Sauteed green beans with garlic and Parmesan is the simplest side dish you can make for Thanksgiving dinner. Sauteing green beans brings out all its flavors and with garlic, lemon and Parmesan cheese, it makes it a great compliment to any meal.
No more boring green beans. These sauteed green beans is going to change everything you thought green beans were. Bland, boring beans is taken to a whole new level with these sauteed green beans. It’s flavorful and great side dish for your Thanksgiving dinner.
One of the simplest and most delicious side dish that you can make for Thanksgiving is this sauteed green beans. It’s also the most delicious way to eat beans, especially someone like me who thinks green beans is boring!
When there is luscious butter, garlic, lemon and Parmesan cheese, you can’t go wrong! And the vibrant sauteed green beans looks absolutely gorgeous on your dinner table.
We are not just doing saute, but blanching them first. Blanching gives green beans a perfect texture and fresh flavors. Blanch the beans day before, saute it in butter along with garlic, lemon and Parmesan cheese grated on top the day you want to serve.
So this may be the classic way to serve green beans for Thanksgiving or your day-to-day meals. You can easily add your unique spin to this classic favorite by adding some more flavors to it.
How to make sauteed green beans tastier
For me, this sauteed green beans recipe was just perfect enough. I didn’t find it necessary to add anything more. The flavors, the texture of the green beans is perfect.
But if you are looking at adding that unique spin to this classic favorite, then below are few options you can choose from-
- To our sauteed green beans recipe you can add bacon pieces, some dried cranberries and chopped walnuts. – it’s little sweet, there’s little crunch, and the salty bits of bacon makes it super delicious!
- Add Italian seasoning and some bread crumbs to sauteed green beans recipe mentioned below.
- To the sauteed green beans recipe, add cherry tomatoes for added tart and freshness.
- Sauteed green beans with caramelized onions, and crispy Prosciutto – drool worthy.
- Sauteed green beans with bleu cheese and walnuts.
Ways to cook green beans
4 simple and most obvious ways to cook green beans are
Blanch
Saute
Roast
Steam
And for this sauteed green beans recipe we are using the 2 most favorite methods of cooking – blanch and saute. Only because we want to get the goodness from both the methods.
Helpful Kitchen Tools:
Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic Lemon and Parmesan Step by Step Pictorial
Rinse string beans.
Trim the stem end of the beans leaving the string end as it is. But if you are not a fan of it, you can go ahead and trim both ends.
Boil a big pot of water. Season generously with salt.
Blanch green beans in boiling water until just cooked. About 3 to 5 minutes.
Note : I prefer crunchy beans, so I always cook for 5 minutes or little less. If fully cooked beans is your taste, do cook for additional 2 minutes.
Remove from water and immerse in ice bath immediately to stop cooking the beans. This will retain bright green color of the beans.
Once cooled drain it off and keep aside.
Melt butter in a skillet.
Saute garlic until browned.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Throw in the blanched green beans.
Toss and cook for 3 mintues.
Add lemon juice, toss well.
Turn off the stove. Toss to coat well.
Transfer to a plate. Grate Parmesan cheese and zest of one lemon. Serve immediately.
Ways to serve sauteed green beans
Serve these vibrant gorgeous green beans with
Baked chicken
Thanksgiving whole turkey roast along with our popular Instant Pot garlic herb roast potato
With meat loaf
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? I got some more amazing Thanksgiving main and Thanksgiving sides recipes for you guys, go check them out too.
Homemade Instant Pot Cranberry Sauce
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Sauteed Green Beans with Garlic and Parmesan
Ingredients
- 1 pounds fresh green beans we are using string beans
- 8-10 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 ½ tablespoon lemon juice
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 10 grams unsalted butter
- ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
- 1 lemon zest
Instructions
- Rinse green beans in water. Remove it onto a plate.
- Trim off the stem edge of the beans. I did not trim both the ends, I left thin string side. It’s edible to eat and leaving it on the beans makes it look beautiful. With tender and crispy beans, the string ends wont really bother you. But if you are not a fan, go ahead and trim both ends.
- Bring about 5 qt water to boil. When water starts boiling, add kosher salt (to taste) into boiling water.
- Add all the green beans into the boiling water. Blanch it for about 3 to 5 minutes. We do not want to over cook beans. It needs to be just cooked/blanched but still have that crunch.Note : I like crunchy beans so always cook to the point it has that crunch but cooked (not fully cooked). Cook longer if you prefer fully cooked beans. Start with cooking for 7 to 9 minutes. Check if it's cooked. Cook longer if needed.
- Remove blanched beans immediately into ice bath and let it cool completely. Drain if off and keep aside.
- Melt butter in a skillet.
- Add minced garlic and cook stirring until golden brown. This step is important. Do not rush to add the blanched green beans into skillet. Wait until garlic is golden brown. Browning garlic ensures maximum flavors of the garlic in the dish. Don't rush this step.
- Next add salt and pepper to taste.
- Throw in the blanched green beans into skillet. Toss well to ensure all the beans are coated with butter and seasoning. Toss and cook for 3 minutes. We want to have green beans cooked and still have that crunch.
- Add lemon juice. Turn off stove. Toss the skillet to coat sautéed green beans.
- Transfer beans onto serving plate.
- Grate Parmesan cheese and zest of 1 lemon over sautéed green beans.
- Serve immediately as sides for Thanksgiving dinner.
Video
Notes
- Fresh organic tender beans are best choice. Cooks beautifully with amazing texture.
- Trim both the ends of the beans.
- While you can skip blanching step and saute green beans directly in a skillet, blanching ensure the texture of the beans is preserved and it's gorgeous bright green color as well. If using frozen beans, skip blanching step.
- All the prep work - trimming ends of the beans, blanching (blanch, remove from hot water immerse in ice cold water, dry it on paper towel) can be done in advance. Do the prep, store in tightly packed in fridge for about 2 days. Saute in garlic, butter the day you want to serve.
- Add more spices if you want to enhance it's taste. Add a hint of paprika, or red chili flakes for added heat. Tuck in some fresh herbs like rosemary for more flavors.
- Instead of butter, use oil to make a lighter version.
Gloria
Such an easy to make and delicious side. Perfect for all the holiday dinners. Easy to take along when you have to bring a dish to add to the dinner potluck.
jyothirajesh
Thank you Gloria, It’s a great side dish for Thanksgiving dinner
Elaine Benoit
Jo, these green beans look amazing. I always thought green beans were boring as a child and never really liked eating them. I love that you added lemon and parm!
jyothirajesh
Thank you Elaine, i thought green beans were boring too until I tried this
Aleta
Yes, yes, yes! yes to all the green beans! I am a huge fan, and your recipe looks absolutely delicious. I never thought of adding lemon.. what a great idea! I also love how vibrant your green beans are, not over cooked at all. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try!
jyothirajesh
i’m glad you like green beans Aleta. Thank you and hope you try it
Anna
Green beans are my favourite vegetable, and your version looks totally delicious! Such a perfect side to go with any meal, and so healthy too!
jyothirajesh
Thank you
Nicolas Hortense
Just goes to show that they don’t need much to make them taste good! That combo of garlic, lemon and parmesan sound absolutely amazing! Really nicely done (:
jyothirajesh
Thank you Nicolas
Amanda Mason
I love a simple recipe! And I love the step-by-step instructions! What a great way to add flavor to a basic green bean recipe!!
jyothirajesh
Thank you Amanda
Natalie
Oh yes, this looks so good. i love green beans. I never tried this version with garlic and parmesan, but I definitely will give this a try. I love that flavor combo.
jyothirajesh
Thank you Natalie
Tammy
Blanching is a step I don’t always remember but I need to! It just brings out the bright beautiful color of the green beans. This is such a wonderful side! ^_^
jyothirajesh
Thank you Tammy
Les
I honestly never get sick of green beans. It’s my go to side for any and every dinner dish!
jyothirajesh
Thank you
David
You get such a nice bright green color with your method! I usually just steam green beans, I need to try this…not to mention the garlic + parm!
jyothirajesh
Thank you David
Carrie Ditton
Such a wonderful and flavorful side dish recipe! I love the ease of this recipe! I’ll be making this soon!
jyothirajesh
Thank you Carrie
Sam | Ahead of Thyme
Yum, these green beans look amazing! I am loving all the flavour combos in this dish! Pinning to make sometime in the next week!
jyothirajesh
Thank you