Runner bean glut? 10 ways to use, keep and share them
Updated 5 October 2026
Pick runner beans every two or three days while they're young, freeze the extras blanched, and share, swap or sell bagfuls locally while they're still crisp. Fresh runner beans keep a day or two at room temperature and about five days in the fridge.
1. Keep picking, even when you're sick of them
It sounds backwards, but picking keeps the beans tender. Pods left to swell go tough and stringy, and once a plant sets seed it slows down. Pick at about 15 to 20 cm, before the beans show through the pod. If you go away, ask a neighbour to pick and keep what they pick.
2. Freeze them
Top, tail and string them, then slice. Blanch in boiling water for two minutes, cool in iced water, dry well and open-freeze on a tray before bagging. Frozen this way they keep for up to a year and cook straight from frozen. Pack them in meal-sized bags so you only take out what you need. Very young, thin beans can be frozen whole after a one-minute blanch.
3. Make runner bean chutney
A British allotment classic, and one of the best ways to use a big batch. Follow a tested recipe and sterilise the jars. Keep it for yourself and as gifts, because chutney is processed food with extra rules, so it can't be listed on Leaf Exchange.
4. Pickle them
Thinly sliced beans pickle well in a sweet spiced vinegar, or go into a mustardy piccalilli with cauliflower and onions.
5. Cook them slowly with tomatoes
Older, thicker beans that are too tough to steam are good braised for 30 to 40 minutes with onion, garlic, olive oil and tomatoes. It works with a tomato glut too, and it freezes well.
6. Use them in curries and stir-fries
Sliced runner beans hold their shape in a curry, a stir-fry or a vegetable soup. Add them for the last few minutes.
7. Save seed from the last pods
At the end of the season, leave a few healthy pods to dry on the plant. Shell the beans and store them somewhere dry for sowing next spring. If you want to eat dried runner beans, soak them and boil them hard first, just like kidney beans. Raw or undercooked dried beans can make you ill.
8. Share, swap or sell them locally
Runner beans are at their best on the day they're picked, so a local swap or sale beats a fridge full of beans going limp. Plenty of people love them and never grow them. Runner beans can't be sold each or by the bunch, so on Leaf Exchange you list them as:
- A bagful for free, as a swap, or pay what you think. A bag of beans can't have a set price unless it's weighed on trade-approved scales.
- A big box over 5 kg at a set price, for a chutney maker or a big family freezer session.
- Swap only, for crops you haven't grown this year.
Pick in the morning, list the same day, and mention the length. Neighbours reserve, then collect from you in person.
9. Donate them
Food banks, community fridges and food hubs often welcome fresh veg. Check what each one can accept, and drop beans off on the day you pick them. Community cafés, lunch clubs and neighbours who cook for big families are often glad of a whole bag, too. In Buckinghamshire, Grow to Give collects growers' surplus for local food projects.
10. Plan next year so you don't glut
A healthy runner bean plant crops for eight weeks or more if you keep picking. A wigwam of eight to ten plants is usually plenty for a family. If you love them but drown in them every August, sow half in May and half in June to spread the crop. Grow a mix with French beans too, which crop at a slightly different time.
How long runner beans keep
| Type | Where | Keeps for |
|---|---|---|
| Freshly picked | Room temperature | 1 to 2 days |
| Freshly picked | Fridge, in a bag | 3 to 5 days |
| Blanched and frozen | Freezer | Up to 12 months |
| Dried beans for seed | Cool, dry jar | 2 to 3 years |
Questions
Can you freeze runner beans without blanching?
You can, but they lose colour and texture faster. Blanching for two minutes before freezing keeps them greener and better for up to a year.
Why are my runner beans stringy?
They've been left on the plant too long. Pick them at 15 to 20 cm, before the beans inside swell. Older pods are better braised slowly or saved for seed.
Can I sell runner beans by the bag?
Not at a set price without trade-approved scales. Offer a bagful free, as a swap or pay what you think, or sell a box clearly over 5 kg at a set price.
Related: produce runner beans · in season august · guides pricing home grown produce · glut courgettes · guides produce swap