Sauteed Green Beans
If you are searching for the best way to cook green beans you have arrived! For more than five years this has been the number one green bean recipe on the internet and our most popular recipe! You’ll love that it’s fast, simple and requires only a few pantry staples!
I originally shared this technique for cooking green beans and simple recipe on July 10th, 2015. I have updated the text today.
Table of contents
Best Green Beans Recipe
For 20 years it has been my #1 goal to help busy people just like you to get more fresh veggies on the table and this recipe is the perfect way to do just that! They’re ready in 15 minutes and my family’s favorite green beans recipe!
Below I’ll share my family’s secret method for cooking green beans I’ve been using since I first learned to cook. It yields vibrant green, perfectly tender (not mushy) string beans with delicious garlic flavor! One taste and you’ll see why I count on this foolproof technique to make everyone happy on any occasion, from weeknight dinners to a holiday meal.
I have made it several times and my family absolutely enjoys eating it every time. This is a go to recipe for green beans.
~Jessica
What you’ll need for the Best Green Bean Recipe
- Extra virgin olive oil: I chose extra-virgin olive oil for this recipe but another cooking oil like avocado oil or canola oil works too.
- Red pepper flake: Added for a little heat (do so to taste.) Note, if you are sensitive to spicy food, it is okay to omit this and instead season them with ground black pepper.
- Fresh Green beans: You’ll need one and a half pounds of fresh green beans or string beans.
- Minced Garlic: Fresh chopped garlic is the star of the simple seasonings in this easy green bean recipe. You’ll need three cloves.
- Coarse kosher salt: We chose coarse kosher salt instead of table salt because it is easier to sprinkle. You can use regular table salt if you prefer, but note that it is higher in sodium so you will need less. Read more about substituting kosher salt here.
- Water: To keep this fresh green bean recipe as simple as possible we save a step and dishes by adding water to the skillet to steam them. They’ll be perfectly tender and keep great texture.
Tip For Buying Green Beans: In the grocery store, choose fresh green beans that are free from wrinkles or any spots that are becoming mushy. Pick through the pile and avoid wrinkled, broken or rotting string beans. You can use yellow wax beans or Haricots verts which are French green beans. Note that they cook more quickly but will work too, just adjust your cooking time. If buying pre-trimmed in a sealed plastic bag, check the expiration date and avoid wet or slimy-looking ones that are past their prime!
How to cook Fresh Green Beans on stove
Not only is this simple garlic green bean recipe so much better than canned or frozen green beans, but it is arguably the easiest way to make cooked string beans!
1. Cut the stem ends off. An easy way to do that is to line a handful of stem sides together and cut them off with a sharp knife. I think this method is faster than breaking them off by hand.
2. Next, choose a large skillet with a well fitting lid. You can use a cast-iron skillet or stainless, but do not use a non-stick as the temp will get too high. (Note: if you don’t have a large lid, a sheet of aluminum foil will work too.)
3. Add your oil to the skillet and let it get hot. Bloom the crushed red pepper flake in the oil for a few seconds then add the beans to let them blister and brown. Turn them with tongs.
4. After that step, you can add the garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant, but doesn’t burn.
5. Then add the water. Adding water at this point in the cooking process will prevent the sauteed garlic from burning and it creates steam, so you can trap that in with the lid to cook the beans through.
How to Know They’re Done: The cooked string beans will become bright green and cooked to crisp-tender perfection in a minute or two. And that’s it! See our serving suggestions below for what to serve with this easy side dish.
WATCH: BEST Way to Cook Green Beans
Variations To Try
These sauteed string beans are perfect in their simplicity, but they’re also somewhat of a blank canvas for adding creative flavors!
- Fresh Herbs: Add 1 tsp chopped woody herbs like thyme, rosemary or oregano with the garlic. Add tender herbs, like basil or tarragon, when they come off the heat.
- Lemon or Balsamic: Add fresh lemon juice, a little lemon zest or balsamic vinegar before serving.
- Nuts and/or Bacon: After the beans are cooked add almonds, pecans, walnuts or hazelnuts. Another yummy choice is a couple strips of crispy bacon, crumbled.
- Sesame or ginger: To pair with Asian food, add a little minced ginger with the red pepper flakes and drizzle on toasted sesame oil to finish the dish. Finish with sesame seeds.
- Cheese: Add a little shaved or grated Parmesan cheese, Crumbled chevre or goat cheese on top.
What to Serve with Green Beans
- For a traditional holiday meal or Sunday Supper pair them with Roasted Turkey, Rack of Lamb or our Herb Roasted Chicken.
- My family loves these simple green beans as a side dish with Roasted Chicken Thighs with crispy skin in the winter and Grilled Greek Chicken Thighs or Cedar Plank Salmon during grilling season.
- For a vegetarian meal, these delicious green beans go great with Vegetable Lasagna or Veggie Quiche.
Storing Leftovers and Reheating
Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container up to three days. Keep refrigerated.
Reheating: We like to reheat cooked green beans in the microwave for about 90 seconds per serving. Alternatively, you can reheat them in a non-stick skillet with a little splash of water or chicken broth, over medium heat, covered until steaming hot. Stir occasionally to heat evenly and do not overcook.
Meal Prep and Make Ahead Tips
- Up to three days ahead, trim your green beans and store in a re-seable container, ziplock bag or reusable produce bag ( A Guide to Reusable Produce Bags | Treading My Own Path | Less waste, less stuff, sustainable living )
- The garlic can be chopped in advance though it will have a strong odor.
- If you want a make ahead green bean recipe you can use our Orange Ginger Green beans Orange Ginger Green Beans recipe as a guide to blanching and rewarming the beans in a skillet.
Green Bean FAQs
As a general rule, you can cook them from raw to crisp-tender in about 4 minutes. This is especially true in steaming and boiling. That said, there are several ways to cook green beans and cooking times will vary depending on method.
Sautéed green beans in a skillet is fast and simple, but there are other ways to cook green beans that we’ve covered over the years. For more ideas make sure to check out 8 Ways to cook green beans.
Steaming: A healthy, fast and simple way to cook green beans. You can amp up the flavors in a variety of ways. Go classic with Green Beans with Walnuts and Balsamic or try our Asian Green Beans.
Roasted: You’ll love the sweet caramelized taste and tender texture. Try our Roasted Green Beans with Almonds and Thyme recipe.
Boiling or Blanching: Boil the green beans in lightly salted water until crisp tender, or blanch to par-cook them and then shock them in an ice water bath.
Green Bean Casserole: Using fresh green beans instead of canned (or frozen) in green bean casserole is key! Try our recipe and it will quickly become your family’s holiday tradition.
Yes, string beans and green beans are the same thing. Green beans are a type of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) which can actually be yellow or purple too. You can read more about varieties and buy green bean seeds here. Haricot Vert, snap beans, wax beans and filet beans, are the same thing as fresh green bean. Haricot Vert are more slender and tender and meant to be picked when they are smaller. In the market, wax beans are usually yellow.
Green beans can be bush beans or pole beans, they just have different growing habits. Green beans are tender annuals in the Leguminosae family, which also includes garbanzos, peas, lentils, and peanuts. They’re eaten fresh (as opposed to dry beans which are grown for their mature bean seeds.) You can read more about growing green beans here.
If you grow your own beans, and occasionally are not picked early enough they can be quite tough and stringy. This happened to me and they got very large and too tough. In this case I recommend a southern style of cooking them. To paraphrase how to do this, you remove the strings, cut them into shorter lengths and then braise them slowly in liquid (often with smoked pork) until they are very tender. Another reason for tough beans is using shelling beans which are different than bush beans. Shelling beans have a woody pod and they are definitely tough. Lastly, it is important to note fresh green beans do not have the same texture as canned green beans. They have less mushy texture.
Want More? Check out More Green Bean Recipes below the recipe card or invent your own recipe after reading our chef’s tips!
Simple Veggie Side Dishes To Try
Here are a few easy recipes for vegetable side dishes you may want to try!
At Healthy Seasonal Recipes, we specialize in cooking with fresh veggies and creating weeknight meals. Sign up HERE to get more produce-forward dinner ideas for FREE! If you make this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review. I would love to hear what you thought! Happy Cooking! ~Katie
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Fresh Green Bean Recipe
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
Description
This delicious green bean recipe is a perfect healthy side dish. They are cooked in one pot with garlic, olive oil and a little spice. It is one of the best green bean recipes because it is both quick and delicious!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flake, or to taste
- 1.5 pounds green beans, trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add red pepper flake and stir to coat the pepper in the oil.
- Add green beans and cook, stirring often until the beans are blistering and browning in areas, 5 to 7 minutes.
- Add garlic and salt and cook, stirring constantly until the garlic is fragrant and browning, about 30 seconds.
- Add water and immediately cover with a well-fitting lid or sheet of aluminum foil. Steam the green beans, covered, until they are bright green and crisp tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
Make Ahead Instructions
1. Blanch green beans for 1 minute in boiling salted water.
2. Shock in an ice bath to immediately stop them from cooking. Drain well in a colander.
3. Keep refrigerated in a large storage container or ziplock bag for 1 day.
4. Before using in the recipe, make sure they are completely dry (use a clean dish towel or paper towels.)
5. Follow the instructions in this recipe but do not add the water and steam covered. They will be tender enough after searing them. Note that the beans will not brown as well as they sear, but they will still be quite tasty.
To Trim Haricot Verts or Green Beans: The stem end of the bean is tough and fibrous. This must be removed. To do so easily, line up a handful of the beans with the stems facing the same direction. Cut them off all at once. No need to cut off the pointy tip.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 8 minutes
- Category: side dish
- Method: stove top
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 70
- Sugar: 0 g
- Sodium: 230 mg
- Fat: 5 g
- Saturated Fat: 0.5 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 1 g
More Favorite Green Bean Recipes
Try more fresh green bean recipes from our collection. Make sure to leave a star rating and review if you try any of these recipes!
Disregard my other comment, it was for another recipe! Oops! We love these green beans, a big hit in my house! Thanks!
Thank you Julie. I am happy you like these green beans!
Excellent! Fantastic green bean recipe. I usually overcook the heck out of them and they turned out perfectly. Thank you!
Great taste-wise, it’s just tough to time out a recipe that is a side and says to serve immediately.
I really liked these, but a bit to spicy. Next time I’ll cut the hot pepper seeds by half and increase the salt a little more.
Great feedback Liz! Thank you for reporting back. Please let me know what you try next!
This is my go-to green bean recipe. Make it all the time. Never would have thought to add so much red pepper! I thought it would be way too spicy, but actually, it adds just the right hit of spice and isn’t overpowering for us. Thank you!!
Thank you Emily. I am psyched you tried this green beans recipe! I’ve been making it lately with Urfa chili flakes which are a little less spicy than the red pepper flakes we get at the grocery store and it also has a smoky flavor to them. Try it if you can find it. My sister gave me a small jar of it and it is a new fave ingredient!
It’s looked so good. I just added green beans to my shopping list. Will make this with steak and twice baked potatoes tonight.
So glad you are going to try these sauteed green beans Anrea. It is one of my favorite side dishes ever so I think you’ll enjoy them, but please let us know how they come out!
Made these skillet fresh green beans. Amazing. In addition to red pepper added everything but the bagel seasoning. Cannot stop eating them. Thanx for an amazing recipe
I love everything bagel seasoning. I use it for eggs, avocado toast and wraps. I have to try it on these green beans. I am sure I would love it! Did you add it at the same time as the red pepper? I may try adding it on at the end so the garlic doesn’t scorch in the hot oil.
Quick and simple with delicious results. Surprised when the non-vegetable eaters loved the flavors.
I love it when that happens! Thanks for coming back here to leave your rating and review. Let me know what you try next Mia.
How can I make these ahead and reheat to serve?
You can follow the instructions in this make ahead green bean recipe as a guide https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/orange-ginger-green-beans/ then use the garlic and red pepper flake in the skillet to reheat.