Runner beans are an underrated vegetable. This late-summer stalwart of the vegetable plot has a mild, subtly sweet flavour.

You can use runners in salads, grilled on the barbecue, pickle them or add to curries. Our 10 best runner bean recipes will help you turn your harvest into aromatic runner bean stews, fragrant chutneys, quick runner bean pasta and filling salads.

A note before you start: pick runners young, at 15–20cm, when the pods snap cleanly and the beans inside are barely formed. Older pods need stringing down both edges with a peeler or a bean slicer. Slice them thin and on the diagonal for salads and stir-fries; leave them in longer 5cm lengths for stews, where they hold their shape better.

  1. Greek-style runner beans in tomato (fasolakia)

The single best thing to do with a glut. Runners are cooked long and slow in olive oil, tomato, onion and garlic until they collapse into something silky and sweet rather than staying squeaky and green. Cut them into 5cm lengths, sweat a sliced onion in a generous amount of oil, add tinned tomatoes, a splash of water and the beans, then simmer uncovered for 40 minutes. Finish with dill and a squeeze of lemon. Serve warm or at room temperature with feta and bread.

  1. Runner bean chutney

The traditional answer to too many beans, and the one that gets you through winter. Sliced runners are salted overnight, then simmered with malt vinegar, brown sugar, onions, mustard powder and turmeric until thick and glossy. The turmeric is what gives old-fashioned bean chutney its distinctive mustard-yellow colour. Pot it into sterilised jars while hot and leave it at least a month before opening — it’s harsh straight away and mellows into something excellent with cheddar and cold ham.

  1. Quick runner bean, lemon and garlic pasta

A 15-minute midweek supper that uses the beans raw-to-just-cooked rather than stewed. Slice them finely on the diagonal and drop them into the pasta water for the last three minutes, so beans and pasta drain together. Toss with olive oil, a lot of sliced garlic softened gently, lemon zest, chilli flakes and a ladle of the starchy cooking water. Parmesan or a handful of toasted breadcrumbs on top. Long shapes like linguine work best because the sliced beans sit alongside the strands.

  1. Runner bean, new potato and pesto salad

One for the filling salads end of the repertoire. Boil waxy new potatoes, adding sliced runners for the final four minutes, then drain and dress everything while still warm so it absorbs properly. Basil pesto is the obvious choice, but a rocket or wild garlic version is better if you have it. Add halved cherry tomatoes and soft-boiled eggs and it becomes lunch rather than a side.

  1. South Indian runner bean thoran

Runners take extremely well to a dry coconut stir-fry, and this is the recipe that converts people who think they don’t like them. Finely chop the beans — much finer than you’d think, almost minced — then temper mustard seeds, curry leaves and dried chilli in coconut oil, add the beans with a splash of water and cook covered for a few minutes. Stir through fresh or desiccated coconut at the end. Works as a side to almost anything in the curry collection.

  1. Barbecued runner beans with garlic butter

Whole young runners take beautifully to fire, which is the least obvious thing on this list and possibly the best. Blanch them for two minutes first, dry thoroughly, toss in oil and lay them across the bars — or use a grill basket if they’re slim enough to fall through. Two or three minutes a side until blistered and lightly charred. Finish with garlic butter, lemon and flaky salt, and add them to your barbecue spread alongside the meat.

  1. Pickled runner beans with dill and mustard seed

Faster and sharper than chutney, and ready in a week. Cut beans into lengths that fit your jars, blanch for 60 seconds and refresh in iced water so they keep some bite. Pack with dill, garlic, black peppercorns and yellow mustard seeds, then cover with a hot brine of cider vinegar, water, sugar and salt. Keep in the fridge and use within two months — they’re excellent chopped into potato salad or served with cured meats.

  1. Runner bean and bacon gratin

Comfort food for the first cool evenings of September. Blanch the sliced beans, then layer them in a dish with fried bacon lardons and softened onion, pour over cream infused with bay and nutmeg, and top with breadcrumbs and grated gruyere. Bake at 190°C for 25 minutes until bubbling and browned. The cream mellows any slight bitterness in older, tougher beans, which makes this a good use for pods you’ve let get away from you.

  1. Runner bean, feta and toasted hazelnut salad

The dinner-party version. Blanch the beans for three minutes, refresh in cold water to lock in the colour, then dress with a mustardy shallot vinaigrette while still slightly warm. Crumble over feta, scatter with roughly chopped toasted hazelnuts and plenty of mint or dill. The contrast between the soft beans, salty cheese and the crunch of the nuts is what makes it — don’t skip toasting them.

  1. Runner bean and chickpea minestrone

A late-summer soup that stretches a modest picking a long way. Build a base of soffritto — onion, carrot, celery, garlic — add stock, tinned tomatoes and chickpeas, then stir in sliced runners for the last ten minutes so they keep some texture. A parmesan rind dropped in while it simmers adds real depth. Finish with pesto or a drizzle of good olive oil, and serve with crusty bread.