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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:
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.
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.
Avoid overcrowding. I recommend using your largest skillet so that the green beans are in as even a layer as possible.
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.
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!
2 tablespoons avocado oil (or any neutral high-heat oil), divided
1 pound French green beans (haricot verts), trimmed
4 large cloves garlic, minced
3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
freshly-ground black pepper
lemon wedges for serving, optional
Instructions
Sauté:Heat 1 ½ tablespoons oil in a large nonstick sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the green beans and toss to coat. Cook for about 7-8 minutes – tossing every few minutes (wait until the bottom layer is lightly browned and blistered between tosses) until the green beans are softened and evenly blistered. Add the garlic, salt, your desired amount of black pepper and the remaining ½ tablespoon olive oil. Continue to cook, tossing frequently so that the garlic does not burn, for about 1-2 more minutes or until the garlic is lightly golden. Remove pan from heat.
Season.Taste and season with additional salt and pepper if needed.
Serve.Serve immediately, topped with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice if desired, and enjoy!
I make fozen green beans often and we love them. However, we dislike charred vegetables so I don’t do that. Otherwise, this is a great recipe. Thank you.
What is it with this ubiquitous “sea salt and fresh ground black pepper” !!? Just use your regular salt and black pepper. Sooo sick of this marketing nonsense too sound important.🙄
Hi Mark! Definitely not marketing nonsense. I much prefer the flavor of sea salt to iodized table salt and the more robust flavor (and controlled texture) of black pepper that has been freshly ground. It’s very important to me to provide thorough info so that readers’ recipes turn out well and ingredients/money are not wasted. So thus…the detailed description.
Delicious! I’ve sautéed green beans before but never charred them. This is my new favorite way to eat them. Appreciate the attention to detail re: salt. Having made vegetables with iodized salt, kosher salt and sea salt, the difference is significant. Thanks for always providing delicious, easy, recipes! Your site is my go to :)
Hey, I’m Ali!
My favorite thing in life is time spent around the table. And all the better with some seriously tasty food to bring us all together. more about me »
I make fozen green beans often and we love them. However, we dislike charred vegetables so I don’t do that. Otherwise, this is a great recipe. Thank you.
What is it with this ubiquitous “sea salt and fresh ground black pepper” !!? Just use your regular salt and black pepper. Sooo sick of this marketing nonsense too sound important.🙄
Hi Mark! Definitely not marketing nonsense. I much prefer the flavor of sea salt to iodized table salt and the more robust flavor (and controlled texture) of black pepper that has been freshly ground. It’s very important to me to provide thorough info so that readers’ recipes turn out well and ingredients/money are not wasted. So thus…the detailed description.
Delicious! I’ve sautéed green beans before but never charred them. This is my new favorite way to eat them. Appreciate the attention to detail re: salt. Having made vegetables with iodized salt, kosher salt and sea salt, the difference is significant. Thanks for always providing delicious, easy, recipes! Your site is my go to :)