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Our Garlic Green Beans recipe is made with fresh green beans, garlic, butter, olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. If you want to know how to steam green beans so they turn out perfect every time, you’ll want to try this recipe. 

Garlic Green Beans on a white plate with serving spoons.

If you’ve never steamed green beans before, you’re in for a treat. It only takes minutes to steam them, and while they’re steaming we melt some butter and add olive oil, garlic and lemon juice. When the green beans have finished steaming, we toss them with the lemon garlic butter and then we toss them again with finely grated parmesan cheese and lemon zest. These green beans are so flavorful!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

  • Flavor. These garlic green beans are loaded with flavor. Made with butter and garlic…what’s not to love?
  • Quick and Easy. These steamed green beans are super quick and easy to make with just a handful of ingredients.  This recipe comes together in about 15 minutes.
  • Great Side Dish. These easy steamed green beans make a delicious side dish to serve for weeknight meals, Sunday dinners, special occasions and holiday feasts.

Garlic Green Beans Recipe Ingredients

Fresh green beans on a plate next to ingredients for Garlic Green Beans Recipe.

  • Fresh Green Beans.We use fresh haricot verts, a French variety of green beans that are thinner, more tender and delicate and they cook quicker (in about 3-7 minutes). We think haricot verts are better than standard green beans for salads. They’re crispier, more tender and they have more crunch. Keep them long or cut them in half if you like.
  • Garlic. Garlic adds so much flavor to these green beans.
  • Olive Oil AND Butter. We use extra-virgin olive oil and unsalted butter.
  • Lemon Juice AND Zest. You’ll need just a little lemon juice and zest from one lemon. It adds a nice fresh flavor to the green beans.
  • Parmesan Cheese. Parmesan cheese adds a ton of flavor to these green beans. 
  • Seasoning. We use just a little salt and pepper to season the beans.

Find printable recipe with the measurements below.

How To Steam Green Beans

Fresh green beans in a steamer basket.
Steamed Green Beans in a glass bowl with garlic butter poured over the top.
Steamed green beans tossed with parmesan cheese in a clear glass bowl.
  1. Rinse And Trim Green Beans. Put the green beans in a colander and place under cold running water to remove any dirt. Pour the green beans out on paper towels and pat them dry. Trim the ends off each green bean and discard any bruised or discolored green beans. Cut them in half.
  2. Steam Green Beans.  Add about 1-inch of water to a wide pot and insert a steamer basket inside. Make sure the water isn’t coming through the steamer basket. Add the green beans to the steamer basket making sure not to overcrowd the steamer basket. Place the lid on the pot and seam green beans on medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green. If you’re using thicker green beans, you may need to cook them a little longer, like 5-7 minutes. Using tongs or a large spoon, transfer the green beans to a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Sometimes I transfer the beans to a bowl and put it in the freezer to stop the cooking process.
  3. Make Garlic Butter. While the green beans are steaming, Add the oil and butter to a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and swirl. Remove the pot from heat right away so the garlic doesn’t burn and set aside. Stir in the lemon juice.
  4. Grate Parmesan Cheese. You can use a hand-held fine cheese grater to grate the cheese, or add cut pieces of parmesan into a blender or NutriBullet and blend for 15-30 seconds. This will process the parmesan cheese so it turns into to fine 
  5. Toss Green Beans. Transfer the steamed green beans to a bowl and toss with garlic oil and then half of the finely grated Parmesan cheese. 
  6. Serve. Dust the Garlic Green Beans with the remaining Parmesan cheese and serve with lemon wedges.

Garlic Green Beans tossed with parmesan cheese in a white bowl.

How Long Do You Steam Green Beans

Steam green beans for 3-5 minutes or until a green bean is just barely fork tender.

Serving Suggestions

These steamed garlic green beans make a great side dish to serve alongside Grilled Lemon Chicken, Greek Lemon Chicken, Air Fryer Chicken Thighs or our Marinated Greek Chicken. They also make a popular side dish to serve for special occasions and holiday meals.

Storing And Reheating Leftovers

Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. If properly stored, leftovers should last up to 5 days. Reheat leftovers in a preheated oven for about 5 minutes or until they are heated through.

More Vegetable Side Dish Recipes

Garlic Green Beans on a white plate.
No Ratings
Yield: 8 Servings

Garlic Green Beans

Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Our Garlic Green Beans recipe is made with fresh green beans, garlic, butter, olive oil, lemon juice and parmesan cheese. These easy steamed green beans make a delicious side dish to serve for weeknight meals, Sunday dinners, special occasions and holiday feasts.

 

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds thin string beans, rinsed and ends trimmed
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 teaspoons lemon zest
  • 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Put the green beans in a colander and place under cold running water to remove any dirt. Pour the green beans out on paper towels and pat them dry. Trim the ends off each green bean and discard any bruised or discolored green beans. Cut them in half.
  2. Add about 1-inch of water to a pot and insert a steamer basket inside. Make sure the water isn’t coming through the steamer basket. Add the green beans to the steamer basket and place lid on the pot. Steam green beans on medium-low heat for 3-5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green. If you’re using thicker green beans, you may need to cook them a little longer, like 5-7 minutes. Using tongs or a large spoon, transfer the green beans to a large bowl filled with ice water to stop the cooking process. Sometimes I transfer the beans to a bowl and put them right in the freezer for a minute or two to stop the cooking process. Make sure to completely dry the green beans before tossing them with the lemon garlic butter.
  3. While the green beans are steaming, Add the oil and butter to a small sauce pan over low heat. Add the minced garlic and swirl. Remove the pot from heat right away so the garlic doesn’t burn and set aside. Stir in the lemon juice.
  4. To grate the parmesan cheese, you can use a hand-held fine cheese grater to grate the cheese, or add cut pieces of parmesan into a blender or NutriBullet and blend for 15-30 seconds. This will process the parmesan cheese so it turns into to fine pieces (almost like dust).
  5. Toss the green beans with the lemon garlic butter. Add 1/2 of the grated parmesan cheese and toss again.
  6. Add the remaining Parmesan cheese and lemon zest and toss the green beans again then season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with lemon wedges.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

8

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 111Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 10mgSodium: 59mgCarbohydrates: 10gFiber: 4gSugar: 4gProtein: 3g

theharvestkitchen.com attempts to provide accurate information, however, this nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. The nutritional information provided comes from online sources and calculations. See full disclaimer on About page.

© Deborah Duncan
Cuisine: American / Category: Side