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!
One of my new favorite recipes – I’ve made this at least twice a week (with green beans or asparagus) since I found it.
Oh! I must try it with asparagus. I have been doing frozen mixed veggies in the same manner this spring while I am waiting for everything to green up. But fresh local asparagus will be here soon and I will give it a go. Thanks for the recommendation. And happy cooking!
Super easy to make and SO much flavor. I was really impressed and am already looking forward to making them again soon!
Thank you so much Christin. I am glad you liked the recipe. I appreciate the fact that you came back to leave a rating and review. That is so helpful!
I gave up, too much text.
I provide jump links in several places throughout my articles for expert chefs such as yourself who can skip over details about the recipe. Feel free to use them in the future to skip the bothersome text. Love your neighbor B.
You did not invent these methods for cooking green beans (“My dad came up with this cooking technique “). My grandmother cooked them the same way her entire life and she was born in the 1920s. A good variation is to add thinly sliced and course chopped red onion and/or cabbage…something I “came up with”. 😉
Dearest Frizzy Cook. I had a prof in college who claimed to have “invented” a technique in the ceramic studio- a craft almost as old as cooking! And it used to make me so mad. Eventually, I guess after seeing how many real problems there are in the world, I realized that his saying that he invented something wasn’t really worth getting upset about. Love your neighbor.
Not a single cast iron pan in the pics although author says that’s what she what she always uses.
You got me. Love your neighbor Big B.
The green beans are amazing and the fragrance is also good. The instruction is very clear even for the new beginner.
Thank you!
We absolutely loved these green beans. I have cooked green beans using a skillet but the simple seasoning and the steaming at the end really made this recipe a standout. Thanks!
I am happy to hear you like them cooked this way. Thank you for the review Kate!
My new Thanksgiving skillet green beans. So easy and nice bright green and so tasty. Beans are a favorite summer crop and I like to keep them simple and fresh. No mushroom soup gravy, please.
Everyone mentioned how good they are- a big thumbs up, thank you!
Thank you, Nancy. I really appreciate the kind words.
In step 5 where you add the salt and stir, I have found and like, that a dash or two of Lee&Perrins sauce adds a flavor that inhances your great recipe. Try it, you might agree.
Sounds great and thanks for the tip!
Wanted a green bean recipe to go with a sole almondine, thought I’d try this one. Turned out well, except for one thing: while cooking them I started coughing – a lot – and then my wife who was in the next room also started coughing, a lot. We figured it could only be the red pepper flakes releasing some of their “heat” into the air. Only other time I’ve coughed like that while cooking was while doing a blackened fish, but that was due to the smoke. So just a warning to others, be careful with the red pepper flakes. We love the “heat” but I learned a lesson and from now on will put add the red pepper flakes at the end, AFTER cooking, to get the spice but without the cough. LOL … Aside, the green beans tasted good and went well with the sole and basmati rice.
I am sorry to hear that happened. If you have a fume hood that helps a lot! I am glad that you liked them regardless and that your meal was a good one. I always appreciate feedback, so thank you Michael.
How would you recommend preparing this the day ahead and reheating? Thanks!
Darlene, I thought I responded to this but it looks like I forgot. I am sorry! Here is a link to my make ahead green beans: https://www.healthyseasonalrecipes.com/orange-ginger-green-beans/ I think that would be a better option for you to use that method. You can use the same basic principle of blanching, shocking etc. Then to reheat sear them with the garlic and pepper. They won’t need quite as long- just heat them through.
Love the taste of these beans as well as the lovely fragrance in our home. It’s fun and quick to pick green beans off our vines for this.
I am so glad you found this recipe. I grow green beans in the summer too and it is one of my favorite ways to prepare them. Thank you for the review and rating!
Great way to cook beans. If it matters, I used yellow beans but I’m sure the process is no different. I love that they’re a little charred and taste garlicky
Thanks for mentioning that you used yellow wax beans. You’re absolutely right, it is the same process. Thanks for coming back to report. I am so glad you like them!
It’s so hard to find a great recipe online. Last one like this told me to stick it in the oven. Burned the garlic and dried the beans. NO GOOD. This came out perfect. Did it just like you said. (cooked them a little longer than suggested but that’s all preference. I always make them too hard (so just to be on the safe side) but I watch and try every 2 min after instructed. But yes, amazing. Nice golden, soft garlic, steamed lovely. It was great. I now have a folder for the “best of” recipes on my desktop. P.S. I have a carrot cake/cupcake recipe that will BLOW YOUR MIND if you want gain a few lbs and don’t care lol e-mail me back I’ll share it with you. Thanks for this recipe.
Roasting veggies with garlic can be tricky so I believe it! I am glad this one was a good one for you. Thank you so much for the five-star rating and review. Lol about the carrot cake! Send it my way! I have a healthy carrot cake here on the site. We can swap. Anyway, thanks for coming back to rate and review Alexandra and enjoy your weekend.
Great instructions for a newbie, simple to make and tastes yummy, in not much time at all. And best of all, not much mess or washing up!
Gotta love a recipe that is easy to clean up after! Lol! So glad you enjoyed this. Thank you for letting me know how it came out! Cheers.