Garlicky and crisp sauteed green beans are the perfect side dish for your next meal if you want a quick and easy veggie. Learn how blanching the green beans keeps their texture and how you can add different seasoning spices.
Type of green beans to use
I always prefer using fresh vegetables when I can get them in season because they taste better. I buy fresh green beans from my local farmer’s market, but also like to buy them in organic bags from Trader Joe’s or Albertsons.
Some varieties of green beans I like to buy are regular string beans and French beans (also known as haricot verts which are slightly longer and thinner than traditional string beans). I wouldn’t recommend using canned or frozen green beans for this recipe because it will affect the timing and potentially give you mushy beans.
How to cook green beans
To cook the green beans, season a boiling pot of 10 cups of water with one tablespoon of salt and blanch the green beans first. Blanching green beans help preserve their bright green color and keep the veggies crisp while sauteing. When I cooked the beans without blanching, my green beans became mushier after serving.
After blanching and chilling the green beans under cold running water, saute the butter and garlic slices for 30 seconds or until they’re fragrant. I wouldn’t recommend cooking the garlic for too long because it can blacken fairly quickly. Add the green beans and saute for one to two minutes until the green beans begin to slightly blister but not shrivel. Season with 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper at the end so you can adjust to the taste.
What spices & seasoning can you add to green beans for flavor?
Seasoning green beans is the best part about making these veggies. While you can use a neutral oil like avocado oil to saute the green beans, I like to use unsalted butter for extra flavor. This recipe uses six thinly sliced garlic cloves, yes six whole cloves, because I like the extra garlicky flavor.
For other seasonings, you can also experiment with paprika, cayenne, or red pepper flakes if you want some spice; Or you can also add herbs like thyme, oregano, or basil. If you want a little zesty flavor, I would add a squeeze of lemon juice after cooking, too.
Do you have to boil or blanch green beans before sauteing them?
After trying different methods of making green beans, I prefer to blanch them before sauteing. I know it’s an extra step that requires boiling green beans in a pot of water and running them under cold water, but it’s worth the effort.
Especially when blanching helps preserve the bright green color and the crisp texture. I found that cooking green beans directly onto the pan made for mushier beans that didn’t keep their shape. I also like to sprinkle salt to the water so that I can season the green beans when blanching.
How does Gordon Ramsay cook green beans?
This green bean recipe is similar to Gordon Ramsay’s blanching method of making green beans to keep the beans crisp. Ramsay’s version takes additional steps in roasting a full bulb of garlic and makes a mustard sauce with the garlic. He chooses not to saute the green beans and instead mixes them chilled with a roasted garlic mustard sauce. This popular recipe is available on Ramsay’s personal Youtube channel.
Try my other recipes with garlicky recipes!:
Garlic is one of my favorite flavors and goes so well with vegetables, which is why I use six cloves for this recipe. If you love these garlicky sauteed green beans, try my other recipes:
- string beans with garlic and hoisin sauce
- Asian garlic noodles
- Chinese broccoli
- onion and garlic bok choy
Sautéed Green Beans with Garlic & Butter
Ingredients
Blanch
- ½ lb green beans trimmed
- 10 c filtered water plus more for cooling down
- 1 tbsp kosher salt
Saute
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter or olive oil
- 6 cloves garlic thinly sliced
- ¼ tsp kosher salt add more if necessary
- ⅛ tsp black pepper add more if necessary
Equipment Used
- Knife & cutting board
- Pot
- saute pan & lid
- Strainer
- tongs
Instructions
- In a pot over medium-high heat, add the water and salt and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, add the green beans and cook for about three minutes when they’re bright green and you can pierce them with a fork but there’s still some resistance (remove them before they turn soft because you will be cooking them in a pan later).
- Use tongs to transfer the beans into a strainer and run the beans under cold water for about 30 seconds.
- In a saute pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Then add the garlic slices and saute for about 30 seconds just until fragrant. Make sure to stir around the garlic to prevent them from sticking onto the pan.
- Add the green beans and toss with the butter and garlic.
- Cook for about two minutes or until you can easily pierce them with a fork.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Like this recipe? Subscribe to my newsletter!
