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 loved this recipe! loved your instructions, made it so easy to understand what steps to do to make perfect cooked green beans!! trying not to always take the easy way out by buying frozen and after making these i will not go back-thank-you so much
Your recipe is similar to the way I cook green beans every night. Fortunately, my kids love to eat vegetables.
That’s great! Thank you!
Now I know how I’m going to make green beans from now on! Even my veggie adverse husband ate his portion. Simple to do and a punch of flavor! Easy to scale down or up depending on numbers of servings.
That’s wonderful news Ruthie! Yay! Have a great holiday season.
the ad keeps playing. can’t watch your video. your recipe is awesome… my daughter and I enjoy it very much. 🙂
I have added julienned carrot and red pepper for colourful fun!
Thanks for letting me know. Did you hit the report ad button? Unfortunately I can’t tell which one is misbehaving since different ads play all the time. Do you remember what it was about? I can report it to my ad network. Thanks for the feedback about the green beans too! Yay!
Unnecessarily unkind and childish.
What a clear, well written recipe. Your responses are an example of how to respond with grace and wit – especially to comments which have neither.
Aw thanks Linda! I appreciate it. Have a great week.
Ok watch it at the end.. I let it cook longer than the 1-2 mins while waiting for the rest of the meal to finish cooking. I just didn’t plan it right and it got a little burnt but even than this was Delish! I am totally making this again! Thank you for the easy recipe!
I’m glad that they tasted okay nonetheless. Thanks for coming back to review.
Yum! Made this before and had to come back to look up the recipe since I will be cooking them again tonight! 2 thumbs up!
Thanks so much Lauren and for your five star review. I appreciate it.
Great article
Putting red pepper flakes into the hot oil first causes a disaster of blinding hot smoke that makes it very difficult to breathe and fills the entire apartment. The green beans tasted good eventually (the next day) but I just can’t believe that you gave this direction.
I am so sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with the fumes in your apartment. While I have had an experience with hot fumes making me cough in my lifetime, I have never had that experience with this recipe in particular nor have any readers commented that they have. What temperature was your pan? How long did you cook the pepper? I’m thinking that it may have gotten too hot in the oil. Next time, try adding the pepper flakes, stir once then add in the green beans which should reduce the temperature of the oil enough to prevent the chili oils from vaporizing. I use a fume hood, but if you don’t have one in your apartment you can turn on a fan and open a window. I know you “just can’t believe” I gave this instruction, but in my defence, blooming or toasting chili in oil is a traditional cooking technique across many cooking styles and cultures. I hope that helps. Have a great day Pat.
Made this tonight. It was delicious and easy! Thank you!
Thanks so much Jessica! That’s great!
This is a bad way to do it and you don’t tell people how much water or how long to cook the covered green beans until the last paragraph, I hate this recipe.
Dearest Shally,
Thank you so much for your super kind and thoughtful words. I really appreciate your taking the time to thoughtfully review the recipe. I’d love to point out that the recipe clearly states that you need 2 tablespoons water in the ingredient list. It also clearly states to cook for 1 to 2 minutes in the method. Did you miss the actual recipe? Just so you are aware, there is an recipe card at the bottom of the post that has all of the measurements, instructions, degrees of doneness etc. You can also print it there too. I’m wondering if there is another explanation and I’d love to get to the bottom of this. Thanks for your help.
Love Your Neighbor,
Katie
Hi Katie – I tried this recipe after reading the reviews and it was delicious as stated – thank you!!
Only reason I am commenting is because you response to Shally – WONDERFUL and made me laugh
Hi Rose. Thank you so much. I am so glad you liked them. Have a great rest of your week.
My family is not a fan of green beans, but they looked so good at the farmer’s market, I bought them. This recipe was so simple and delicious. My husband said that he would eat them again. I am going to try your roasted green beans next.
That’s so great! I recommend the green beans with walnuts and balsamic. That is a fan favorite too! (You could sub in another nut if you don’t like walnuts.) Thanks for coming back to review Amy!
Thanks for sharing your recipe! I usually did the same old boring green beans in the steamer with butter and seasoned salt. I cooked just like the recipe and the green beans were DELICIOUS! GB were perfectly cooked and the seasoning was just right. I love vinegar and will probably add a dash of vinegar next time break this gem out in the kitchen.
That’s great! Thank you so much!
Excellent. Cooked to perfection. Flavorful and delicious.
Yes I made this. Except I added onion powder, thyme, sage, and added a little beef broth while slow cooking in olive oil. Turned out great! (Esp. good with BBQ sauce!)
Wow! Thanks So much WIlliam!