This quick and easy side dish features green beans sautéed in garlic butter for a delicious addition to almost any meal!
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Why this recipe works
This garlic green beans recipe uses only a few simple ingredients and takes only a few minutes to prepare, but packs loads of flavor. Quickly simmering the beans in water tenderizes the beans and then they're finished with a quick sauté in garlic butter. Best of all, it's all made in one pan. And they go great with so many things. Try them with roasted chicken or beef, pork chops, steak, and more. They're also a great option for an easy Thanksgiving side dish!
Ingredient Notes
- Green Beans - I recommend using fresh green beans for this recipe for the best flavor. If using smaller haricots verts green beans, reduce the simmering time to just 2-3 minutes.
- Garlic - I also recommend using fresh cloves of garlic for this recipe over pre-minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Butter - definitely use real butter for this dish as well. We'll also add in a little olive oil when cooking to help keep the butter from browning.
Step by Step Instructions
- Heat a 12 inch saute pan over medium high heat. Add the water and beans and bring to a simmer, then cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 4-5 minutes, then remove the lid. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the remaining water evaporates.
- Make a clearing in the center of the pan and add the butter, and olive oil. Once the butter has melted add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30-45 seconds until fragrant.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low then stir together the garlic and beans. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning the garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Recipe Tips and FAQs
Yes, you can also use frozen beans in this recipe. For steam in the bag varieties, you can cook according to the package directions and sauté in the garlic butter.
For non-steamable bags I recommend thawing the beans then simmering for a few minutes until tender. They're typically blanched prior to freezing so won't need as much cooking time as fresh green beans. Then sauté in garlic butter to finish.
This recipe will work for canned green beans as well, but the final result will be a little different as canned beans will be much softer.
For canned beans you'll skip the simmering step. Simply drain the canning liquids and saute your beans in the garlic butter for 3-4 minutes. This is a great way to quickly add flavor to canned green beans.
These green beans with garlic are best made fresh and served hot, but if you need to save a few minutes you can do the simmering step 1-2 days ahead then cool the beans in an ice water bath to stop the cooking. Drain and refrigerate the beans. When ready to use sauté them in the garlic butter for a few minutes until warmed through.
More side dish ideas
- Instant Pot Southern Style Green Beans
- Kale and Farro Salad with Roasted Butternut Squash
- Creamy Bacon Mac and Cheese
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
📖 Recipe
Garlic Butter Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed and rinsed
- ½ cup water
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Heat a 12 inch saute pan over medium high heat. Add water and beans and bring to a simmer then cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium. Simmer for 4-5 minutes then remove the lid. Cook for another 2 minutes or so, stirring occasionally, until the remaining water evaporates.
- Make a clearing in the pan and add the butter, and olive oil. Once the butter has melted add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 30-45 seconds until fragrant.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and stir together the garlic and beans and cook for another 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently to avoid burning the garlic. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.
Nutrition Facts
* All nutrition information we provide are estimates based on third party calculators. We encourage you to calculate these on your own for accurate results.
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