Best Ever Green Beans
These skillet-cooked green beans will become your favorite side dish! This green bean recipe features toasted almonds in a lemon-butter sauce.
Updated by Kathryne Taylor on May 24, 2024
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Honestly, I didn’t know green beans could be this good. Inspired by a classic French recipe (haricots verts amandine), this green bean recipe features buttery toasted almonds, tender shallot and a squeeze of lemon.
I hope this recipe title caught your attention, because these green beans will be the standout on any plate. I have to stop myself from eating the whole pan myself, and I never thought I’d say that. Give me the choice between this dish and green bean casserole, and there’s no contest. Green beans amandine for the win.
This side dish is simple enough for weeknight dinners, but fancy enough for the holidays. I wrote the recipe to yield enough for about four people. You can very easily double the recipe for a crowd as long as you use a Dutch oven to contain the beans.
Haricots verts amandine translates to “almond green beans.” It’s often anglicized to “green beans amandine,” which then mistakenly turns into “green beans almondine.” I can see why, but I attended too many years of French class not to point this out!
I can’t say I remember eating these green beans during my semester in Bordeaux, France. Just one more excuse to go back when we can. I’ve tested these ingredients and techniques over and over again so you can enjoy this dish at home.
You won’t need to bother blanching the green beans—this dish magically comes together in one skillet. The recipe requires a bit of patience and some stirring, but it’s 100 percent worth the effort. Keep this recipe handy, because it goes with just about everything!
How to Cook Green Beans
Most chefs will tell you to blanch your green beans, which requires a big pot of salted boiling water for cooking the beans and a very big bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process immediately. Blanching definitely works as designed, but it always seems like a chore to me.
The good news is that I’ve found a cooking technique that I like a whole lot better, courtesy of America’s Test Kitchen. You’ve seen me use this method in my Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta and it works like a charm.
You’ll find the full recipe below, but here’s how it works. You’ll need a large skillet with a lid (affiliate link/if your skillet didn’t come with a lid, you can always use a cookie sheet).
- In a large skillet, bring ½ cup water and ½ teaspoon salt to a simmer over medium heat.
- Once simmering, add 1 pound green beans, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nearly tender, about 9 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid evaporates, about 2 to 4 minutes.
That’s it! Your perfectly tender (not mushy), bright green beans are ready to serve.
Watch How to Make the Best Green Beans
More Green Bean Recipes to Enjoy
More Simple & Delicious Side Dishes
- Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Cranberries & Pecans
- Honey Mustard Brussels Sprout Slaw
- Parmesan Roasted Broccoli with Balsamic Drizzle
- Quick Collard Greens
Please let me know how your green beans turn out in the comments! I hope this recipe becomes your new favorite side dish.
Green Beans Amandine
This green bean recipe will become your new favorite side dish. Inspired by a classic French recipe (haricots verts amandine), these green beans feature buttery toasted almonds, tender shallot and a squeeze of lemon. Recipe yields 4 generous side servings; you can double the recipe by cooking it in a large Dutch oven.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced into several pieces
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- ¼ cup thinly sliced shallot (about 1 small)
- 1 pound haricots verts or slender green beans, trimmed
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice, to taste
- 1 tablespoon + ½ cup water, divided
- ½ teaspoon fine salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- In a large skillet over medium-low heat, melt the butter. Once it’s completely melted, add the almonds. Cook, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula or wooden spoon, until the butter has browned and the almonds are beginning to brown, about 7 to 8 minutes. (Your patience will pay off, I promise!)
- Add the shallot and cook, while stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Stir in the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon water. While stirring, cook until the liquid thickens enough that your spatula leaves an open trail on the pan behind it, about 1 more minute.
- Use your spatula to scoop all the mixture into a bowl, and set it aside for now. Return the empty skillet to the stovetop, and add the green beans, ½ cup water and ½ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the beans are nearly tender, about 9 to 10 minutes.
- Remove the lid and cook over medium-high heat until the liquid evaporates, about 2 to 4 minutes.
- Off the heat, add the reserved almond mixture to the skillet and toss to combine. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve. Leftover green beans will keep the fridge, covered, for about 4 days.
Notes
Recipe adapted from my Green Bean Salad with Toasted Almonds & Feta and Cooking Light’s Green Beans Amandine.
Make it dairy free/vegan: Replace the butter with extra-virgin olive oil (my preference) or vegan butter (I successfully tested with Miyoko’s Creamery).
Make it nut free: I think this dish would be nice with pepitas (green pumpkin seeds) instead of almonds, but haven’t tried. Or, omit the nuts and cook the butter until it has browned in step 1.
Prepare in advance: This recipe really comes together seamlessly as directed, and keeps well at room temperature for a couple of hours. Or, store it in the fridge and gently reheat the dish in the oven.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice. See our full nutrition disclosure here.
I will bring this dish to my cousins for Thanksgiving. How do you suggest to reheat? There will be enough to feed around 20. Thank you!
What did you decide to do? Sorry for my delay!
Love this dish. I made it for Thanksgiving but plan on doing it many more times. I can also
see myself eat them with white rice. I don’t even need meat.
I don’t think I’ve ever made a green bean recipe that didn’t include garlic and they were amazing! We enjoyed them with our turkey on Thanksgiving and will definitely be making them often!!
I asked my nephew for the recipe he made Thanksgiving, because it was my favorite among a table full of really good and unusual dishes. And I’ve always been ho hum about string beans. He must have left out the almonds, but it was the perfect doneness of the vegetable that I assumed brought out the flavor. But I see it was undoubtedly with the help of the ingredients and steps. Now I plan to into your website. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Sue!
This sounds delicious!
I’d like to try making it in a dutch oven for more servings. Could you please tell me how I would do this? I own one but I haven’t got to use it yet.
Just be sure they have enough space and you should be able to increase the ingredients to the size of recipe you wish to make. Depending on how big, you may want to do batches.
Just made 2 lbs in my dutch oven last night, and it was great! I’m thinking next time, I’d like to try either a squeeze of lemon just before serving, or toss with some lemon zest at the end.
This recipe calls for 1 cup of water and only uses 1?
Hi Carol, which part are you referring to? It calls for 1 tablespoon + 1/2 cup divided.
Oh. My. Gawd. The best green bean dish I’ve ever tasted. It was super easy and positively delicious. Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Stacy!
Made the yummy green beans amandine, best ever way to eat beans , a big hit !
About to do them again for friends gathering next weekend so thanks very much .
Jan from Melbourne Australia xx
My husband’s comment was – these are the best green beans I’ve ever had! Wow, that made me happy. First time I’ve ever cooked a shallot, but sure enjoyed making the recipe. I know what you mean when you said you have to be careful not to eat the whole pan! Thanks for the great recipe.
Delicious and easy
Great to hear, Deborah!
Growing up in the late 70s-early 90s, my dad made this dish often. Its always been my favorite way to eat green beans. He didn’t use a shallot nor the lemon juice, but since finding your take, I have included them both to the delight of my whole family. thank you! We also do the same exact recipe but using zucchini that has been processed into small batons. It’s a summertime favorite!
You’re welcome! I’m happy to hear it was a hit, Dana.
Simple side dish, quick, definite keeper.
Thanks for your great recipes. I made this the day before, but my almonds seemed a little mushy when I reheated the next day. Would you recommend just reheating the green beans at a low temp the next day in the oven and then adding the almond mix? If so, would you refrigerate the almond/shallot/lemon mix overnight separately?
Thanks for your help!
I don’t think the almond mix will quite reheat to the same texture no matter what reheat method. I like them leftover, but the almond mixture won’t quite be the same.
Made this dish for Passover. Easy, quick and a big hit. Used pepitas, which turned out very well.
Made this last week for dinner and followed the recipe exactly. It was a big hit. I made it again last night with a few tweaks: I cooked the almonds with half the butter and pulled them out of the pan and set them aside before adding the shallots and remaining butter. This way, the almonds stayed crunchy when I tossed them with the shallots and beans at the end. I also added 1/2 tsp of lemon zest when tossing it all, to amp up the lemon flavour. Thanks for another great recipe!
She is right! This is the best green bean recipe ever!
I’m happy you enjoyed it, Carol!
Love,love, love it !!!
Absolutely delicious, and simple to make.
OMG this is flicking delicious!
We have green beans coming out of the garden in buckets full so I was looking for a new recipe and this was fantastic! Thank you for a great refresher for Green Beans Almondine. There was a lot left over so I tossed them with boiled & chopped fingerling potatoes, green onion, blue cheese crumbles and a Sherry-Shallot vinaigrette and that was another meal to finish them off. Two new recipes in one. Thanks again.
very good. I will make this again.
That’s great to hear, Jeff!
Truly delicious! So summertimy!
Made this with 1 T butter and 1 T olive oil. Substituted walnuts for the almonds (I didn’t have almonds on hand). Turned out great! Served it with polenta with cheddar cheese and parsley.
This recipe is amazing! Easy to make and super yummy. Adding this one to my keeper recipes book!
Great to hear, Angelina!
This was so good! The method of cooking the beans is great. And that little bit of lemon in the almond mixture made all the difference. There are just two of us but I made the full recipe and plan to turn leftovers into the salad with feta tomorrow.
I was hesitant at first to give this recipe a try, but I am glad I did! I just love it. The buttery almonds go so well with the green beans! Scrumptious!
Wow, what a great way to prepare green beans. Quick and easy enough for a weeknight meal, but also “fancy” enough for a dinner party. You could make the almond and shallot mixture a bit ahead of time and keep at room temperature until ready to finish the dish. Finely grate the zest of the lemon into the almond mixture off the heat for extra flavour. Great texture and colour on the beans, and no faffing about with an ice bath ever again! The first time I made this, I did double the amount I needed and turned the leftovers into the salad with feta the next night. That was another winner.
Did you ever try the pipits?