These sauteed green beans are cooked in butter and seasoned with garlic and crushed red peppers.
It's an easy recipe, ready in just 20 minutes. The only caveat? Don't overcook the green beans! You want them tender-crisp.
I often make dinner with two vegetable sides, foregoing the starch. So I'm always on the lookout for tasty and easy-to-make vegetable recipes that would keep things interesting for my family.
I've been making this tasty side dish often. Green beans are delicious, and they are one of the few vegetables that all of us can agree on - grownups and young picky eaters alike.
So I make them often! I make boiled green beans, roasted green beans, green beans almondine, Chinese green beans, spicy green beans, and green bean casserole.
I especially like this easy recipe for sauteed green beans. It's ready fast, and I love its tender-crisp texture and buttery flavor.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few ingredients to make this tasty side dish. Here's an overview - scroll down to the recipe card for exact measurements.
- Unsalted butter: I love using creamy European butter, but any butter will be great.
- Fresh string beans: I like to use medium-thickness beans in this recipe.
- Salt and pepper: Freshly ground black pepper tastes best.
- Minced garlic: Mince it yourself, or use the stuff that comes in a jar. Both work, although freshly minced tastes better.
- Crushed red pepper: It doesn't make the dish spicy - it merely adds an interesting layer of flavor.
Variations
- You can use ghee or olive oil instead of butter. I still prefer butter, but the other options are also good.
- If you don't have fresh garlic on hand, it's fine to use ½ teaspoon of garlic powder. I've done it many times.
- Sometimes I sprinkle bacon bits or dry-grated parmesan on the finished dish.
- During the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, stir in small chunks of cooked pork jowl.
Sauteed Green Beans Instructions
The detailed instructions are included in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps for making this recipe:
- You start by cooking the beans in butter over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes. (Photo 1).
- Next, add the remaining ingredients (salt, black pepper, garlic, and crushed red peppers). (Photos 2-3).
- Keep cooking until the beans are tender-crisp, about 5 more minutes. Serve immediately. (Photo 4).
Expert Tip
Regardless of how you choose to cook green beans, the most important thing, in my opinion, is to avoid overcooking them.
You want them to be tender. But they should still have a bite - much like "al dente" when cooking spaghetti.
You definitely don't want them to be mushy or droopy. On the other hand, you certainly don't want them too crunchy!
In my experience, sauteing them for about 10 minutes over medium-high heat is perfect.
But you'll need to double-check in your kitchen. Because as you know, cooking equipment varies greatly, and this includes your cooking range as well as your pan.
Recipe FAQs
Blanching is a cooking technique in which a food item is briefly cooked in boiling water, then plunged into iced water to stop the cooking process.
I suppose in an ideal world you should. But we don't live in an ideal world. Hurried and pressed for time most nights, I am not a fan of multi-step recipes.
So no, I don't blanch them before sauteing, and I don't think it makes a big difference in the final outcome.
I don't recommend that. Canned green beans would be a hard no. They are already cooked, and they tend to be limp, brownish, and lifeless.
But I also don't recommend using frozen green beans in this recipe. For best results, please use fresh beans.
This is up to you! You can cut them in half prior to cooking them, as shown in the photos on this page. Or you can leave them whole, as I do in the video, shown below in the recipe card. Both work.
Yes. Also known as yellow beans, wax beans can be used in most recipes that call for green beans, including this one.
Serving Suggestions
This is such a versatile side dish, it goes with anything. I often serve it with one of the following main dishes:
Storing Leftovers
You can keep the leftovers in the fridge, in an airtight container, for 3-4 days. Reheat them gently, in the microwave at 50% power.
They are also good when served cold! Kind of like antipasti. Sometimes I chop them up and add them cold to a salad. They make a great colorful addition to this tomato salad.
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Recipe Card
Sautéed Green Beans
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 lb. fresh green beans ends trimmed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic minced
- ¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper
Instructions
- In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium-high heat.
- When the butter stops foaming, add the green beans and salt.
- Cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes.
- Add the black pepper, garlic, and crushed red peppers.
- Continue to cook, stirring often, for about 5 more minutes, until the beans are tender but not mushy.
Video
Notes
Add Your Own Notes
Nutrition per Serving
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Vered DeLeeuw, LL.M., CNC, has been following a low-carb real-food diet and blogging about it since 2011. She's a Certified Nutrition Coach (NASM-CNC), has taken courses at the Harvard School of Public Health, and has earned a Nutrition and Healthy Living Certificate from Cornell University. Her work has appeared in several major media outlets, including Healthline, HuffPost, Today, Women's Health, Shape, and Country Living. 
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