Garlic Green Beans – Gimme Some Oven

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These perfectly-blistered, tender, garlic green beans are easy to make and so flavorful!

We’re big French green beans fans here in our home. Like, blaze-through-a-Costco-sized-bag-nearly-once-a-week kind of fans. They’re my go-to, favorite green veggies to cook up as a quick side dish. And while we reguarly rotate between cooking them in the oven, air fryer and on the stovetop, it’s hard to beat a basic batch of perfectly-blistered green beans made in a skillet. ♡

This is the version I make most often —  a batch of French green beans (also called haricots verts) sautéed simply with a few cloves of garlic, sea salt, lots of freshly-ground black pepper, and finished with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. We prefer cooking our green beans until they’re nice and blistered on all sides, so that you get that extra hint of caramelized, charred flavor in every bite. I’ve included all of my best tips below to ensure that the garlic doesn’t burn and the green beans retain their crisp, tender texture while charred, so be sure to read the notes before you begin. And of course, feel free to incorporate any other add-ins that might sound good too, such as a sprinkling of Parmesan, toasted nuts, bacon bits, chili crisp, or whatever else might sound good.

This recipe is one of those simple side dishes that’s perfect for everything from quick weeknight dinners to a grand Thanksgiving feast. So the next time you’re craving green beans, grab your skillet and let’s make a quick batch together!

Garlic Green Beans Ingredients

Here are a few quick notes about the ingredients you will need to make these skillet green beans:

• French green beans: These slender, tender green beans (haricots verts) have the loveliest, slightly-sweet flavor and are perfect for blistering in a skillet.
• Garlic: I love using lots of garlic in this recipe — very finely minced or pressed, so that the chunks aren’t too big — but feel free to use however much or little garlic that you prefer.
• Avocado oil: I recommend using a neutral high-heat oil for charring, such as avocado oil or grapeseed oil, which won’t burn and smoke quite as much as extra virgin olive oil.
• Salt and pepper: Fine sea salt (you could also use flaky sea salt for finishing) and freshly-ground black pepper are essential for seasoning the green beans. Be sure to give them a taste before serving and add extra if needed!
• Lemon wedges: Finally, I love serving skillet green beans with fresh lemon wedges, which add a burst of acidic, bright flavor to balance out the sweetness of the green beans.

Recipe Tips

Detailed instructions are included in the recipe below, but here are 5 extra tips to keep in mind when making sautéed green beans in the skillet:

1. Preheat the skillet. Make sure that the skillet is fully preheated over medium-high heat so that the green beans begin cooking immediately once they hit the pan.
2. Dry the green beans. Most packages of French green beans that you purchase at the store don’t need to be pre-washed nowadays. But if your batch seems like it needs a quick rinse, be sure to dry the green beans thoroughly before tossing them with oil so that they will char and not just steam.
3. Avoid overcrowding. I recommend using your largest skillet so that the green beans are in as even a layer as possible.
4. Stir occasionally. Super important — don’t stir or toss the green beans too often! It’s important for them to rest undisturbed for a minute or two between stirs so that they can blister on the bottom of the pan, which adds that delicious charred, caramelized layer of flavor to each bite.
5. Serve immediately. Blistered green beans can lose their crisp texture the longer they sit out, so it’s best to serve them while they’re still hot fresh out of the pan!

Recipe Variations

Here are a few fun twists that you’re welcome to try with this blistered green beans recipe:

• Add Parmesan: Add a shower of freshly-grated Parmesan to the green beans once they have finished cooking.
• Add chili crisp: Drizzle chili crisp on the green beans just before serving.
• Add bacon: Sauté diced bacon along with the green beans (you can omit the extra oil and cook them in the bacon grease).
• Add nuts: Toss the green beans with toasted almonds or pine nuts just before serving.

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes To Try!

Looking for more vegetable side dish recipes to try? Here are a few of our favorites!

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