These simple green beans are sautéed in a garlic infused butter and seriously couldn’t be any more delicious! The perfect side dish for just about everything.
Preparing Green Beans
The great thing about green beans is they’re fairly low maintenance. Most stores will sell trimmed green beans, so I recommend grabbing them if you can. If not, don’t panic. To be honest, it’s only the very long bits at the end you’ll need to trim. As you can see in the photos, a little tip won’t harm you.
If you want to fully trim the green beans, just evenly line them up and slice off the very ends.
Parboiling
To get the party started I always boil the beans until just about fork tender, before combining with the garlic butter. Just pop the beans in cold water with a heavy pinch of salt and bring to the boil for a few mins until fork tender. You can also steam the beans too if you’d prefer.
Garlic Butter Green Beans
Alrighty, here’s where things get good.
To make the garlic butter I always start off with unsalted butter. Not a deal breaker if you’ve got salted, but it just gives you a little more control over the seasoning if you’re using unsalted butter, especially if you’ve parboiled them in salted water.
With regards to the garlic, I like slicing a clove up into very thin strips. This way you’ll end with mini garlic chips that are golden and crispy.
How to make Garlic Green Beans (quick summary)
- Melt butter into a large pan over medium heat.
- Add garlic slices and stir until they begin to brown.
- Add parboiled green beans and toss until full coated.
You may also find the butter starts turning a deeper shade of brown. In contrast to the garlic, this is actually a desirable thing. Browning the butter adds a gorgeous nutty flavour!
Personally I like my green beans with a little ‘bite’ to them. Slightly al dente even. This is completely down to preference, but if they are still a little firm for your liking after you’ve coating in garlic butter, just lower the temp and let them fry for a few more mins to soften.
Garlic Green Beans
Easy side dishes
- Dauphinoise Potatoes
- Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots
- Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese
- Roasted Baby Potatoes
- Cheesy Baked Asparagus
Alrighty, let’s tuck into this garlic green beans recipe shall we?!
How to make Garlic Green Beans (Full Recipe & Video)
Garlic Green Beans
Equipment:
- Pot
- Large Frying Pan
- Pasta Tongs
- Sharp Knife and Chopping Board
Ingredients (check list):
- 14oz / 400g Green Beans (preferably trimmed)
- 3 cloves of Garlic, very thinly sliced into strips
- 2 tbsp Unsalted Butter
- Salt & Black Pepper
Instructions:
- Pop your green beans in a large pot of cold water and add a heavy pinch of salt. Bring to a boil until the beans are just about fork tender. They will continue to cook in the pan, so make sure they're not overcooked at this point. Drain when ready.
- Meanwhile, melt your butter in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add in your garlic slices and allow to crisp up slightly. If they brown too quickly take the pan off the heat and turn to low. The garlic will go from golden crispy to burnt and bitter very quickly, so just be careful.
- Add your green beans and toss until fully coated. Season with a good pinch of salt and pepper, give a final toss then serve whilst still hot!
Quick 1 min demo!
Notes:
Nutrition:
If you loved this Garlic Green Beans recipe be sure to pin it for later! Already made it or got a burning question? Give me a shout in the comments and pick up your free ecookbook along the way!
