in a colder area, keep that in mind when you start planning your garden.
You can start seeds all through spring and early summer and sometimes even in late summer and early fall, depending on your frost dates. This way, you’ll be able to harvest consistently.
Another great characteristic of growing these beans is their disease and pest resistance. Common Bean Mosaic Virus, White Mold, and bean beetles are less likely to cause problems for your crop.
They’re annuals, so they need to be replanted each year as they do not survive through the winter.
How to Get Started
Royal Burgundy beans do best with direct seeding as opposed to transplanting.
This means it’s especially important to plant your seeds in early spring when you’re confident that the last frost in your area has come and gone. You won’t be able to start them inside ahead of time. Seeds will germinate best in soil that’s between 65 and 85 degrees F.
Plant your seeds 3 to 4 inches apart and about an inch down into the soil. Lightly cover them and keep the soil moist.
They should start to sprout after 8 to 16 days.
Caring for Your Beans
Royal Burgundy beans prefer soil that drains well, and you can add fertilizer as well to help ensure they’re getting the nutrients they need.
Once your beans have sprouted, water them regularly but avoid letting the soil get muddy. Since they don’t climb like pole beans, you shouldn’t need to add stakes or support as they get tall.
However, do keep an eye out for crowding and thin out any weaker plants to give the stronger ones more space.
If you live in a warmer climate, don’t panic if you see blooms start to drop and no beans grow during the hottest parts of the summer. You can plant another round of seeds at the end of summer and into early fall as long as you aren’t concerned about an early frost.
Harvesting Royal Burgundy Beans
Your beans will be ready to harvest after about 55 days from planting.
Try to snap a bean pod in half as a quick test. If it breaks cleanly, your beans are mature.
Hold the stem with one hand and gently pull the bean off with the other so you don’t damage the bush. This is important because after you pick each bean, that same stem can continue producing more beans throughout the season.
Once you’ve harvested your beans, they’ll keep well in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use them. They also freeze nicely.
Where to Find Them
Seeds for Growing
Have we convinced you to grow these beans in your garden? If so, you’re in luck because Hoss Tools has fantastic Royal Burgundy bean seeds that will get you off to a great start.
Fresh Produce for Enjoying
If you’re not a gardener and you want to find fresh Royal Burgundy beans for sale, start by checking around at your regular grocery stores. If stores stock them, they should be pretty easy to spot among the regular green beans.
You might be more likely to find them at health food stores and specialty markets that carry more unusual produce.
It’s also always a great idea to support local farmers and see if anyone in your community grows this specific variety.
Put Royal Burgundy Beans on Your Shopping List
Royal Burgundy beans are so delicious, beautiful, and easy to grow. You’ll never get tired of their violet outer shell and watching them turn green as they cook.
Keep learning about different bean varieties — visit our Bean Page on the website for more blog posts and helpful growing guides!
- About the Author
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Hope Schwartz-Leeper is an avid reader, writer, and lover of all things nature with degrees in English and Philosophy.
Born and raised in the Northeast, Hope has always had an affinity for spending time outside. Growing up and attending college in New York, then living on Cape Cod and finally settling in Rhode Island has given her plenty of experience with the climate and environment of these areas.
She loves growing her own food and plants and is always trying to grow something new. She’s hoping her apple trees will one day bear fruit, but for now she’s excited about anything that comes from the garden.