Whip up a side of these quick and easy Sautéed Green Beans with dinner tonight. This recipe works with fresh OR with frozen green beans – a total keeper!
Green beans are one of my favorite vegetable side dishes. They are quick and easy to make, the kids love them… And we usually grow them in the garden, which is an added bonus.
Here I’m sharing how I make sautéed green beans – how to blanch them, how to cook them properly and how to season them to make sure they taste amazing!
Ingredients you’ll need
Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post for quantities!
Ingredient notes
- Green beans: Either use fresh ones, or use frozen. I still blanch frozen ones to flash-defrost them. If you sauté from frozen, they release a lot of water and tend to come out soggy.
- Onion and garlic: If you don’t have these fresh on hand, you can use ½ teaspoon of onion powder and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder instead. I’ve been doing the same lately because of a picky eater, and the beans still taste delicious.
- Mustard: If you’re not a fan of mustard, just leave it out. You can also use prepared mustard instead of wholegrain mustard if you don’t have it.Butter: If you want to make this dairy free or ar otherwise opposed to butter (don’t know why you would be, but to each their own 😉 ), you can just use olive oil instead.
- Extras: Feel free to add chopped bacon for extra flavor and deliciousness. I often do this, but I wanted to keep the recipe as simple and basic as possible. Just cook it together with the onion and garlic. You can also sprinkle fried onions over the top in the end.
Step by step photos
Recipe tips
- Trimming the green beans: If you’re using fresh beans, use kitchen shears to trim them in bunches. So much faster and easier than doing it with a knife!
- Sautéing: Make sure to use medium heat, or the beans will blacken on the outside and stay too firm on the inside.
- Season to taste: Our favorites are a pat of butter, some lemon juice and mustard – but feel free to adjust this according to your taste!
Green bean FAQs
Blanching means you’ll only cook the beans for a couple of minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and place them straight into a bowl filled with ice cold water.
This helps to make the green beans soft without having to sauté them until they are black on the outside. It also helps them keep their nice green color!
But you can sauté green beans without blanching – so just skip it if you’re OK with firmer beans. I don’t mind a bit of crunch, but if you want your beans to be soft all the way, you pretty much have to cook them in salted water first.
This is a matter of preference to me. Personally, I really enjoy them cooked until almost soft, but retaining a crispness and their bright green color.
My husband on the other hand prefers his beans cooked to a very soft stage. The beans turn from bright green to a darker olive green at this point. They can become mushy in texture if over-cooked.
I recommend trying both to figure out which one you like best.
More vegetable side dishes
PS If you try this recipe, please leave a review in the comment section and add a star rating in the recipe card – I appreciate your feedback! Follow along on Pinterest, Facebook or Instagram.
Printable recipe
Easy Sautéed Green Beans
Recipe details
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans trimmed, (OR 1 pound frozen, not defrosted)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- salt & pepper to taste
- ½ tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon mustard (I like whole grain Dijon here) and ½ tablespoon lemon juice; optional
Instructions
- Blanch green beans (see notes):Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the green beans and cook for 2 minutes. Drain and place in a bowl with ice cold water.
- Sauté:Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook until softened. Add the beans, season with salt and pepper and sauté until softened to your taste, about 5 minutes.
- Season:Stir in the butter mustard and lemon juice (if using). Check for seasoning and serve warm.
Notes
Cooking Tips:
Trimming the green beans: If you’re using fresh beans, use kitchen shears to trim them in bunches. So much faster and easier than doing it with a knife! Blanching the green beans: Blanching helps the beans to retain their color. You can sauté green beans without blanching – so just skip it if you’re OK with crisper beans. Sautéing: Make sure to use medium heat, or the beans will blacken on the outside and stay too firm on the inside. Seasoning: Our favorites are a pat of butter, some lemon juice and mustard – but feel free to adjust this according to your taste!Ingredient Notes:
Green beans: Either use fresh ones, or use frozen. I always blanch frozen ones to flash-defrost them. If you sauté from frozen, they release a lot of water and tend to come out soggy. Onion and garlic: If you don’t have these fresh on hand, you can use ½ teaspoon of onion powder and ½ teaspoon of garlic powder instead. Mustard: If you’re not a fan of mustard, just leave it out. Butter: Can just use olive oil instead. Extras: Feel free to add chopped bacon to the garlic and onion for extra flavor and deliciousness. You can also sprinkle fried onions over the top in the end.How to use leftovers:
If you have leftovers after a big holiday meal, just cover and refrigerate the beans for up to 2 days.Nutrition
More recipe information
More holiday dinner ideas
If you’re looking for more holiday dishes, why don’t you browse all of my Thanksgiving Recipes or Christmas Recipes?
I first shared this recipe on 11/20/2018. I updated it on 06/07/2020 to make it better for you.
Joy Bukowy says
Done. Easy to make and tasted great!
Nora says
I’m so glad, Joy!
Mary says
Just a question, Nora. I’m going to make these for Thanksgiving. I would like to add the bacon that you mention. How much, and when do I do that? Drain all the bacon grease? Still use butter? I would appreciate your suggestions. Love the idea of mustard!
Thank you
Mary
Nora says
Mary, I would do about 4oz of bacon per pound of green beans. Brown the bacon until crispy in the skillet before cooking the onion/garlic. Remove the bacon, leaving 1 tablespoon of bacon grease in the skillet (use this in place of the olive oil). Then proceed with the recipe as written, adding the bacon in the end with the mustard. Either use the butter or another tablespoon of bacon grease. I think both would be nice! Hope this helps!
Sandy Bitely says
Delicious. I will definitely make them again.
Dstu says
My son said these are the best green beans he’s ever had!
Nova Hauser says
This green bean recipe turned out good! I was gifted a huge bag of green beans from my mother’s garden and this recipe was a simple and yummy way to use them. I added the lemon, as suggested and passed on the mustard. Easy!
Shirley says
Very tasty” I used scarlet runner beans and French cut them. It was a hit. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
JLA82 says
Absolutely delicious! Definitely worth taking the time to blanch and the flavor with onion, garlic, mustard, lemon, & butter was perfect. I never would have thought to mix all those! Plan to make again and again 🙂
Ami says
Just made this recipe and it was delicious! Loved the addition of the dijion.
Laurie says
Made the green beans exactly as written except for the mustard. Sadly my mustard hating husband can taste the tiniest bit in anything! Lol!! I made with frozen beans from Costco and I literally couldn’t stop eating them. So so so good!
Lady Tamandra says
These were the best fresh green beans that I’ve ever made! The blanching was something I had missed before, and it made a huge difference. The flavors of the mustard and lemon definitely put this over the top!
Patti says
Who knew that mustard in green beans would taste so good! Love this recipe! Thanks!
Sheila Roberts says
I love that you give alternatives like garlic powder instead of fresh, different mustard ok, etc. I wanted to make this but am babysitting & with Covid can’t go to the store, but have all the alternatives on hand! Still delicious- thank you!
mary guion mcbroom says
Love the addition of Dijon. Never would have thought of it. I’m still having trouble getting just the right crispiness. Maybe it’s because I have eaten them southern style more. I do like them better crispy.
Nora says
Mary, I like a crisp to the beans as well, but my husband can’t eat them when they have even a little bit of bite. So, un-crisp beans it is for me. Let me know if you ever find a good technique for crispy beans, I’d make a batch just for myself 😉
Jeanne says
This is my favorite way to prepare fresh green beans now. I use the whole grain mustard and lemon juice and the flavor is great!!
Brandy says
So basic but very good and I’m not a green bean fan. I did the mustard butter on top which took it to a great place.a
Vilma says
Delish!
Kennedy says
These were awesome! Loved all the flavors & that they weren’t soggy. Easy-peasy!
Dozie says
Perfect green beans
Flavorful, quick and easy
Lisa says
Awesome Easy and quick!!!
Mary Williams says
These green beans are so delicious! They would be wonderful with steak, too. ?
Liz says
Great dish, we also had scallops with the green beans yum yum. Thanks
Sandy Lee says
Made today with pork ribs. Absolutely loved them. Husband raved how great they were. Thank you so much.
Susan M Fulton says
Haven’t made yet but sounds great. My suggestion is to steam the green beans. Also when I make potato salad I steam the spuds. Makes for a better potato salad.
Nora Rusev says
Such great tips, Susan! Thank you so much for sharing.
Elizabeth says
I haven’t tried this yet but could I make them in the morning then serve them later in the day? Would they reheat well?
Nora says
Elizabeth, I think that would absolutely work. You could even serve them cold like a green bean salad, but they would reheat well – just do it gently using moderate heat. Steaming or microwaving would probably work best so that they don’t dry out.
Sharon says
I’m very surprised that you boil green beans having a husband chef.Putting them in microwave with 1/4c water you dont loose the nutrients & then put them in ice bath & continue with your great recipe.
Nora says
Sharon, thanks for sharing your thoughts! We chose not to have a microwave in our kitchen, so that option isn’t there for us. But definitely an easy way to prep the beans before continuing with the recipe if you have one! This recipe is actually how my husband prepared green beans in a star-rated European hotel he used to work at back in the day (yes, with the boiling!) – mainland Europe isn’t big on microwaving, so no surprise there 😉 steaming the beans in a steamer basket would of course be another option to prep the beans if one doesn’t want to boil them. I mainly appreciate the boiling in my current stage of life because the beans come out tender enough for my 3 year old to eat, otherwise I really enjoy them lightly steamed. But thanks again for your input, I truly appreciate a great conversation about food.
Jenn says
Perfect easy side dish! Just made them for the family, very tasty.
Ashley says
Microwaving is far less healthy. Steaming on the stove is the method that retains the most nutrients.