The best Recipe for Garlicky Green Beans is made with fresh green beans, olive oil, and garlic salt and takes just 5 minutes from start to finish!
You know how when you make something easy that everyone in your family likes, you want to make it all the time? Well, as a dietitian, this is one of those recipes for me. It's probably tied with roasted asparagus for our 'favorite side dish' award! 🤩
Sautéed green beans seasoned with a small amount of olive oil and garlic salt make the perfect side dish for busy weeknights because it's an easy recipe that can be served with pretty much anything. And, as a bonus, this is the kind of recipe that can be in your regular rotation year-round!
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- 3-Ingredient Recipe That's right, just three simple ingredients! Green beans, garlic salt, and a little bit of olive oil are all it takes.
- Quick and Easy Side Dish Side Dish Ready in just 5 minutes! Using garlic salt instead of fresh garlic in this recipe saves time without sacrificing taste. Trust me on this one 😉
- Kid-approved My kids love this green bean recipe so much that they start snacking on them before dinner is served.
- Vegan This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.
Dietitian Mom Tips
Tip 1 Blanching vegetables is an easy meal-prep method that can save a lot of time when cooking. Still, when blanching vegetables ahead of time, it's important to shock them by placing the cooked vegetables in an ice bath immediately after boiling them.
I mostly do this with green beans and broccoli in bulk. This way I can have already prepped green beans and broccoli ready to season and serve as a side, add to a stir fry, add to a veggie platter, use to make a green bean salad, or even green bean casserole.
Remember not to overcook the green beans, though. They only need to boil for one to two minutes, depending on how much crunch you want from the vegetables.
Tip 2 If you prefer lots of garlic flavor without overdoing it on salt, you could sauté the green beans in a large skillet over medium-high heat with a small amount of olive oil, sauteed garlic, and just a pinch of salt instead of using garlic salt.
While I do love cooking with fresh garlic, I realize that not everyone keeps garlic cloves on hand. So, when my daughter took over making green beans and chose to use garlic salt, I figured if making it easier is what it takes to get families to eat more veggies, then I'm all in!
Recipe Variations
While we love the recipe as is, here are a few simple ways you can try to change it up.
- Add a pinch of black pepper.
- Add a pinch of red pepper flakes.
- Top them with a sprinkle of sesame seeds.
- Top the green beans with a small amount of parmesan cheese.
- For a nutty flavor, try adding sliced almonds or chopped toasted walnut pieces.
Ingredient Notes
- Green Beans Also known as haricots verts. Can use regular green beans or French green beans. I prefer to use regular green beans because the tips of French green beans are often a little hard to chew.
- Olive Oil I use extra-virgin olive oil. Avocado oil, vegetable oil or a little butter can be used instead.
- Garlic Salt I like to use the garlic salt grinder from Trader Joe's.
How to Make Garlicky Green Beans
Here is a very brief summary of the steps to make garlicky green beans. For the complete recipe with a full list of ingredients and specific instructions, scroll down to the recipe card below.
- Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 2 minutes. Drain.
- Return green beans to the pot. Reduce to medium heat.
- Toss green beans with olive oil and salt.
- Serve and enjoy!
Helpful Tips
- Do not overcook the green beans.
- Blanching green beans gives them a beautiful green color.
- If you prefer a little crunch from your green beans, blanch the green beans an extra minute or minute and a half to soften them more.
- If you prefer the flavor of fresh garlic and have a few extra minutes, you can sauté fresh minced garlic for about two minutes, until fragrant, then toss it in with the green beans and sea salt instead of using garlic salt.
- Green beans can be blanched ahead of time. If blanching green beans ahead of time, place the blanched green beans directly in ice-cold water to 'shock' them. This will prevent them from continuing to soften from the heat they hold on to.
- In my experience, it is not necessary to place the green beans in ice water before sautéing them if you will be sauteing them immediately after blanching them.
- Store leftover sauteed green beans refrigerated in an airtight container.
What to Serve with Green Beans
I'm not exaggerating when I say that this green bean recipe goes with pretty much anything!
Questions You May Have
From what I understand, if there are a just a few brown spots they should be safe to eat. Brown spots on green beans are a sign that they are old, so if they have a lot of brown spots, it's better not to eat them.
Personally, if the green beans have a nice green color but have few brown spots, I just cut the spots off before cooking them.
You don't "need" to blanch them, but I highly recommend doing so because blanching softens the green beans which makes them easier to eat.
I have never salted the water when blanching green beans. Some people say salting the water will increase the flavor of the green beans, which may be true. I just don't find it necessary because my kids like this recipe the way it is 🙂
You can use frozen green beans, but the texture will be slightly different. Either let them defrost fully and skip the blanching step or put the frozen green beans directly into boiling water for about a minute or two before draining and sautéing.
Related Recipes
- Air Fryer Broccoli Parmesan
- Roasted Asparagus and Carrots
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Fries
- Air Fryer Sweet Potato Chunks
More Side Dish Recipes
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📖 Recipe
Recipe for Garlicky Green Beans
Ingredients
- 12 oz Green beans fresh green beans, washed. Ends trimmed.
- 1½ tsp Olive oil extra virgin
- ¼ teaspoon garlic salt
Instructions
- Fill a medium saucepan half way with water and bring to a boil.
- Carefully add green beans to the boiling water. Boil for no more than 2 minutes.
- Drain the water then return the green beans to the pot and reduce heat to medium.
- Drizzle green beans with olive oil. Add garlic salt. Toss to coat.
- Serve and enjoy!
Notes
- Do not overcook the green beans.
- If you prefer a little crunch from your green beans, blanch the green beans for one or one and a half minutes instead.
- If you prefer the flavor of fresh garlic and have a few extra minutes, you can sauté fresh minced garlic for about two minutes, until fragrant, then toss it in with the green beans and sea salt instead of using garlic salt.
- Green beans can be blanched ahead of time. If blanching green beans ahead of time, place the blanched green beans directly in ice water to 'shock' them. This will prevent them from continuing to soften from the heat they hold on to.
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