Garlic Green Beans

These simple green beans are sautéed in a garlic infused butter and seriously couldn’t be any more delicious! The perfect side dish for just about everything.

These green beans are such an easy go-to when you’re looking to complete a meal. Plus they couldn’t be easier to make! Follow me…

Preparing Green Beans

Do you need to trim green beans?

The great thing about green beans is they’re fairly low maintenance. Most stores will sell trimmed green beans, so I recommend grabbing them if you can. If not, don’t panic. To be honest, it’s only the very long bits at the end you’ll need to trim. As you can see in the photos, a little tip won’t harm you, unless it’s fairly firm and scraggly, in which case just trim it off.

If you want to fully trim the green beans, just evenly line them up and slice off the very ends.

Should you blanch green beans before cooking?

To get the party started I always boil the beans until they just begin to soften, before combining with the garlic butter. This will help tenderize them. Just pop the beans in boiling water with a heavy pinch of salt for a few mins until fork tender.

Can I steam them instead?

You can also steam the beans too if you’d prefer. I just find they fit better in a large pot than they do in a steaming basket.

Garlic Butter Green Beans

Alrighty, here’s where things get good.

Garlic Butter

To make the garlic butter I always start with unsalted butter. Not a deal breaker if you’ve got salted, but it just gives you a little more control over the seasoning if you’re using unsalted butter, especially if you’ve parboiled the beans in salted water. With regards to the garlic, I like slicing a clove up into very thin strips. This way you’ll end with mini garlic chips that are golden and crispy. I don’t recommend using pre-chopped garlic – it’s usually kept in a brine which makes the garlic sour.

Browned Butter

You may also find the butter starts turning a deeper shade of brown. In contrast to the garlic, this is actually a desirable thing. Browning the butter adds a gorgeous nutty flavour!

How to make Garlic Green Beans (quick summary)

1. Melt butter into a large pan over medium heat.
2. Add garlic slices and stir until they begin to brown.
3. Add parboiled green beans and toss until fully coated.

Garlic Green Beans FAQ

How do I prevent the garlic from burning?

Just be vigilant with the garlic as it will go from golden and crispy to brown and bitter very quickly. You want it tinged golden before you add the beans, then it will carry on cooking very slightly as you toss. If you see the garlic browning too quickly, just take the pan off the heat and turn the heat to a low.

What texture should the beans be?

Personally, I like my green beans with a little ‘bite’ to them. Slightly al dente even. This is completely down to preference, but if they are still a little firm for your liking after you’ve coated them in garlic butter, just lower the temp and let them fry for a few more mins to soften.

Can I make these ahead of time?

I don’t recommend fully cooking then reheating them, just because the butter can turn greasy upon reheating. But, you can still blanch the beans, rinse then cool and store in the fridge. You can then toss in the garlic butter to heat through.

Garlic Green Beans

What can I serve garlic green beans with?

• Great as part of a Roast Dinner.
• As part of a quick & easy Dinner (i.e Honey Garlic Pork Chops or Garlic Butter Chicken).
• As part of a Hearty Dinner such as Cottage Pie (or Shepherd’s Pie)

Alrighty, let’s tuck into the full recipe for these garlic green beans shall we?!

How to make Garlic Green Beans (Full Recipe & Video)

5 from 5 votes

Garlic Green Beans

By: Chris Collins

These simple green beans are sautéed in a garlic infused butter and seriously couldn't be any more delicious! The perfect side dish for just about everything.

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 7 minutes mins

Total: 12 minutes mins

Servings: 6

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Equipment

• Pot & Colander
• Large Frying Pan
• Pasta Tongs
• Sharp Knife and Chopping Board

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 14oz / 400g Green Beans, trimmed as necessary
• ▢ 3 cloves of Garlic, very thinly sliced into strips
• ▢ 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
• ▢ Salt & Black Pepper

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Instructions 

• Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a hefty pinch of salt. Add the beans and boil until they just begin to soften, around 4mins. They will continue to cook in the pan, so make sure they're not overcooked at this point. Drain, rinse in cold water and shake off excess water.
• Meanwhile, melt your butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add in your garlic slices and fry until they just begin to tinge golden. If they brown too quickly take the pan off the heat and turn to low. The garlic will go from golden crispy to burnt and bitter very quickly, so just be careful.
• Add your green beans and toss for a couple of mins until fully coated and hot again. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, give a final toss then serve whilst still hot!

Video

Notes

a) Trimmed Green Beans - Most stores will have pre-trimmed beans, but if you've got regular ones I recommend lining them up and slicing the very tips off. I tend to only discard the very long bits, too much fuss to get rid of every tip!

b) Tenderness - As you can see by the video, I like my beans pretty firm, with a 'bite' to them. Nothing worse than soggy green beans (IMO). But just work to preference, if they're still too firm after you've coated them in butter just switch the heat to low and sauté for a few more minutes until they soften to your preference.

c) Brown Butter - You may notice the butter start to turn brown. This is actually desirable, as it will turn into a gorgeous nutty flavour. So fear not.

d) Steaming - Feel free to steam the beans instead of boiling them. I just often find there's too many to fit on a steaming basket. Up to you!

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Nutrition

Calories: 57kcal | Carbohydrates: 5.11g | Protein: 1.35g | Fat: 3.99g | Saturated Fat: 2.466g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.223g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1.002g | Trans Fat: 0.155g | Cholesterol: 10mg | Sodium: 35mg | Potassium: 147mg | Fiber: 1.8g | Sugar: 2.17g | Vitamin A: 575IU | Vitamin C: 8.5mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 0.71mg

Looking for more?

You’ll find plenty more delicious comfort food like this in my Debut Cookbook ‘Comfy’

Hey, whilst you’re here why not check out my other recipes?

Easy side dishes

• Dauphinoise Potatoes
• Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots
• Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese
• Roasted Baby Potatoes
• Cheesy Baked Asparagus

If you loved this Garlic Green Beans recipe be sure to pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!