These Garlic Parmesan Green Beans are the perfect side dish for a weeknight meal or a special holiday dinner. Ready in minutes, these green beans are boiled to crisp-tender, sautéed with a delicious garlic butter seasoning, and finished with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Can’t get your kids to eat green beans? Try this garlicky-buttery-salty-cheesy recipe for green beans for a new family favorite!
What we love about these Garlic Parmesan String Beans
The first thing I love about these green beans is that my kids eat them. Due to the boiling/water bath/sautéeing process, the beans have a great texture, and the garlic butter, seasoning, and Parmesan add incredible flavor. You could honestly snack on them; they are so good! There are no soggy, stringy, overcooked green beans here.
The brief boiling of the green beans gets them just crisp-tender, and the water bath keeps them from overcooking. During busy days cooking, especially holiday times, I like to boil these the night or day before serving, and then I will sauté them with the garlic butter, seasoning, and Parmesan right before serving. They are easy to prepare, require very little attention, and are delicious!
Looking for other recipes for Easter? Try our Spinach Bacon Quiche or our Marmalade Glazed Ham.
What you need to make Parmesan Green Beans
You will need the following ingredients:
- Green beans
- Butter
- Garlic
- Kosher salt
- Coarsely ground black pepper
- Parmesan
Garlic Sautéed Green Beans Substitutions
I know what it’s like when you don’t have everything on hand, and the last thing you want to do is run to the store and pick something up. Here are a few ideas to substitute items on the ingredients list if needed:
- You could substitute a different vegetable, like broccoli or asparagus.
- You could use olive oil in place of the butter or a combination of the two.
- You could use a different kind of cheese, like Pecorino Romano, Provolone, mozzarella, feta, or goat cheese.
Step-by-step Instructions
Step 1. In a large pot, bring enough water to boil to cover the green beans. Add the beans and boil for 6-8 minutes or until crisp-tender. Drain the beans in a colander and add the beans to a large bowl filled with ice water.
Step 2. In a large saute pan, over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic, stirring to cook the garlic for one minute. Add the beans, salt, and pepper.
Step 3. Cook the beans for an additional 2-3 minutes, using tongs to toss the beans with the seasonings, adding the Parmesan in the last minute of cooking.
Tips
In the recipe instructions, I instruct to blanch (or briefly boil) the string beans and then submerge them in an ice bath before sautéing them with garlic butter in a skillet. This process helps to keep the beans crisp-tender and colorful instead of overcooked or soggy by sautéing only. The blanching preserves the bright green color and texture of the bean, and the ice bath stops the cooking so they don’t overcook. Sometimes after the ice bath, I will refrigerate the beans overnight or until later in the day when I sautéthem right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
| How to store Garlic Parmesan Green Beans? |
| To store leftovers, refrigerate within two hours of cooking in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. You can freeze leftover beans for up to 6 months. Uncooked green beans should be stored in a plastic bag, unwashed, and can last for up to a week in the fridge. If you wash them, they will spoil faster. |
| What to serve with Garlic Parmesan String Beans? |
| Garlic Parmesan String Beans are a great side for a holiday ham, turkey, or roast, but they are also an excellent side dish for a weekday dinner. From favorite casseroles to main dish proteins like lamb, chicken, fish, or beef, green beans complement most savory dishes. |
| How to reheat green beans? |
| You can reheat green beans over the stovetop on medium-low, adding a bit of extra butter if desired, or in the microwave at 30 second intervals until warm. |
Garlic Parmesan String Beans
6
servings10
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minutesThese Garlic Parmesan Green Beans are the perfect side dish for a weeknight meal or a special holiday dinner. Ready in minutes, these green beans are boiled to crisp-tender, sautéed with a delicious garlic butter seasoning, and finished with a sprinkle of Parmesan. Can’t get your kids to eat green beans? Try this garlic-buttery-salty-cheesy recipe for green beans for a new family favorite!
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds green beans, washed and trimmed (see recipe note after recipe on trimming)
3 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon minced garlic (about 3 cloves)
½ teaspoon kosher salt (or other coarse salt)
¼ teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Directions
- In a large pot, bring enough water to boil to cover the green beans. Add beans and boil for 6-8 minutes or until crisp-tender.
- Drain beans in a colander and add the beans to a large bowl filled with ice water. The ice bath keeps the beans from over cooking and keeps their bright green color.
- Once chilled, drain well. You can refrigerate the beans, covered, up to overnight, or continue with preparation if serving immediately.
- In a large skillet, over medium heat, melt butter and add garlic, stirring to cook the garlic for one minute (keep a careful eye on the garlic so it doesn’t burn).
- Add the beans, salt, and pepper. Cook the beans for an additional 2-3 minutes, using tongs to toss the beans with the seasonings, adding the Parmesan in the last minute of cooking. Toss beans frequently to prevent garlic from burning. (If the beans have been refrigerated, make sure beans are heated through and cook another minute if needed).
- Serve immediately.
Notes
- When trimming green beans, always trim the top of the green bean (the stem end that was attached to the plant). This is sometimes called “topping” the beans. Trimming the bottom end is more of an aesthetic choice. I personally think it looks nicer to keep the bottom end on. However, if you have kids or family that don’t like the bottom end on, trim both ends of the beans.
- To prepare beans for cooking, wash them and pat dry with a paper towel. Line them up for easier trimming and cut off the stem end (and tail end if desired). If you prefer shorter lengths, you can trim the beans into smaller sections as well.
- After the beans have been blanched and placed in the ice bath, you can refrigerate the beans up to overnight to finish cooking with the garlic butter right before serving, if desired.
Big fan of green beans, thanks for sharing such a delicious recipe!
Thanks Abi! We love these garlic butter green beans! Happy to share, thanks for the feedback!
These are so fresh and delicious! Perfect side dish for Easter! They are definitely on my menu:)
Thanks Tina! I am so glad you like them! They are perfect for holiday dinners or a weeknight meal. Let me know if you try it!
These were awesome – perfectly cooked and a nice snap to them! Thank you so much for the recipe.
I am so glad you enjoyed the green beans! We love them for weeknight meals and special occasions. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and provide feedback!
Wow! this is how you make green beans actually exciting!
LOL, thank you! These green beans are such a great side dish for so many meals. So glad you like them, thanks for the great review!
Just harvested a ton of green beans from my garden so it was the perfect time to try this recipe. Love how simple it was!
I love that you used fresh green beans from your garden to make this recipe! I am so glad you enjoyed it, thanks for taking the time to stop by and let me know!