Sautéed Green Beans is a fast, easy skillet stovetop recipe with fresh green beans, butter, garlic, and toasted almonds for a delicious and eloquent side dish in only 20 minutes.
Perfect green beans every time with no blanching. Just follow the step-by-step photo instructions.
🥣Ingredients
Fresh green beans
Almonds—slivers or slices if you want
Garlic—fresh crushed or minced
Lemon juice—optional
Other ingredients—butter, extra-virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper.
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Featured comment from James
"Totally addictive. I've made them 3 times in 3 days since finding your recipe."
Tender and delicious fresh green beans with garlic and toasted almonds is a near-perfect side dish everybody will love for both everyday family meals and fancy holiday gatherings.
No need to blanch your beans in boiling water; this one-pan sautéed recipe is so easy that it will be your everyday go-to green bean recipe.
We like to use this recipe with seared and baked steak recipes like Pan Seared New York Strip Steak or Pan Seared Filet Mignon.
If this easy recipe is not what you need, check out my other green bean recipes like Baked Green Beans with Bacon, Parmesan Green Beans, or Green Bean Casserole.
👨🍳How to Sautee Green Beans
- Rinse and trim fresh green beans.
- Toast almond slivers in a large skillet with butter. Remove from pan.
- Add olive oil to the pan and saute the green beans with salt and pepper over medium heat until there is some browning—about 5 minutes.
- Add water to the pan and cover for 2 minutes.
- Remove the lid and increase heat to high to cook off the water—about 1 minute.
- Add butter and crushed garlic and cook until lightly brown—about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove to a serving bowl and toss with the almonds.
This is a summary of the steps and ingredients. See the recipe card or the step-by-step photo instructions below for complete instructions.
✔️Variations
- Spice it up by adding some paprika or other spices. Or add bacon—everything is better with bacon.
- The original recipe added lemon just to the almonds after cooking. Add a teaspoon of juice if you want that taste, but I found it distracting. It is an option in the directions.
- Change out the almonds for pecans or walnuts.
- Add some Feta or Parmesan cheese. Go crazy with blue cheese. Use your imagination.
👨🍳How to Pick Out the Best Fresh Green Beans
Of course, fresh off the vine is the best or from the farmer's market. Use the store produce department if you must.
- The color—you want a nice vibrant green
- The skin of the beans should be smooth without swelling seeds, showing a more mature bean with a starchier pod. Avoid beans that are large or thick.
- The beans should have good firmness, no wrinkles, and not a lot of bad spots.
- In season, do a test “snap.”
While reasonable fresh vegetables are available year-round, the peak season is June through September, and local fresh will be best.
What to do with leftover green beans
These are much better freshly cooked, but if you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container and refrigerate for 3 days or freeze them for 3 months.
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Reheat on the stovetop with a lid with a bit of water. Or briefly microwave.
❓FAQs
No, this recipe is specifically for fresh beans. I do not recommend it for frozen beans. If you are looking for a great recipe for frozen, please check out Baked Bacon Green Beans.
In addition to the garlic and butter already in this recipe, seasoning salt, onion or onion powder, or thyme.
This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.
Have you tried this recipe, or have a question? Join the community discussion in the comments.
Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
Start with about 1 pound of green beans. Rinse and trim the ends off the beans. Slice into 2-inch pieces if you want.
Over medium-high heat, toast ¼ cup of almond slivers or slices in a tablespoon of butter until browning—about 2-3 minutes. Optional-Coat with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice after toasting.
Remove almonds and add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pan and heat over medium heat until hot, then add the trimmed beans. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Saute until you get some spots of brown, about 5 minutes.
Add ¼ cup water and cover. Cook for about 2 minutes, but stop while the beans are still bright green and crisp. Remove the lid and increase the heat to high—Cook off the water for about 1 minute.
Add 1 tablespoon of butter and three cloves of crushed or minced garlic. Cook until lightly brown and starting to wrinkle. It takes about 2-3 minutes.
Remove to a serving bowl and toss with the almonds.
📖The Recipe Card
Sautéed Green Beans with Almonds
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans - cleaned and trimmed
- ¼ cup almonds - slivers or slices
- 2 tablespoon butter - divided
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup water
- 3 cloves garlic - crushed or minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice - Optional
Step-by-Step Instructions
- Start with about 1 pound of green beans. Rinse and trim the ends off the beans. Slice into 2-inch pieces if you want.
- Over medium-high heat, toast ¼ cup of almonds slivers or slices in a tablespoon of butter until browning—about 2-3 minutes. Optional-Coat with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice after toasting.
- Remove almonds and add 1 teaspoon olive oil to the pan and heat over medium heat until hot, then add the trimmed beans. Add ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Saute until getting some spots of brown, about 5 minutes.
- Add ¼ cup water and cover. Cook for about 2 minutes but stop while the beans are still bright green and crisp. Remove the lid and increase the heat to high—Cook off the water for about 1 minute.
- Add 1 tablespoon of butter and three cloves of crushed or minced garlic. Cook until lightly brown and starting to wrinkle. It takes about 2-3 minutes.
- Remove to a serving bowl and toss with the almonds.
Recipe Notes
Pro Tips:
- The fresher the beans, the better. See the discussion in the post for tips on buying the best beans.
- Do not use frozen beans for this recipe.
- If you decrease the size of the recipe, use the same amount of water to do the steaming step.
- Add some cooked bacon or other things to your taste. ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika is a good addition. Other options are in the post.
Your Own Private Notes
To adjust the recipe size:
You can adjust the number of servings above; however, only the amount in the ingredient list is adjusted, not the instructions.
Nutrition Estimate (may vary)
Originally Published April 4, 2014. Updated with expanded options, refreshed photos, and a table of contents to help navigation.
Adapted from Cooks Illustrated (subscription required).
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Darice,
Welcome to the blog, and thanks so much for the proofreading. You are right. It was referring to crushed or minced garlic. It is fixed in two spots.
I'm always open to corrections. As they say, "see something, say something."
Enjoy your beans, and thanks again.
Dan
Kimberlee Kleine says
Hello Dr. Dan,
Thank you again for another great recipe. Do you think you could make this ahead of time and then reheat?
Kimberlee
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Hi Kimberlee,
Welcome to the blog.you
I wouldn't make ahead. Part of what makes this so good is the fresh beans. I think you can do the prep ahead and cook at the time.
Dan
Beda Stoner says
Hi Don, This is a great Keto recipe. How many servings in this recipe?
Dan Mikesell AKA DrDan says
Four medium size (1 pound of beans divided by 4 is 1/4 pound of beans per serving). It is in the middle of the recipe card but doesn't stand out very well.
Dan
Boston O. says
Not a lean recipe in case you're wondering... but oh so tasty and comforting!
james says
Totally addictive. I've made them 3 times in 3 days since finding your recipe.
James..
sonya says
Just vouching that these are great green beans! Also, I agree that everything is better with bacon (or sausage). I made the smoked paprika and almonds variation and my husband really liked it. Will be making again. Love your rating system!