Sautéed Green Beans are one of the easiest and quickest side dishes to make, and it all comes out in one skillet. We love buttery sautéed green beans with bits of garlic, some shaved parmesan cheese, toasted nuts and hints of lemon. You can flavor them endlessly, but use this essential guide to this classic and must try side dish.
I don’t know how it took us so long to share some essential dishes like a plate of sautéed green beans. When we mean essential, like everyone needs a base recipe for this amazing side dish. And from there, everyone can take that base recipe and flavor it differently.
So Holidays or not, a plate of green beans can elevate your everyday meals in a flash. Especially our recipe as it has bursts of Mediterranean flavors yet a base of simplicity. We’ve had this dish initially in a world renowned restaurant in Europe and ever since, we tried to perfect it.
Here’s a few reasons to make this and let us know how you enjoyed them!
Why You’ll Love our Sautéed Green Beans
- The flavor of the green beans is so beautifully complimented with the Mediterranean ingredients.
- The texture is perfectly cooked with a bit of crisp.
- We don’t blanch our green beans. Blanching removed some nutrients from the veggies and at the same time, removes flavor.
- This is a one pot meal. One skillet is all you need for this recipe.
- You can use fresh or frozen green beans to make this recipe.
- Sautéed Green beans are ready in 10 minutes. So it’s a great last minute side dish to pull up.
- You can serve this recipe warm or cold and refreshing for the summer. Simply toss the cooked beans with Greek Salad Dressing and serve cold. It’s SO GOOD!
- Likewise you can toss in some soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce for an Asian twsit.
- Or try it with out Chili Oil Recipe.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Green Beans. You can use fresh or frozen for this recipe. We used organic frozen baby green beans.
- Butter. This can be substituted by olive oil, but we prefer butter flavor.
- Seasoning. Salt, pepper and chilli flakes if you like a spice kick.
- Water. We add a little bit of water , enough to cook the green beans without blanching. You can use stock.
- Herbs. Thyme is our favorite here, but you can skip it or use your favorite.
- Lemon. Lemon zest and juice are added at the end for a zest of tang and birghtness.
- Parmesan Shavings. It’s a perfect pair in terms of taste and flavor with the green beans.
- Toasted Nuts. We used toasted pine nuts today, but toasted almonds work GREAT!
How to Sauté Green Beans
This is truly such an easy simple yet essential recipe to have on hand, here’s how quick and easy it is to make.
- The first step to sautéing green beans is to bring a skillet that would fit them all. We use a sauce pan with lid, because you’ll need the lid to cook them.
- Over medium heat, you’ll begin to cook the garlic in butter for just a couple of minutes until fragrant. You’re not trying to make it golden, as it could turn bitter.
- Then you’ll add in the green beans right over the garlic butter in your sauce pan. Give that a good toss until you feel the beans have started to soften. Season them.
- To fully cook the beans, you’ll add in a few tablespoons of water. You don’t want to add in too much, just 2 tablespoons initially which are enough to cook the beans all the way through.
- Now you’ll put the lid on, and turn the heat on medium low. This way the beans will absorb the water very gradually and soften up for you perfectly.
- When ready, the beans should feel soft and tender, and no more liquid is in the pan. Feel free to taste and add more water if you like them extra tender.
- And now you have it. A perfect skillet of sautéed green beans that you can serve and dress and garnish endlessly.
- To the same saucepan we add lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon, half the toasted nuts. We adjust the seasoning and then we plate the beans.
- Over the plate we garnish with parmesan shavings, more nuts and some chilli flakes.
Tips For Perfect Sautéed Green Beans
- The beans are the hero ingredient here. Make sure you use good quality fresh or frozen beans. If frozen, organic and baby green beans are best, you don’t need to thaw them. If fresh, baby beans are great.
- Make sure the beans are all the same size especially if fresh, if not, trim them so they cook evenly.
- The butter base is optional, you can use olive oil, ghee or avocado oil for a neutral tasting dish.
- The trick to perfectly tender green beans is to add some liquid for cooking. You can use stock or water.
- Never add too much liquid as then the beans will be soggy. Start with 2 tablespoons and then if needed add a teaspoon at a time.
- The ideal way for beans to cook well is to cook on medium low to low heat. This way they absorb the liquid well and cook all the way through.
- You can add more liquid if you prefer a softer texture, but do so gradually.
- It’s ready when the softness is up to your liking and you can then flavor it endlessly.
Variations on Sautéed Green Beans
This is the BEST part. We have made this recipe as we had it n Europe years and years ago. We fell in love for its’ simplicity, brightness and flavor profile. After all we are from the Mediterranean so it felt like home. However we have made it with a few variations and have LOVED it!
- Asian: Add in some ginger with the garlic, and toss in some soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce. Finish off with sesame seeds and green beans. SO GOOD.
- Sweet and Spicy. Finish off with extra butter and our Hot Honey Recipe.
- Summer Greek: Toss in our Greek Salad Dressing when the beans have cooked and let is absorb the flavors. This is a summer favorite and a BBQ side dish you can’t miss!
- Cheesy: Finish off with a heaping amount of cheddar cheese and let it melt with the heat of the beans.
- Chili– Toss in some Chili Oil Recipe, or toss the beans in this Chili Lime Shrimp to soak up some sauce!
- Cold salad tossed in some Garlic Parmesan Sauce when cooled down.
- Dressed up in our hit Dill Sauce with some feta crumbles.
How to Serve Sautéed Green Beans
This is a great dish on its own. Seriously satisfying, hearty, nutritious and delicious. It also makes the perfect side dish to any type of protein.
Great with seafood like Butter Poached Lobster, Halibut, Chilean Sea Bass, Baked Cod Recipe and more.
Great with a piece of Ribeye Steak or Best NY Strip Steak along with some of our Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe.
Perfect with Turkey Tenderloin Recipe, Hot Honey Chicken, Chicken Scallopini, Chicken Caprese and more!
How to Make in Advance, Store Leftovers and reheat?
Since this is a relatively quick recipe, we prefer making it right away. However you can prepare it in advance, and once cooked in the saucepan, don’t dress it up. Simply place it n the fridge in a sealed container for up to 3 days. When ready to serve, reheat the green beans in the same sauce pan over low heat and garnish then.
Leftovers are stored in the fridge for 3 days. To reheat, you can microwave them in a plate. We don’t recommend freezing the cooked green beans as they become watery.
Veggie Side Dishes To Make
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes
Best Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Air Fryer Asparagus
Hasselback Sweet Potatoes
Scalloped Potatoes
Zucchini Fries
Fried Eggplant Salad
Crunchy Sweet Potato Gratin
Roasted Acorn Squash
Sautéed Green Beans
Ingredients
- 3 Tablespoons Butter unsalted
- 2 Garlic cloves minced
- 5 cups Green Beans fresh or frozen
- 1 Tablespoon thyme leaves
- 1/4 teaspoon Salt and pepper
- 2 Tablespoons water
- 1 lemon zest and 1 teaspoon juice
- 2/4 cup pine nuts or almond toasted
- pinch chilli flakes
- 1/2 cup Parmesan
Instructions
-
The first step to sautéing green beans is to bring a skillet that would fit them all. We use a sauce pan with lid, because you'll need the lid to cook them.
-
Over medium heat, you'll begin to cook the garlic in butter for just a couple of minutes until fragrant. You're not trying to make it golden, as it could turn bitter.
-
Then you'll add in the green beans right over the garlic butter in your sauce pan. Give that a good toss until you feel the beans have started to soften. Season them.
-
To fully cook the beans, you'll add in a few tablespoons of water. You don't want to add in too much, just 2 tablespoons initially which are enough to cook the beans all the way through.
-
Now you'll put the lid on, and turn the heat on medium low. This way the beans will absorb the water very gradually and soften up for you perfectly.
-
When ready, the beans should feel soft and tender, and no more liquid is in the pan. Feel free to taste and add more water if you like them extra tender.
-
And now you have it. A perfect skillet of sautéed green beans that you can serve and dress and garnish endlessly.
-
To the same saucepan we add lemon zest and juice of 1 lemon, half the toasted nuts. We adjust the seasoning and then we plate the beans.
-
Over the plate we garnish with parmesan shavings, more nuts and some chilli flakes.
I like this dish, it is super easy and delicious.
A new side dish to make for my steak!
So delicious. We love making this as a side dish for weeknight dinners. I also use it for meal prep too.
Absolutely delicious! This is the kind of recipe that has me craving veggies all the time