Garlic Butter Green Beans
Published Dec 19, 2022
Updated Nov 04, 2024
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These Garlic Butter Green Beans are the best green beans I ever had! Garlicky, buttery, with soft vibrant green, green beans. A sprinkling of lemon juice at the end really takes these green beans over the top!
Looking for an easy AND tasty recipe to make with green beans? This recipe for Garlic Butter Green Beans in one to have in your back pocket!
I love my recipe-testing job because I am the principal beneficiary of my own recipes. I must confess, I have never liked green beans. But working on this recipe was completely life-changing because I made green beans I could eat AND totally enjoy!
Just like my Sauteed Vegetables, these sauteed green beans with garlic butter make a great side dish. Serve it for the holidays together with my Baked Turkey Wings and Garlic Butter Rolls, and you’ll have everyone going for seconds and thirds!
Table of Contents
Why This Recipe Works
- You can’t go wrong with garlic butter! I am an advocate for garlic butter anything. It’s the combination that takes Pan Seared Ribeye Steak and Pan Seared Pork Chops over the top! Garlic Butter makes foods taste better whether they are vegetables or meats. Facts.
- Vibrant presentation: We eat with our eyes first, right? This recipe teaches you how to make vibrant green-looking green beans. No sad-looking brown green beans here!
- Super tasty: Again, it’s the garlic butter. Super heavy on garlickyness and butteriness. And that’s not a bad thing!
Ingredients Needed
With just a few ingredients, you have amazing Garlic Butter Green Beans. Here is what you need:
- Fresh green beans: Start with green beans that are at their peak of freshness. It is important to start with fresh vegetables when making recipes like this.
- Baking soda: Not included in the ingredients picture above but baking soda is an important ingredient here which ensures that the green beans maintain a vibrant green picture as they cook.
- Salt and pepper: Green beans with adequate salt and pepper taste way better than green beans that are not adequately seasoned. So your good ole S and P make such a difference.
- Butter: Because this is garlic butter green beans. The butter adds so much flavor which you won’t get from just using oil.
- Minced garlic: This is where most of the flavor comes from. I use enough garlic here to take the green beans over the top.
See the recipe card below for quantities of each ingredient.
Substitutions and Variations
Consider this recipe a guide that you could use to make a green bean side dish that is uniquely yours. Here are some substitutions and variations you could try.
- Shallots – not a fan of garlic? dice some shallots and saute them in place of the garlic. You could also use shallots in addition to the garlic.
- Mushrooms – saute some mushrooms just before adding the green beans for more vegetables and texture.
- Bacon – add some cooked and crumbled bacon to the garlic butter green beans for some crunch and flavor.
- Fried onions – consider topping the green beans with some fried onions before serving.
- Oil – instead of butter consider using a neutral-tasting oil like olive oil. This is particularly useful if you are taking the green beans to a potluck as the butter could coagulate when the beans are cold.
Instructions
Here are process shots showing you how to make this recipe from start to finish:
1. Cut the stem ends of the green beans.
2. Bring a pot of water to a boil, add salt and baking soda then add in the green beans and let it cook for 5 minutes.
3. Drain the green beans using a colander.
4. Melt butter in a skillet and saute some garlic.
5. Add the green beans to the skillet and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Turn off the heat then sprinkle a little lemon juice over the green beans.
Hint: You could cut the green beans in half before cooking if you prefer that.
Top tip
Adding baking soda to boiling water before adding the green beans prevents the beans from turning brown as they cook. The baking soda also helps soften the beans so they are not stringy.
Recipe FAQs
Garlic, salt, and pepper add great flavor to green beans. A little sprinkling of lemon juice over green beans once they are done cooking really brightens the green beans, taking them over the top. Other ingredients you could add to green beans for more flavor include mushrooms (for umami), bacon, and onions.
Season green beans with salt and pepper. For even more flavor, consider adding bouillon powder to your green beans.
You can mix green beans with vegetables like carrots, potatoes, squash, fennel, and bell peppers. You could also mix green beans with protein like chicken, fish, beef, and
What To Serve It With
These green beans can be served with so many dishes. Here are some dishes that go well with green beans:
Also serve it with:
- Herb Roasted Chicken
- Pan Seared Shrimp
- Pan Seared Chicken Tenders
- Garlic Butter Tilapia
- Lemon Butter Salmon
- Pan Seared Lamb Chops
- Roasted Turkey Thighs
- Buttermilk Mashed Potatoes
Hope you enjoy this garlic butter green beans recipe as much as we do. If you make this recipe, please consider leaving a comment and a star rating below.
Garlic Butter Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 Tablespoon minced garlic
- Salt and pepper
- ½ Tablespoon lemon juice
Instructions
- Prepare green beans. Place the green beans on a chopping board with both ends aligned. Use a knife to chop both stem ends of the green beans. Check the beans for any ones that still have the stem ends on then chop those as well.
- Blanche green beans: In a medium pot, bring 8 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add in two teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Add the prepared green beans to the boiling water and let it cook for 5 minutes.
- Drain green beans: Immediately drain the green beans through a colander.
- Make garlic butter green beans: Add the butter to a large skillet on medium heat. Let it melt. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds. Add the green beans to the pan and toss ensuring that the garlic butter coats the green beans. Let the green beans cook together with the garlic butter for 2 minutes while tossing from time to time. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.
- Add lemon juice: Sprinkle the lemon juice over the green beans.
- Serve: Serve warm, garnished with some lemon zest if desired.
Madam pls in your recipe you dont use measurement that is bad for a caterer
Hi Obinna, did you see the recipe at the bottom of the post? Did you see the “Jump to Recipe” button at the top of the post? If you were going to leave a distasteful comment, you should have at least taken time to go through the post. Have a great day.