These simple skillet green beans are a perfect healthy side dish. They are made in one pot with garlic, olive oil and a little spice. They’re vegan, paleo and naturally gluten-free.
Friends I’ve been on vacation for the last 23 days. And it has been absolute bliss. Before we get to this super-easy green bean recipe, I want to share with you a little auditory peek into the the sounds of summer here on the shore of Lake Champlain.
The sound of the girls calling Judy T. in for the night, while the little yellow dog seems transfixed by a lightning bug that is so deep in the grass that it must be lost and only lights up often enough to keep her mesmerized and unable to listen to the girls willful calls.
The sound of the south wind whipping off the lake and under the door to my daughters room making a faintly spooky whistling sound, as she’s snuggled under her white matelassé coverlet with her latest Geronimo Stilton book.
The sound of my husband starting the engine of the motorboat, while my brother in law unties them from the dock for a quick–I promise we’ll be back in like 40 minutes–fishing sesh.
The cheerful “Helooos!” from the walking traffic that steadily graces our front lawn as other people who have cottages on the lakefront make their way on the toe path from one cottage to the next.
The bark of my sister’s terrier as our neighbors drop in unexpectedly, with Ricky Bobbies in hand, to ask if we want to walk over to the tennis courts for a game of bocce.
The whack! of the screen door as my sister Jessie arrives home with a bag of grass fed steaks, sweet corn and fresh tender green beans from the farmers market.
These are the sounds of summer on Thompson’s Point. These are the sounds that lull her/me into the state of complete relaxation and they are the reason that when asked or told to “go to your happy place” that place is here. More specifically, that happy place is about one foot from the foot of the stairs to our porch on the lawn overlooking the bay. These are the sounds that make me speak of myself in the third person, forget to take my laptop home and back it up for 23 days, and those that make me want to sit on my butt reading Sweet Paul or fishing for perch instead of coming up with chocolate raspberry tarts and multi-stepped recipes.
I hope you don’t mind the short little summer interlude. Now let’s get to these easy peasy green beans!
How to make Simple Skillet Green Beans
- Choose fresh greens beans that are free from wrinkles or any spots that are becoming mushy.
- Cut the stem ends off. An easy way to do that, is to line a handful up stem sides together and then cutting them off with a knife. I think this method is faster than breaking them off by hand.
- Next choose a large skillet. We have a nice big cast-iron skillet that I like to use for this recipe. You’ll need a lid- so make sure the skillet you choose has a lid that’ll work with it. (Note: a sheet of aluminum foil will work too if need be.)
- Add your oil to the skillet and let it get hot. After blooming the red pepper flake in the oil, add green beans to let them blister and brown. This step takes a bit of time, simply because the skillet is so full, and it takes a while to turn the mass of green beans to touch the skillet.
- After that step, you can add the garlic. Doing so earlier will allow it to burn. Cook it until it becomes fragrant, but doesn’t burn.
- Then add the water. Adding water will stop the browning, but it creates steam, so you can trap that in with the lid to cook the beans through.
- They’ll be become bright green and cooked to crisp tender perfection in a minute or two. And that’s it!
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These simple skillet green beans are a perfect healthy side dish. They are made in one pot with garlic, olive oil and a little spice. They are vegan, paleo and naturally gluten-free.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon red pepper flake, or to taste
- 1.5 pounds green beans, trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ 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. Cook covered until the beans are bright green and crisp tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes
0 mg Cholesterol, 0 g Added Sugar
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I would love to try making green beans like this, I always roast them but cooking them on a skillet is a great idea!
My dad was the one who showed me how to do them this way. It is so easy and I love the texture!
Katie you are superb
You’ve made such a simple bean into something so beautiful! YUM!
Thank you so much Rebecca. Have a great weekend.
Not even going to bother sounding like a broken record.
These look delicious and I need to find a skillet!
Ha ha, you mean you’re not going to mention the green? Lol Arman. Thanks for dropping by!
Green beans look tasty but your writing is absolutely horrible. Is English your second language? If so you may want to have someone else do your writing for you. And it is “losing”, not “loosing”. Your whole first paragraph is utterly incomprehensible.
Are you interested in a come back on the green beans? Or testing her language
Hmmmmm….a bit edgy, are we?? There is enough ill will floating around without taking issue with a blog…you didn’t pay for it, so move on… But first you really need to copy the Green Bean recipe! A winner…..Hope your day improves…
Thank you Suzanne. Glad you like the recipe and I appreciate your words and support. Have a great day!
A sprinkle of brown sugar (about a tsp) just at the end of the cooking process adds a very nice flavor.
I have lots of cherry tomatoes coming in from my garden and add a handful of them cut in half. Delicious.
What kind of green beans did you use? I am trying to grow some nice tender green beans but none ever look like this.
These are the ones I use: http://www.highmowingseeds.com/organic-non-gmo-seeds-maxibel-haricot-vert.html They start out really tiny in the beginning of the season, but even later in the season they are still quite tender.
Thank you! With 65 days to maturity I still have enough time to plant. 🙂
By the way, I have also used them for making dilly beans and they are perfection!!
Would this recipe change at all with green beans that are already blanched and frozen?
Thanks so much for asking Brianna. Sadly yes it would. The freezing of the green beans breaks their cell structure so it makes it so that they are too limp and watery for this type of recipe. Frozen green beans tend to do better texture wise in soups and casseroles.
Thank you for sharing the delicious recipe. It was wonderful!
I’m so glad you enjoyed the green beans Jennifer!
I blanch my green beans first. These are so yummy!!
Thank you Patti! Have a great day!
I love a fresh crunchy green bean as a side. The color is gorgeous and the simplicity of this recipe is great because it allows for creativity in other ingredients you may want to add.
So simple but so yummy!
Thanks so much Jennifer. I love simple yet yummy recipes- aren’t they the best!
I think when it comes to fresh veggies, simple preparation is the best way to bring out flavour!
I totally agree Carolyn!
It seems like you had a very enjoyable and relaxing time! These green beans look amazing. I have a fridge full of fresh green beans so I may have to give your recipe a try tonight!
That’s great to hear that you’ll be trying these Kendra! Enjoy!