This is a wonderful,classic preparation for a green beans side dish - simmer beans until bright green then toss with garlic until golden and crispy. Serve as a side with everything, any cuisine, from Western to Italian, Middle Eastern to French!If serving with Asian food, I like to add the tiniest drizzle of sesame oil at the end and sometimes a sprinkle of sesame seeds. Just gives it that little Asian-esque finishing touch!Love green beans? So do I! See all my Green Bean Sides.
Prep time: PT5M
Cook time: PT8M
Rating
4.99 stars (53 reviews)
Keywords
green beans recipe, sauteed green beans
Ingredients
250g/ 8oz green beans (, trimmed (Note 1))
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil ((or... butter!))
2 garlic cloves (, finely minced (~ 2 tsp), do not use jar or garlic crusher (Note 2))
1/8 tsp salt
1 pinch black pepper
Categories
Side Dish
Cuisine
Western
Steps
Blanch beans: Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil with 1 teaspoon of salt. Add beans, cook for 4 minutes (they will turn bright green), drain, then rinse under cold tap water to cool. (There's really no need to shock in ice water). Shake off excess water.
Sauté: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add green beans and garlic. Toss (or stir!) for 2 minutes until the garlic is golden and crispy. Add salt and pepper, then toss.
Serve: Transfer beans to serving dish. Serve warm!
Prepare ahead: Blanch beans per step 1, cool and dry, store in fridge until required. When ready to serve, just toss with garlic. It's an instant on-demand side!
Nutitrion
Serving Size: 1 serving
Calories: 102 kcal
Carbohydrates: 9 g
Protein: 2 g
Fat: 7 g
Saturated Fat: 1 g
Sodium: 153 mg
Sugar: 4 g
Unsaturated Fat: 6 g
Reviews
DONIELLE on 2026-03-24 (5 stars): This recipe was great. Simple and even my picky eater loved it!
Ann Jennings Shackelford on 2026-03-18 (5 stars): Have cooked this twice recently and it was delicious both times - much better than the simplicity of the recipe would suggest!
Mita on 2026-02-23 (5 stars): This was an easy and delicious side dish to the baked fish with lemon cream sauce, but I expect this would go with almost anything!
TKL on 2026-02-19 (5 stars): This recipe was great. It was simple and produced really good string beans. I would have never thought to boil them first. This makes all the sense in the world. I made mine extra garlicky and love it. Thank you.
Kara on 2025-12-10 (5 stars): This was a great recipe. However, my beans were still too crunch y after 4 minutes of blanching & cooking for about 5 minutes with the garlic and oil. I think I either needed to cook longer or maybe it was the green beans.
Kara on 2025-12-10 (5 stars): This was a great recipe. However, my beans were still too crunch y after 4 minutes of blanching & cooking for about 5 minutes with the garlic and oil. I think I either needed to cook longer or maybe it was the green beans.
Nyssa on 2025-12-09 (5 stars): Delicious and easy!
Renee on 2025-07-21 (5 stars): Super easy and delicious side dish. We had it with Nagi’s cottage pie but I can see how you could serve it with just about anything.
Helen on 2025-04-19 (5 stars): Paired this with the Easter slow cooked lamb. They were delicious. You are amazing the comments and notes on your recipes are always so helpful.
Velva on 2025-04-03 (5 stars): Thank you for the hint prepare beans ahead. I plan to make these for company in a couple day. Will this work with frozen Hariot Verts from Trader Joes?
Ulyana on 2025-03-13 (5 stars): Added some mushrooms, touch of white wine vinegar and a splash of soy sauce and it turned out extremely good!
Chelle on 2025-03-09 (5 stars): Restaurant quality side dish that is super yum 😋
Sandi on 2025-03-01 (5 stars): Love this recipe! Because we love garlic, I use garlic infused olive oil, as well as the fresh garlic, and then add crisp crumbled bacon when done and always season with sea salt.
Linda on 2025-02-04 (5 stars): Delicious
Desiree Kramer on 2024-12-20 (5 stars): These were absolutely delicious, easy to make and everybody loved them! 10 out of 10!!
Kat on 2024-12-04 (5 stars): These were so good! I will actually eat them because of their taste and not because of their health benefits. My husband ate them too! Saving the recipe.
SF Ana on 2024-11-21 (5 stars): So VERY easy and delicious! The garlic elevates green beans to a whole new level. I steamed the green beans for 4 minutes instead of blanching them in water. Had always cut both ends of the beans - less work cutting one end. Thanks!
