This is the best green beans recipe I have ever encountered! Garden fresh green beans sizzled in a hot skillet of garlicky, buttered, toasted almonds become the star of the dinner table! No blanching required!
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These green beans are a favourite that our daughter-in-law often cooks for us when we visit. In fact, as I now cook them myself, the aroma reminds me of happy times in their house!
Green beans are great with Easter ham or Thanksgiving turkey.
It only takes a few minutes to wash the beans and snip the ends off, but you can do that ahead of time. Then, this becomes a very quick and easy side dish to serve with beef, chicken, or pork.
Ingredients
- Green Beans - You need fresh green beans for this recipe. Use local ones when you can.
- Butter - I use salted butter. If you use unsalted, just add a little more salt at the end.
- Almonds - Sliced almonds look nice, but there's no reason not to use slivered ones. Just use whichever is available.
- Garlic - Chop up about 3 cloves of peeled, fresh garlic until it's about the size you see in the photo above.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions for Skillet Green Beans
Wash the beans, remove the end that was attached to the stem, and let them drain in a colander while you start the butter and almonds.
Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds, and stir them constantly until they're nicely browned.
Add the olive oil, beans, and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the beans just begin to char.
Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and some red chilli flakes, it you like. This dish is best served right away.
Hint: You'll have great beans in no time, but keep a close eye on them. It's okay for them to become a little charred, but don't let them burn too much!
Recipe FAQ's
Garlic, butter, olive oil, salt, and pepper all impart great flavour to green beans. For a little more kick, add some red chilli flakes.
You don't need to blanch green beans before sautéing. They take on a nice tender-crisp quality when you sauté them. If you want them to be softer, add just a little water to the skillet with the beans. They will steam for a minute while the water evaporates.
Yes, I have made this recipe with frozen beans. The whole green beans with only the ends cut off are the nicest. There's no need to thaw them ahead of time. Just run some cold water over them in a colander to keep them separate. Shake off the water and toss the beans into the hot pan. The cooking time won't be much longer than with fresh beans, since frozen ones have already been blanched.
Instant Pot Green Beans
The best way to cook green beans in your Instant Pot, is to set the Instant Pot to Sauté and follow this recipe. Honestly, I love my Instant Pot, but you don't need the Pressure setting to cook green beans! I find that even on "0 minutes" of pressure cooking, they're overdone and mushy.
Substitutions
To make this dish suitable for dairy free and vegan diets, replace the butter with the same amount of olive oil.
Variations
Add or decrease the spice level of this green bean recipe by adjusting the level of red chilli flakes. For no heat at all, just leave them out.
Equipment
Any heavy skillet works for this recipe, but I like to use my cast iron skillet.
Storage
Store any leftover Sautéed Green Beans in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days.
Reheat leftovers briefly in a skillet again.
Or, chop up cold, leftover beans and add them to a salad.
Top tip
As always with fresh produce simply prepared, quality is key. For maximum flavour and nutrition, use the freshest greens that are available to you.
What to Serve with Sautéed Green Beans
Recipe
Skillet Green Beans with Almonds
Equipment
- 1 heavy-bottomed skillet
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons butter
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 12 ounces fresh green beans
- salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
- red pepper flakes optional
Instructions
- Wash the beans and trim off the end that was attached to the stem. This is easy to do if you line them up on a cutting board, a few at a time. Leave them in a colander while you brown the almonds.12 ounces fresh green beans
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the almonds, stirring them constantly until nicely browned.2 tablespoons butter¼ cup sliced almonds
- Add olive oil, beans, and garlic. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until the beans just begin to char. They should be tender-crisp. (See note below if you want them softer.)2 tablespoons olive oil12 ounces fresh green beans3 cloves garlic
- Add salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes (if using), and serve.salt and freshly ground pepperred pepper flakes
Notes
- Nice, fresh green beans always taste best.
- While any heavy-bottomed skilled will work for this recipe, I prefer to use my cast iron skillet.
- If you would like them to be a little softer, add a tablespoon or two of water to the pan when you add the beans. The water will steam the beans while it evaporates.
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