Perfect Every Time Lemon Butter Green Beans
Bright. Buttery. Garlicky. These lemon butter green beans are crisp-tender and coated in a glossy, lemony sauce that pairs beautifully with nearly anything. The method of quickly blanching and then sautéing results in the perfect texture every time, no more rubbery green beans!
This is the perfect side dish for holiday dinners or random Tuesday nights when you need a fast veggie win in your back pocket.
Erica’s Thoughts
Green beans are one of those veggies that can either be beautifully delicious or tragically gross. Mushy cafeteria beans? Haaallp. The key to fresh green beans is a quick blanch and ice bath.
Now, I knowwww you think that sounds like an annoying extra step. But please trust, it’s not that much additional work and this little chef trick keeps their color bright and texture snappy. Tossed with a little lemon, butter and garlic and they’re straight up addicting.
Penelope (my 3yo) loves vegetables, and green beans and Brussels sprouts are her favorites. When I make these green beans, she goes back for seconds and thirds. She says she’s eating her ‘green vitamins’. You ain’t wrong girl, you ain’t wrong.
I make these all the time on busy weeknights, but they’re also the best green beans to round out a holiday meal. They’re fresh and light and the loveliest complement to other heavier dishes.
What You’ll Need to Make this Lemon Butter Green Beans Recipe:
- Green beans: You can use regular green beans or haricot verts, a thinner French-style variety.
- Fat: A mix of olive oil and butter – butter for flavor and olive oil to help prevent the butter from burning.
- Garlic: Two cloves of finely minced fresh garlic or 1-2 teaspoons garlic paste.
- Acidity: A big squeeze of lemon juice makes a light sauce around the green beans and fresh lemon zest adds even more punchy lemon flavor.
- Flavor: Sea salt and black pepper are all you need to lift the overall flavor.
How to Make Perfectly Crisp Buttery Green Beans:
Bring a medium pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the trimmed green beans to the boiling water and simmer for 5-6 minutes, until they’re a bright green color and fork-tender. They should still have a little rigidity. You can add 1-2 minutes of boiling time if you like softer beans.
While they cook, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water. Use tongs to quickly plunge the beans into the ice bath to stop the cooking. When fully cooled, pat them completely dry with a clean towel.
Heat butter and olive oil in a sauté pan over medium heat. Sauté the minced garlic for about 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the cooked green beans, tossing to coat them evenly in the garlic butter.
Reduce the heat to low and continue cooking a few minutes until warmed through.
Toss the sauteed green beans with lemon zest, fresh lemon juice, sea salt, and black pepper. Serve warm and watch them disappear.
Expert Tips
- Prep ahead: blanch, dry and store in the fridge. Sauté just before serving. (I do this as part of my Thanksgiving prep!)
- Swap regular green beans for haricots verts if you want a thinner, restaurant vibe. Reduce boil time to 4-5 minutes.
- If you like a little heat, add red pepper flakes with the garlic.
- Use a microplane for to mince the garlic and zest the lemon.
- Additional topping ideas: shaved parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon, pine nuts, slivered almonds, lemon slices
FAQs
Frozen works in a pinch, but skip the blanching and steam them for a few minutes in the skillet with a splash of water, before patting dry and proceeding with the butter, olive oil and garlic.
Do not skip the ice bath, which stops the cooking process or the drying step, because excess moisture is the enemy.
Absolutely. Blanch, ice bath and pat dry earlier in the day or the day before. Sauté right before dinner. Store cooked green beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
What should I serve with lemon butter green beans?
omg so many things:
House favorite maple mustard salmon
This method never fails me, it is one of my favorite ways to make green beans and I hope this green bean recipe makes you as big of a fan as I am!
If you try and like this recipe please don’t forget to leave a comment and star rating down below! If you love more lifestyle, behind the scenes and ‘eating in real life’ type of content come find me over on Instagram, @itsaflavorfullife, I love connecting with you all there!
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Perfect Every Time Lemon Butter Green Beans
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Blanch
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
These lemon butter green beans are crisp, bright, buttery and so easy. A flavorful vegetable side dish perfect for weeknights or holiday dinners.
Ingredients
- 1lb green beans, ends snapped off
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 tablespoon butter
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1/2 lemon, juice of
- 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- optional topping ideas: shaved parmesan cheese, crumbled bacon, toasted pine nuts, slivered almonds
Instructions
- Bring a saucepan of water to a boil over high heat.* (see note) Add the green beans and cook at a low boil/simmer for 5-6 minutes, until the beans are bright green and fork tender. They will still have a little rigidity, that’s okay.
- While the beans are cooking, fill a large bowl with ice and cold water.
- Using tongs, plunge the green beans into the ice bath to stop the cooking process. When they are fully cooled, use a clean kitchen towel or paper towels to pat them completely dry.
- In a medium skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 ½ tablespoons butter over medium heat. Sauté 2 minced garlic cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the green beans, tossing to get them evenly coated with garlic butter, reduce heat to low, and sauté until the beans are warmed through, a few minutes.
- Toss the green beans with 1 teaspoon lemon zest, juice of ½ lemon, ¾ teaspoon sea salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper until evenly seasoned. Serve warm with any additional toppings you like!
Notes
I didn’t for the photos here, but you could boil the green beans in your skillet, drain, pat dry and sauté per the recipe so you only dirty one pan. 💯
For haricots verts (French green beans) reduce boiling time to 3-4 minutes.
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Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1/6 recipe, about 2/3 cup cooked green beans
- Calories: 72
- Sugar: 2.6 g
- Sodium: 295.9 mg
- Fat: 5.4 g
- Carbohydrates: 6 g
- Fiber: 2.2 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Cholesterol: 7.6 mg
