These delicious sauteed green beans are cooked in butter and seasoned with garlic and crushed red peppers.
This easy recipe is ready in just 20 minutes. The only caveat? Don't overcook the beans! You want them tender-crisp.
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 green beans with bacon, roasted green beans, green beans almondine, and Chinese green beans.
I especially like this easy recipe for sauteed green beans. It's ready fast, and I love its tender-crisp texture and buttery flavor. The crushed red pepper adds a nice touch visually and in terms of flavor.
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Ingredients
You'll only need a few ingredients to make this recipe. 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 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 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.
- During the last 1-2 minutes of cooking, stir in small chunks of cooked pork jowl.
- Sometimes, I sprinkle bacon bits or grated parmesan on the finished dish. In the photo below, I sprinkle them with parmesan.
Instructions
The detailed for making this recipe instructions are included in the recipe card below. Here are the basic steps:
Start by cooking the beans, seasoned with salt, in butter over medium-high heat for about 5 minutes.
Add the remaining ingredients (black pepper, garlic, and crushed red peppers).
Keep cooking until the beans are tender-crisp, about 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.
Expert Tip
Regardless of how you cook green beans, the most important thing 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 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 and your pan.
Recipe FAQs
Blanching is a cooking technique in which a food item is briefly cooked in boiling water and then plunged into ice water to stop the cooking process. I use this technique when making green beans almondine.
However, hurried and pressed for time most nights, I am not a fan of multi-step recipes. So, in this recipe, I don't blanch the beans before sauteing them, and I don't think it makes a big difference in the final outcome.
I don't recommend that. Canned ones would be a hard no. They are already cooked and tend to be limp, brownish, and lifeless. But I also don't recommend using frozen beans in this recipe. For best results, please use fresh beans.
This is up to you! You can cut them in half before cooking them, as shown in the photo below, or leave them whole. 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
Sauteed green beans are a versatile side dish that goes with anything. I often serve them with one of the following main dishes:
- Sweet and sour meatballs
- Pesto chicken or pesto shrimp
- Barbecue beef stew
- Chicken patties
- Pulled chicken
- Fish stew
- Seared tuna
Last week, I served them with broiled scallops:
And tonight, I served them with pan-fried salmon:
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! It's kind of like antipasti. Sometimes, I chop them up and add them cold to a salad. They make a colorful addition to this tomato salad.
More Green Bean Recipes
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Recipe Card
Sautéed Green Beans with Butter and Garlic
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 pound fresh green beans - ends trimmed
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon fresh garlic - minced
- ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes
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 red pepper flakes.
- Continue to cook, stirring often, for about 5 more minutes, until the beans are tender but not mushy. Serve immediately.
Video
Notes
- The most important thing is to avoid overcooking the beans. You want them tender, but they should still have a bite - much like "al dente" when cooking spaghetti. You definitely don't want them mushy or droopy.
- Whether you cut the beans in half or leave them whole is up to you. Both work.
- 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.
Nutrition per Serving
Disclaimers
Cup measurements refer to the standard American cup, which is 240 milliliters. Most of my recipes are low-carb (or keto) and gluten-free, but some are not. Please verify that a recipe fits your needs before using it. Recommended and linked products are not guaranteed to be gluten-free. Nutrition info is approximate, and the carb count excludes non-nutritive sweeteners. Nutrition info may contain errors, so please verify it independently. Recipes may contain errors, so please use your common sense when following them. Please read these Terms of Use carefully before using any of my recipes.
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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