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Need an easy side dish that everyone will love? These garlic parmesan green beans are it! Sautéed green beans tossed in delicious garlic butter and parmesan… what’s not to love? They come together in just 15 minutes and are SO GOOD!
3 Reasons I Love These Sautéed Green Beans
- They are SO delicious! Green beans don’t have to be boring! These are tender-crisp, sautéed in garlic butter and tossed with parmesan. This is the type of veggie side dish that people go back for seconds of (even the kids tend to gobble them up!).
- They’re quick and easy. Ready in just 15 minutes! I love an easy side dish.
- Perfect for weeknights AND holidays! Need a veggie side dish for a random Tuesday night? These work. Cooking a special holiday meal? They work for that too! Add them to your Thanksgiving side dishes or Easter dinner ideas or serve them alongside your Christmas dinner. Basically, these garlic butter and parmesan green beans are a great veggie side whenever you need one!
Ingredient Notes
Here’s what you’ll need to make these garlic parmesan green beans:
Detailed ingredient list and directions located in the recipe card below.
- Green Beans: Fresh is definitely best here! Look for green beans that look firm and fresh… not sad, floppy ones.
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter both work great. You could also swap in ghee if you prefer.
- Garlic: I like to grate the garlic with a microplane zester. So quick and easy!
- Parmesan: Use freshly grated parmesan.
- Nutmeg: Totally optional but I really love a little nutmeg with green beans – it just adds that extra something. I prefer whole nutmeg because it’s incredibly fragrant when freshly grated. Just grab a fine grater to grate a touch directly over the green beans. However, you could also use a pinch of ground nutmeg instead.
- Salt and Pepper: Season with sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.
QUICK TIP
How To Prep Green Beans
First things first, give those green beans a little trim! You’ll want to remove the stem ends (unless you bought them already trimmed). The easiest way to do this is to grab a handful, line them up with the stem ends facing the same direction and slice them off with a knife. Repeat with the remaining green beans and you’re ready to cook!
How To Make Garlic Butter Green Beans
These are super easy to make! It’s a simple 3-step process: blanch the green beans, sauté them in garlic butter and toss with parmesan. Add some optional garnishes if you like and you’re ready to serve!
Step 1: Blanch the green beans
Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Add 1 pound (454 grams) of green beans to the boiling water and cook for about 2-3 minutes, just until they’re tender-crisp.
Use tongs or a slotted spoon to transfer the green beans straight into the ice water bath. This stops the cooking process to help keep them nice and crisp. Once they’ve cooled, drain well and set aside.
Step 2: Sauté in garlic butter
Melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add 4 cloves of minced garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds).
Add the green beans and toss everything together for a couple of minutes until the green beans are heated through and evenly coated in garlic butter. Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
Step 3: Toss with parmesan
Take the pan off the heat and sprinkle over ¼ cup of freshly grated parmesan. Give everything a good toss and then add any of the optional garnishes listed below if you like.
And that’s it! Serve these garlic parmesan green beans right away and watch them disappear.
Garnish Ideas
The garnishes are optional but highly recommended! They add a little extra flavor and texture and make these green beans look extra pretty on the table. Pick one or pick a few, depending on what you’re feeling. Some delicious options:
- Parmesan shavings
- Toasted pine nuts
- Toasted slivered or sliced almonds
- Chopped pistachios
- Lemon zest
- Chili flakes
- Crispy bacon bits or prosciutto
- Crispy onions, fried shallots or fried garlic chips
- Fresh chopped parsley
- Crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese
Make Ahead Tip
Get a Head Start
You can blanch the green beans ahead of time and store them in the fridge in a container lined with paper towel. When you’re ready to serve, simply sauté them in the garlic butter and toss with parmesan and you’re done in a few minutes! I use this little trick all the time, especially for holiday meals!
What To Serve Them With
These easy 15-minute green beans are the perfect side for just about any meal! Pair them with your favorite protein for a simple weeknight dinner or add them to your holiday menu for a veggie side everyone will love. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
FAQ
Yup! They’re one and the same. Green beans used to have tough, fibrous “strings” running down the length of the pod, similar to snap peas. However, modern green bean varieties no longer have these strings, although you may still find them in some heirloom varieties.
My favorite way is the blanch and sauté method. Blanching first gives the green beans that perfect tender-crisp texture and keeps them nice and vibrant. Then you sauté them with lots of flavor – in this case, garlic butter and parmesan. Add your favorite toppings and you’ve got green beans that are seriously delicious!
If you’re prepping ahead, blanched green beans can be stored in the fridge for 3 to 5 days. Leftovers of the finished dish can also be refrigerated for a few days. Just reheat gently so you don’t lose that tender-crisp texture.
More Vegetable Side Dishes
Eat your veggies! Here are a few more delicious cooked vegetable sides:
Did you make these garlic butter green beans? I would love to hear about it! Please leave me a comment below.
Garlic Butter Green Beans
- Prep Time: 5 min
- Cook Time: 10 min
- Total Time: 15 min
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: American
Description
Need an easy side dish that everyone will love? These garlic parmesan green beans are it! Sautéed green beans tossed in delicious garlic butter and parmesan… what’s not to love? They come together in just 15 minutes and are SO GOOD!
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed (454 g)
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- pinch of nutmeg
- sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan
- Optional toppings (see notes for garnish ideas)
Instructions
- Blanch the green beans: Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil and fill a large bowl with ice water. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for about 2-3 minutes, just until they’re tender-crisp. Transfer immediately to the ice water bath with tongs or a slotted spoon to stop the cooking process and keep them vibrant green. Once they’ve cooled, drain well and set aside.
- Sauté in garlic butter: Melt the butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add the minced garlic and stir until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add the green beans and toss everything together for a couple of minutes until the green beans are heated through and evenly coated in garlic butter. Season to taste with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a pinch of nutmeg.
- Toss with parmesan: Take the pan off the heat, sprinkle over the parmesan and give everything a good toss. Add any of the optional garnishes (found in the notes section below) and serve right away.
Notes
- Butter: Salted or unsalted butter both work great. You could also swap in ghee if you prefer.
- Nutmeg: Totally optional but I really love a little nutmeg with green beans – it just adds that extra something. I prefer whole nutmeg because it’s incredibly fragrant when freshly grated. Just grab a fine grater to grate a touch directly over the green beans. However, you could also use a pinch of ground nutmeg instead.
- Garnish Ideas: The garnishes are optional but highly recommended! They add a little extra flavor and texture and make these green beans look extra pretty on the table. Pick one or pick a few, depending on what you’re feeling. Some delicious options include: Parmesan shavings, toasted pine nuts or sliced almonds, chopped pistachios, lemon zest, chili flakes, crispy bacon bits or prosciutto, fresh chopped parsley, crumbled goat cheese or blue cheese, crispy onions, fried shallots or fried garlic chips.
- Get a Head Start: You can blanch the green beans ahead of time and store them in the fridge in a container lined with paper towel. When you’re ready to serve, simply sauté them in the garlic butter and toss with parmesan and you’re done in a few minutes! I use this little trick all the time, especially for holiday meals!
Recipe originally posted November 2020, but updated to include new photos and information.
Great simple side – and I’m so glad you mentioned nutmeg! I had forgotten how nicely nutmeg works with green beans. I have to say, I’m quite partial to the pine nuts as well. Cheer!
Nutmeg just adds something special to cooked green veggies of any sort!
wow i love this simple tasty bean recipes
So easy yet so good!
These are my kind of green beans. Yum!
Glad you love them!
I love the idea of topping with pine nuts and Parmesan shavings…the flavor combination is delicious!
I agree! It is one of my favourite flavour combos! Not only are pine nuts and Parmesan shavings delicious on these green beans but also amazing on salads, pasta, risotto and more!
This was a hit! I used your make-ahead technique and blanched the beans when I got home with my groceries then made them with dinner the next day. Super easy and we both enjoyed having a new side dish. Thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed it!
Green beans have become a new favourite side dish at our place. I really like how you blancehd them first. I know I should do this, but end up too lazy!!! They look so much better in the end and I bet are crisper. I’m trying your way next time! Thanks for sharing.
Whenever I skip the blanching, I kind of regret it after since they just don’t have the same satisfying texture. But I totally hear you on being lazy sometimes!