Green Beans vs Broccoli – Is One Better? Let’s Compare

Part of being a Certified Health Coach is to inform people about healthy foods like green beans and broccoli. Many of my clients ask me which one is preferred. Let’s answer, green beans vs broccoli, which is better?

Green beans and broccoli provide a similar number of nutrients and are both considered healthy choices. Broccoli provides more protein, fiber, vitamin C, B6, folate, B5, riboflavin, phosphorus, calcium and zinc. Green beans provides fewer calories and more fiber, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, iron and copper.

This article will start with a side-by-side comparison of green beans and broccoli’s nutrients. In addition, I’ll examine their tastes, textures, prices, whether one can substitute for the other, glycemic indexes and health benefits.

In addition to coaching clients about them, I’ve purchased, researched and consumed both prior to, during and after writing this article. Both are part of my own nutrition plan.

Cooked dinner with broccoli and green beans. — Cooked dinner with broccoli and green beans

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Green Beans vs Broccoli: Nutrients

The following table compares the nutrients contained in each one per 100 grams.

	Green Beans, raw (100 g)	Broccoli, raw (100 g)
Calories	31	34
Protein	1.83 g	2.82 g
Carbohydrates	6.97 g	6.64 g
Fiber	2.7 g	2.6 g
Fat	0.22 g	0.37 g
Sugar	3.26 g	1.70 g
Vitamin A	690 IU	623 IU
Beta-carotene	379 mcg	361 mcg
Vitamin C	12.2 mg	89.2 mg
Vitamin D	0 IU	0 IU
Vitamin B6	0.14 mg	0.17 mg
Vitamin B9 (Folate)	33 mcg	63 mcg
Vitamin B1 (Thiamin)	0.08 mg	0.07 mg
Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin)	0.10 mg	0.12 mg
Vitamin B3 (Niacin)	0.73 mg	0.64 mg
Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)	0.22 mg	0.57 mg
Magnesium	25 mg	21 mg
Phosphorous	38 mg	66 mg
Potassium	211 mg	316 mg
Iron	1.03 mg	0.73 mg
Copper	0.07 mg	0.05 mg
Calcium	37 mg	47 mg
Zinc	0.24 mg	0.41 mg

Nutrient Resources ¹ ²

After examining the table above it’s obvious both vegetables are nutrient dense. Between both, which one has more nutrients?

Asparagus and broccoli have a similar percentage of nutrients. Broccoli provides more protein, fiber, vitamin C, B6, folate, B5, riboflavin, phosphorus, calcium and zinc.

Green beans provide fewer calories and more fiber, vitamin A, thiamin, niacin, magnesium, iron and copper.

I choose both as part of my daily nutrition due to their nutrients and benefits. I mostly use broccoli in salads and smoothies and occasionally as a side dish with dinner. I mostly consume green beans with dinners and lunches, but sometimes add small pieces into a salad.

Which to Choose?

Since both vegetables are nutrient dense, the one you may want to consume more often may depend on your particular goals. Let’s examine four of the more popular goals.

Low-carb or Keto Diets

If you’re considering one of these diets, the number of carbs each food contains may make a huge difference as far as which one you eat more often. Therefore, let’s examine which one has more carbohydrates.

Broccoli has 6.64 grams of carbohydrates, and green beans has 6.97 per 100 grams making them similar for low-carb diets.

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Losing Weight

If your goal is weight loss, the number of calories per serving is important. Let’s examine how many calories per serving each one contains.

Broccoli has 34 calories, and green beans has 31 calories per 100 grams making both of them similar for losing weight.

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Bodybuilding

If gaining lean muscle mass is your goal then the amount of protein and carbohydrates may matter to you.

Extra healthy carbs help to fuel energy and increase performance when exercising or lifting weights. It’s why marathon runners consume much spaghetti the day before the big race.

Any extra protein helps to repair and build new muscle after putting them through a good workout. Therefore, let’s take a closer look at which is better for bodybuilding.

Broccoli is better than green beans for bodybuilding due to its higher percentage of protein. It provides 2.82 grams of protein per 100 grams compared to green beans 1.83 grams.

Their carbs are very similar and one doesn’t have much more than the other.

Gluten Free

If you’re consuming a gluten free diet or have celiac disease, this can make or break your choice between the two. Between each one, which is gluten free?

Broccoli and green beans are gluten free. Therefore, if you only consume a gluten free diet, both of them are good options.

Healthy dinner with green beans and broccoli. — Healthy dinner with green beans and broccoli Pin to Pinterest

Prices

With inflation affecting the prices of just about everything lately, the cost of food certainly matters to most people. For this reason I decided to take a closer look at which food costs more.

Broccoli costs slightly more than green beans. The cost for fresh green beans averages $0.20 per ounce and fresh broccoli averages $0.22 per ounce.

To conduct some original research, I visited some local supermarkets and compared the prices of each one. Here are my findings.

First I checked a Walmart Supercenter:

Marketside bagged fresh green beans
- 12 ounce bag for $2.47. Equals $0.21 per ounce
Marketside fresh broccoli florets
- 32 ounce container for $6.18. Equals $0.19 per ounce

I then checked my local Shoprite supermarket:

Bowl and basket green beans
- 32 ounce bag for $5.99. Equals $0.19 per ounce
Bowl and basket broccoli florets
- 12 ounce bag for $2.99. Equals $0.25 per ounce

checking leafy green prices at my local supermarket — Checking the price of greens prices at my local supermarket

Tastes and Textures

Sometimes the nutrients or price doesn’t matter much. If you don’t like the way a food tastes it will probably remain on the store shelf. Therefore, let’s take a look at how the taste of each one compares to each other.

Taste

Green Beans have a mild, slightly sweet flavor with a fresh, grassy undertone. They are generally more neutral in taste, making them versatile for various dishes.
Broccoli has a stronger, more pronounced flavor that is slightly bitter, especially in the florets. It also has a subtle earthy quality, which can become more intense when cooked.

Texture

Green Beans have a crisp and crunchy texture when fresh. They retain a satisfying snap when cooked lightly, such as through steaming or blanching, but can become softer if overcooked.
Broccoli has a varied texture, with the florets being fluffy and tender, while the stalks are firmer and more fibrous. When cooked, broccoli can become soft but often retains some bite, especially if not overcooked.

Overall, both green beans and broccoli are nutritious and can be enjoyed in a variety of dishes, but their unique flavors and textures lend themselves to different culinary uses.

I wanted to conduct original research on the topic and get the opinion of people like yourself. So I reached out to my clients, readers and members of food groups. I asked them, which one tastes better?

47% said they preferred the taste of broccoli.
49% said they preferred the taste of green beans.
4% said it depended on their mood.

To conduct more research I setup and participated in a taste test at home. I used both in a smoothie without many other ingredients. This way I couldn’t tell the typical difference due to their shape and textures. I chose the smoothie with the green beans.

In the battle of taste, broccoli vs green beans, green beans was the winner in the poll and in my taste test.

Substitutions

For those times when you only have one of the two foods available, let’s find out if one can substitute for the other.

Broccoli and green beans can substitute for each other in most dishes although the taste and texture will be different. Cooking times will be similar when substituting broccoli for green beans unless it is used raw.

The best broccoli substitutes include the following:

Cauliflower
Brussels sprouts
Asparagus
Kale
Green beans
Green cabbage
Collard greens

Glycemic Index

Avoiding blood sugar spikes is an important part of consuming healthy food. This is true for diabetics or anyone worrying about their health ³. For this reason, the glycemic index of food is important.

The Glycemic Index (GI) is a scale measuring how fast a particular food raises the blood sugar in the blood ⁴. Blood sugar spikes can lead to health complications with the heart, nerves, kidneys and eyes ⁵.

Foods on the GI scale are categorized as:

Low-GI foods: 55 or under
Medium-GI foods: 56-69
High-GI foods: 70 or over

How blood sugars levels are affected:

Foods with a glycemic index 70 or more cause a quicker spike in blood sugar levels.
Foods with a glycemic index 56 to 69 cause a moderate spike in blood sugar levels.
Foods with a glycemic index 55 or less cause a slow spike in blood sugar levels.

Knowing more about the glycemic index of food and how it raises blood sugar, many people wonder which one has a higher glycemic index.

Broccoli has a lower glycemic index than green beans. Although, both are considered low GI foods and shouldn’t cause much of an increase in blood sugar.

Broccoli and spinach side dish. — Broccoli and spinach side dish

Nutritional Health Benefits

This section will examine each of the vegetable’s nutrients and how they may benefit health.

Broccoli Health Benefits

Vitamin C

Broccoli provides more vitamin C per 100 grams.

Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant and helps with the following:

Prevent cell damage.
May help boost the immune system.
Collagen production.
Help heal wounds.
Increases iron absorption.
Help maintain health gums.

Phosphorus

Broccoli provides more phosphorus per 100 grams.

Phosphorus has been shown in scientific studies to help with the following:

Help the body store and manage energy.
Promote healthy nerve conduction.
Promote teeth and bone health.
Help the kidneys remove waste.
Muscle contraction and recovery.

The following video explains the benefits of broccoli.

Green Beans Health Benefits

Fiber

Green beans have a slight edge providing more fiber than broccoli.

Soluble fiber is helpful for many reasons ⁶. Soluble fiber is known for the following:

Help in managing weight because it makes you feel full faster.
Help avoid constipation.
Help overall digestion.
Manage the blood glucose levels which helps decrease the risk of diabetes.

B Vitamins

Green beans provide a good percentage of the six B vitamins listed below.

The B vitamins provided include the following:

B1 (thiamin)
B2 (riboflavin)
B3 (niacin)
B5
B6
B9 (folate)

B vitamins help support the following:

Digestion.
Brain function.
Energy levels.
Red blood cells.
Nerve function.
Cardiovascular disease.

Vitamin A & Beta Carotene

Green beans provide more vitamin A and more beta carotene per 100 grams.

Beta-carotene is a compound present in both foods. The body converts beta-carotene into vitamin A.

According to scientific studies, vitamin A helps the eyes when it comes to dim light vision and dry eyes ⁷.

Besides eye health, an increased number of vitamin A has been shown to fight and prevent cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of death in the United States ⁸.

In addition, vitamin A is a powerful antioxidant that can help reduce cellular damage by controlling the negative effects of free radicals ⁹.

cooked broccoli and carrots — Cooked broccoli and carrots

Iron

Green beans provide more iron than broccoli per 100 grams.

Iron is a necessary part of any healthy diet ¹⁰ and may help with the following:

Help the immune system.
Is essential the creation of red blood cells.
Help some hormones remain balanced.
Vital for growth and development.

If you have any questions about this article don’t hesitate to email us. You can find an email on our contact page.