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This garlic green beans recipe is fresh, simple and bursting with flavor! It’s the ideal fast and easy side dish.
Green beans are one of our top vegetables for side dishes, because they’re fast, easy and versatile. Here’s our latest idea for highlighting these crunchy slender green veggies: Garlic Green Beans! Pairing tender steamed green beans with savory garlic butter makes them sing on your plate. Seasoned perfectly, they make an impressive side for about anything: chicken, fish, pasta or any veggie main. This platter disappeared very quickly at our house! Here’s what to know about this simple method.
Ingredients for this garlic green beans recipe
This garlic green beans recipe has minimal ingredients but achieves a maximum amount of flavor. It can be difficult to get green beans just right: we’ve made our fair share of bland, soggy or too crunchy beans. For this method you’ll steam the beans first, then add a quick garlic butter and mix before serving. You can technically get the same result with sautéed green beans, but we prefer the steaming method because they come out more tender. Here’s what you’ll need:
- Fresh green beans: standard or French (haricot verts)
- Butter
- Garlic
- Salt and pepper
Standard vs French green beans (haricot verts)
You can use either standard green beans or French green beans (haricot verts) for this garlic green beans recipe. If you use the French variety, you can get away with steaming them slightly less time than the standard type. Here’s why:
- Haricot verts or French green beans are thinner and shorter than the standard green beans. The variety of beans you’ll most likely find in the grocery are called Blue Lake beans. French green beans cook faster than standard green beans and they’re more tender in texture.
- French green beans are our favorite variety, but they can be hard to find at the grocery. You can use either here (we used standard). Keep in mind you can steam French green beans for about 1 minute less than standard green beans.
Tips & variations on garlic green beans
These garlic green beans are quick and simple. Here are a few tips for how to complete the method, and some variations and mix ins:
- Trim the beans first. You only need to remove the stem end! You can leave the long, pointed end on (we think they look more elegant that way). Here’s how to trim green beans.
- Steam the beans with a steamer basket or insert. You’ll need a steamer basket for this one, or one of the inexpensive inserts you can add to standard pots. If you prefer, you can blanch the beans instead. (Sautéing also works, but they don’t get as tender.)
- Flavor with garlic butter. Add minced garlic to butter, then cook until just fragrant and starting to brown (about 1 minute).
- Add other flavors if you like! The garlic green beans taste great as is, but to amp the flavors try adding shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice or zest, or toasted almonds.
Ways to serve them
Once you’ve mixed up a pan of these garlic green beans, they’re great for pairing with all sorts of main dishes as an easy vegetable side dish. Serve them with:
- Fish like baked salmon or grilled salmon, baked fish with tomatoes or blackened tilapia
- Seafood like shrimp fra diavolo, shrimp scampi or steamed shrimp
- Pasta like pasta primavera, lemon ricotta pasta, asparagus pasta, or baked ziti
More green bean recipes
And that’s it! When it’s bean season, we can’t get enough of this crunchy veggie. Here are a few more green bean recipes to try:
- Try classic Green Beans Almondine
- Opt for summery Green Bean Salad
- Try a jar of Pickled Green Beans or Dilly Beans
- Make Roasted Green Beans or Grilled Green Beans
This garlic green beans recipe is…
Vegetarian and gluten-free. For plant-based, dairy-free and vegan, use vegan butter or olive oil.
Garlic Green Beans
- Prep Time: 8 minutes
- Cook Time: 6 minutes
- Total Time: 14 minutes
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Vegetables
- Diet: Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans
- 2 tablespoons butter (or vegan butter, for vegan)
- 3 garlic cloves
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- Fresh ground black pepper
- Optional adders: shredded Parmesan cheese, lemon juice or zest, toasted almonds
Instructions
- Trim the green beans.
- Place 1 ½ cups water into a saucepan or pot. If using a steamer basket without a handle, add it to the pot now: the water surface should be right under the basket. Bring the water to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the green beans (in the steamer basket, if it has a handle). Steam with the lid on 4 to 5 minutes until just tender, testing with a fork to assess whether it’s done (cook 1 minute or so less if using French green beans, aka haricot verts).
- Meanwhile, melt the butter and garlic over medium heat. Heat until the garlic is fragrant and just starting to become golden (about 1 minute), then immediately remove from the heat.
- Carefully remove the beans to a bowl. Toss the beans with the garlic butter, kosher salt, and plenty of fresh ground black pepper. Taste and add a pinch more salt if desired.
Let us know if you have any questions!