Best Garlic Green Beans

These Best Garlic Green Beans are our favorite way to make green beans! Just green beans, garlic, and shallots for a quick and delicious dish.

This Garlic Green Beans recipe is also quick and easy, making a healthy and tasty side to your dinner in minutes. 

Why you will love this recipe?

Green beans prepared this way are simply delicious – tender, but firm, garlicky, and with a hint of roasted flavor. They are also very easy and quick to make as they only take about 20 minutes, so you can have them on your dinner table in no time!

Plus, green beans are a healthy ingredient, packed with fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants, all good for you and your gut.

If you can find them in your local store, do give this recipe a try. I am not a bean-lover (I am a picky eater), but even I love eating these garlic green beans!

Garlic Green Beans Ingredients

To make these Garlic Green Beans you will need only:

• green beans – also called french beans or string beans. Choose healthy and firm green beans that are not soggy.
• shallots – we recommend shallots instead of onions in this recipe, as they will turn slightly charred and caramelized and just perfect while not adding an overpowering onion taste to the dish
• garlic – we usually use about 4 cloves in this recipe, but if you really like garlic, feel free to use more!
• salt and pepper
• some vegetable oil

How to make the Best Garlic Green Beans

Start by prepping the green beans – cut the edges off the green beans, then wash and dry them. If the beans are very long, cut them in half or bite-sized pieces.

Bring a pot of water to a boil, then season the water with salt and add the green beans. Let cook for about 3-5 minutes, until the beans are fork-tender, but still have a bite to them. Drain the cooked beans and immediately cool them down by running cold water over them, or placing them in a bowl filled with iced water to stop the cooking. This is called blanching and will keep the beans a vibrant green color and perfect in texture.

Once your beans are blanched and drained, proceed to pan-roasting them.

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan, add the sliced shallots and cook until they soften and start to brown. Stir in the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant.

Then, add the blanched green beans, season with salt and pepper, and stir to combine. Let them cook, stirring often, until softened and slightly charred, about 5-10 minutes.

Once your beans are lightly charred and cooked, they are done and ready to serve!

Serving suggestions

We love eating these garlic green beans as a side to some lentil loaf or lentil meatballs. These green beans are neutral in flavor and go with almost anything! 

Storage tips

These garlic green beans can be refrigerated for 3 to 5 days. Reheat in the microwave or on the stovetop before serving.

You can freeze these beans for up to 3 months, but freezing will change the texture of the beans so we do not recommend it. If you must, make the first half of the recipe – cook the beans in salted water, then immediately cool them off and drain them. Freeze, then when ready to use, thaw in the fridge overnight before pan-roasting.