Garlic and Butter Green Beans

A plate of garlic green beans with a striped towel, garlic bulbs and parsley in the background.

Garlic and Butter Green Beans

These garlic and butter green beans are easy enough for weeknight dinner but special enough to serve for holiday meals as well! It's a family favorite recipe that is sure to be your go-to vegetable side dish!

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Diet Gluten Free, Low Calorie, Low Fat, Low Salt

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 15

Total Time 25

Servings servings

Calories 51kcal

Author Jessy Freimann

Equipment

Ingredients

1 pound fresh green beans, cleaned and trimmed
3 Tablespoons salted butter (you can halve it with olive oil if you want to make it a bit healthier)
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, minced or pressed
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
½ teaspoon Kosher salt, to taste
¼ teaspoon Ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Blanch the green beans for around 7 minutes and drain well. Run under cold water to stop cooking.
In a sauté pan, melt the butter over medium-high heat.
Add the garlic and saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring frequently until fragrant.
Add the beans and sauté for 2 minutes to bring to heat.
Season with salt and pepper to taste and stir in fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Video

Notes

This recipe is at its absolute best with fresh green beans- That said, frozen will work in a pinch — just skip the blanching and add them directly to the pan. I really don't recommend using canned as they're already super soft. But if that's all you have, drain well and cook just long enough to warm them up.

Blanching green beans first helps speed up the sautéing process later- Make sure you run them under cold water immediately after (or plunge them into an ice bath) to stop the cooking process until you continue them in the saute pan. That way, you'll end up with the perfect tender crisp texture we all love.

Sauté fresh garlic in butter and garlic for a couple of minutes before adding the veggies. That extra time allows the delicious flavor to develop and eliminates the harsh bite of raw garlic.

When you season with salt and pepper, start with a small amount and taste it as you go so that these buttery garlic green beans are seasoned to your liking.

Don't skip the parsley! Seriously, it's the secret ingredient that makes Nanou's garlic green beans the best!

Ingredients to prep ahead- Trim and blanch the green beans. Peel the garlic.

Leftovers and storage- Garlic green beans will last for 3-4 days covered in the refrigerator. Reheat in the microwave or on the stove until warmed through.

Nutrition