Simple Skillet Green Beans
This green beans recipe is a perfect healthy side dish in 15 minutes. All you need is a pile of fresh string beans, one pot, garlic, olive oil and a little spice. That’s it! Sautéed green beans are easy to make and go great with any meal!
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
As a professional recipe developer for 20 years, my #1 goal is to help you get a healthy dinner on the table fast! These green beans are ready in 15 minutes and are my family’s favorite green beans recipe!
I have been making string beans this way since I first learned to cook. My dad stumbled upon this cooking technique, and we loved them so much we have been making them this way ever since. I can always count on this simple method to make everyone happy at any occasion, from weeknight dinners to a holiday meal.
Ingredients For This 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: At the grocery store pick through the pile of green beans 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 green beans, check the expiration date and avoid wet or slimy-looking green beans that are past their prime!
How To Cook Green Beans
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 cook green beans!
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.
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.)
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.
After that step, you can add the garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant, but doesn’t burn.
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.
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
Chef Katie’s Expert Tips And FAQs
Variations To Try
These sauteed green 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.
Storing Leftovers and Reheating
Leftovers: Store leftovers in an airtight container up to three days. Keep refrigerated.
Reheating: We like to reheat them 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.
What To Serve With Green Beans
- For a traditional holiday meal or Sunday Supper pair these skillet green beans 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.
Want More? Check out More Green Bean Recipes below the recipe card or invent your own recipe after reading our chef’s tips in my guide to How To Cook Green Beans!
Simple Veggie Side Dishes To Try
Here are a few easy recipes for vegetable side dishes you may want to try!
Thanks so much for reading! If you are new here, you may want to sign up for my email newsletter to get a free weekly menu plan and the latest recipes right to your inbox. 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
PrintSimple Skillet Green Beans
- 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!
I have made this recipe a few times now. I love it! This may be my new go-to for green beans. So delish, thanks for sharing!!
That’s great news! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
Healthy recipe, easy to make and really good with green beans, my kids loved it, I’m definitely going to try to make this weekend, hope it’ll as good as you do :)). Five stars for you and thanks so much for sharing Katie!
Thank you Monica. Keep in touch and let me know!
Love all the photos you posted. Green bean is my favorite, so I’ll try your recipe and see how it works. Thanks for the post.
Thanks so much! Hope you enjoy them!
Love quick and easy side dishes like these beautiful green beans!
Thank you Lisa! So glad you liked them.
I LOVE how simple and delicious these beans are! My mouth is watering just thinking of making them again 🙂
I am so happy to hear you loved them so much! Thank you Cindy!
These green beans are perfection! Sometimes a simple recipe like this goes a long way! These are so tasty with just about everything!
I am so glad you like them Lauren!
An excellent recipe for sure. The simpler the better with beans. Extra red pepper flakes for me!
I am all in favor of that!
What a great idea for a side! thank you
Hi Noelle. I am so glad you agree. It’s so dang easy, and everyone loves green beans.
I like the adding of red pepper flake. I also usually stir green bean with pork, shrimp.
Hi Tiffany. I am glad you like the red pepper flake. It seems like an after thought, but its important. Love the idea of stir-fried green beans with shrimp and pork! How savory!
I never thought I would find a good recipe that made it so easy! Thank you so much!
So glad you like them Charles!
These sure look good for being so simple and easy! Gotta love green beans and I love what you do with them here. One question, how could you keep the bean brightly green like this?
They stay bright green because they don’t get overcooked. After the point that they are crisp tender the cells start to break down (and soften) and they release acidic compounds (that are also in the cells) and it turns the chlorophyll yellowish army green.
This recipe is delicious, thank you! I am always looking for ways to make veggies palatable and this will be my go-to for green beans from now on.
Thank you Lisa. So psyched to hear it!
My goodness, nothing so simple and so satisfying as this green bean dish. Thanks for sharing!
I just love the gorgeous color of a cooked fresh green bean! The simplicity of this recipe is great because it allows for creativity in other ingredients you may want to add.
Always a great side dish veggie!!