Easy Garlic Green Beans | 15 Minute Side Dish

These Easy Garlic Green Beans make the perfect crunchy, garlicky side dish that’s ready in just 15 mins! Vegan & Gluten-Free.

These Easy Garlic Green Beans are so delicious and easy to make! This simple side dish is the perfect way to highlight the fresh flavors of tender green beans. Ready in just 15 minutes using only 3 ingredients, plus a dash of salt and pepper 😊 

CRUNCHY, GARLICKY GOODNESS!

What better way to celebrate in-season green beans than letting their flavors take center stage? For this recipe, every bite of crisp, tender green bean gets coated in a garlic-infused olive oil and sprinkled with a pinch of salt and pepper – classic, simple, and most importantly, delicious. 

While green beans are available year-round at most grocery stores, their true season runs midsummer through early autumn–around May through October. Green beans are incredibly powerful plants that can flourish in a limited amount of space and produce beans just two months after being planted, so if you have room to grow your own plant at home, you’ll definitely reap the benefits of it! Whether you pick your green beans straight from your garden or buy them fresh from the store, this recipe will be delicious.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR EASY GARLIC GREEN BEANS

This 15-minute recipe is made with simple, fresh ingredients that are budget-friendly and easy to find at most local grocers. Crunchy green beans get sautéed, steamed, then sautéed again to tender perfection in a spicy garlic-infused olive oil, then sprinkled with salt and black pepper for the perfect side dish. Don’t be fooled by the simple ingredients – these Easy Garlic Green Beans are incredibly flavorful! The special cooking technique of pan-frying, steaming, then pan-frying a final time creates perfectly cooked green beans with a crisp, garlicky exterior and a soft, tender inside.

If you’d like to add more to this recipe, you can up the crunch with a handful or two of nuts like almonds, walnuts, or pine nuts. You could also finish yours with a fresh squeeze of lemon juice and maybe a sprinkle of vegan parmesan cheese. There aren’t many ingredients to swap out in this recipe, but if you’d prefer to use vegan butter instead of olive oil, you can infuse the garlic into the butter the same way you would the olive oil to create a delicious garlic butter.

HOW TO MAKE EASY GARLIC GREEN BEANS

1. Warm your oil, sauté the garlic, add the green beans and salt and pepper, then toss to coat.
2. Add water to the pan and cover to steam. 
3. Uncover and continue to sauté to your liking. Enjoy warm. 

CAITLIN’S COOKING TIPS

• Warm your oil properly: Make sure you allow your oil to warm in the pan with the lid on before adding the garlic – this way all of the flavors of the garlic will infuse into the oil properly.
• Use warm water: Be sure to add warm water to the pan instead of cold when you’re steaming the green beans. This helps the green beans cook faster (and it won’t damage the lining of your nonstick pan if you are cooking with one!).
• Use fresh garlic and black pepper: Trust me on this one – this recipe only has a few ingredients, so use freshly minced garlic and freshly ground black pepper for the best and most pronounced flavor!

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Serve these garlicky green beans with practically any main! Dress things up and serve them alongside meaty Portabello Steaks with Peppercorn Sauce and Dijon Roasted Potatoes for a fancy date night or dinner with friends and family. Or keep things casual and serve them for stress-free weeknights with hearty proteins like my Easy Baked Tempeh or Garlic Ranch Tofu and Vegetables and more cozy sides like fluffy cornbread, creamy pasta salad, or lemony orzo.

If you’re looking for more easy-to-make side dish recipes that go with anything, you’ll love these Balsamic Marinated Mushrooms, this Tomato Cucumber Basil Salad, and these Crispy Romesco Smashed Potatoes!

FAQ:

• Can I make this with frozen or canned green beans? Frozen green beans are already pre-cooked, so the texture won’t be exactly the same, but you can cook them in this the same way! I would not recommend using canned green beans, as they will be much more soft and full of liquid, so again, the texture will be very different–but you can try using them and omitting the steaming step.
• How to make green beans more flavorful: The cooking method we discussed earlier (sautée, steam, sautée) really helps infuse the crunchy beans with all of the flavors you’re cooking with. In this case, we’re letting the buttery, spicy flavors of garlic and olive oil infuse into every bite of our green beans with this special cooking method. Bland green beans? Never heard of them!
• Why are fresh green beans hard and tough? Because many of us (myself included!) grew up eating green beans from a can, the crunchier texture of fresh green beans can be somewhat of a surprise at first, but don’t worry–because we’re steaming these green beans during the cooking process, they’ll be tender and juicy on the inside, with the perfect garlicky crunch on the outside 😊
• How should I store the leftovers? These green beans are best served fresh as they will start to wilt in the fridge, but if you have leftovers, they can be stored for up to 3 days in the fridge in a sealed container. Just reheat them over the stove or in the microwave when you’re ready to dig in.

Enjoy! If you make this recipe and decide to share it on Facebook or Instagram, don’t forget to tag me @FromMyBowl + #FromMyBowl! I would also love it if you could leave a comment below with a recipe rating! Thank you for the support 😊

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