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This shelled edamame recipe is full of flavor and takes just 5 minutes! An easy side dish, it’s flash sauteed in a hot pan with garlic and soy sauce.

Shelled edamame recipe
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Eating edamame right in the pod is one of our favorite side dishes. That satisfying pop they make as you squeeze them into your mouth can’t be beat! (Right? Please tell us you’re a fan too.) But did you know you can also eat shelled edamame as a healthy side dish? Enter: this 5 minute shelled edamame! It’s flavor packed and savory, flash sauteed in a hot pan with garlic and soy sauce. You will not believe the flavor. I took one bite…and then couldn’t stop eating it. We don’t have many 5-minute recipes, so this one is extra special.

Buy shelled edamame for this recipe

Edamame are soy beans picked when they’re young and green, versus the mature soy used to make tofu. They’re full of plant-based protein, making them a nice addition to vegetarian and vegan diets! You can buy edamame two ways: 

  • Frozen in pods. Edamame in pods are the kind served in Japanese restaurants as an appetizer or side. Go to our Easy Edamame or Spicy Edamame.
  • Frozen shelled Shelled edamame can be used in salads, fried rice, noodle bowls, poke bowls, etc. You can also serve them shelled as a quick and easy side dish, like this recipe.
Shelled edamame recipe

Shelled edamame: really a 5-minute side dish recipe!

This shelled edamame really comes together in 5 minutes. Promise! It sounds a little unreal, but here’s the thing. Just like frozen peas, frozen edamame comes to you already cooked (blanched, in fact). So cooking frozen vegetables is really more like reheating them. In fact, we based this edamame recipe off of our very favorite Peas with Lemon recipe, which makes frozen peas taste like 1 million bucks.

Here’s all you have to do to make this shelled edamame recipe:

  • Defrost the edamame by running it under water. Place it in a strainer and warm it with warm water for a few seconds.
  • Saute for 2 minutes with smashed garlic cloves. Throw that in a pan and saute for about 2 minutes with whole garlic cloves.
  • Add soy sauce and stir for 1 minute. Then add a splash of soy sauce and cook until it evaporates. Add salt and you’re ready to serve!

Another way to enjoy edamame? Try Edamame Salad.

Shelled edamame recipe

Cooking with whole garlic cloves: remove before serving

This shelled edamame recipe uses whole garlic cloves that are thrown right into the pan: no mincing required! Now, this is not just to save the precious minutes you’d spend mincing garlic. Cooking with smashed cloves brings a garlic essence, without too strong of a flavor. You also don’t risk burning the garlic.

Just remember to remove the garlic cloves before serving! They’re large and not meant to be eaten. Even though these photos show the garlic cloves because we like the look: don’t be temped to eat them!

Toasted sesame oil vs sesame oil

There are two types of sesame oil you can buy at the store. Make sure to get toasted sesame oil for this recipe, not plain sesame oil. What’s the difference?

  • Toasted sesame oil has a strong, nutty flavor: it’s intended for flavoring foods. It adds a nice nutty essence to the shelled edamame.
  • Sesame oil has a neutral flavor and is used for cooking.
Shelled edamame: healthy easy side dish recipe

Ways to serve this shelled edamame recipe

This shelled edamame recipe is the perfect healthy side dish for all sorts of meals. While edamame is typically served with Japanese and East Asian cuisines, this recipe can stretch outside of that too! The flavor is so savory and irresistible, you might find yourself eating more than you intended. Here are some ways to accessorize this easy side dish:

Edamame in pan

This shelled edamame recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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5-Minute Shelled Edamame

Shelled edamame recipe
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5 from 4 reviews

This shelled edamame recipe is full of flavor and takes just 5 minutes! An easy side dish, it’s flash sauteed in a hot pan with garlic and soy sauce.

  • Author: Sonja Overhiser
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Cook Time: 3 minutes
  • Total Time: 5 minutes
  • Yield: 4 1x
  • Category: Side Dish
  • Method: Stovetop
  • Cuisine: Vegatables
  • Diet: Vegan

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound frozen shelled edamame
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce (or coconut aminos)
  • ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
  • Optional: Toasted sesame seeds, for the garnish

Instructions

  1. Rinse the frozen edamame under warm water in a strainer, then shake off excess liquid.
  2. Smash and peel the garlic cloves.
  3. Add the toasted sesame oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Add the smashed garlic cloves and edamame and cook for 2 minutes until warmed through but still bright green.
  4. Add the soy sauce and stir until evaporated, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the salt. Discard the garlic cloves. If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Serve immediately.

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More vegetable side dishes

This shelled edamame recipe is a whole food plant based side dish (WFPB) that compliments just about any meal. Here are some of our other favorite vegetable side dishes:

About the authors

Alex & Sonja

Hi! We’re Alex & Sonja Overhiser, authors of the acclaimed cookbooks A Couple Cooks and Pretty Simple Cooking—and a real life couple who cooks together. We founded the A Couple Cooks website in 2010 to share seasonal recipes and the joy of home cooking. Now, we’ve got over 3,000 well-tested recipes, including Mediterranean diet, vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, smoothies, cocktails, and more!

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6 Comments

  1. Sébastien Kober says:

    Delicious. But I beg to differ about the garlic.

    I just popped one of the cloves in my mouth out of curiosity, and it was delicious! Almost buttery smooth, with the “bite” having gone into the beans.

    I’d have spread them on toast if the taste hadn’t compelled me to gobble them up ^_^






  2. Shannon Stovsky says:

    i made these tonight since I wanted to fancy up my frozen edamame and it was perfect!!!! I was making a asian bowl and these came out great!!






  3. Rachel Ferrara says:

    Why can’t I eat the garlic?

    1. Alex Overhiser says:

      You are welcome too, but it will flavor the edamame during the saute.

  4. Rebekah Lee says:

    FYI, shelled edamame is actually called mukimame. R 😊






  5. Anonymous says:

    My family loved this!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!! Will hopefully be making it again!!!