This garlic green beans recipe makes a fantastic side dish for just about any meal that you can dream up.
Also, this recipe only has four ingredients.
All that you have to do is steam the green beans and then add in butter, lemon juice, and minced garlic.
It doesn’t get much simpler than that for a side dish!
Tips on steaming green beans
When it comes to steaming green beans, you can either steam them in the microwave or in a pan on the stovetop.
The advantage of steamed green beans in the microwave is that you seal in more nutrients that way because you use less water. It’s also faster in the microwave.
Don’t season the green beans before you steam them, though.
If you do, most of the seasoning will end up in the bottom of the dish and you’ll discard it when you drain the bean.
Also, be sure to completely drain the beans the moment that you are done steaming them.
Don’t let the beans sit in the water.
If you allow the green beans to sit in the water after they get steamed, they’ll turn out mushy.
About minced garlic
Mincing fresh garlic always provides the best taste, but we don’t always want to take the time.
Maybe it’s just me, but I find mincing fresh garlic a bit annoying.
Sure, I do it sometimes and the flavor is absolutely lovely.
However, I also keep a large jar of minced garlic in the fridge.
Sometimes, all that I can find at the grocery store are those small jars, and that’s fine too.
If you have fresh garlic but don’t want to mince it by hand, use a garlic press.
They’re quite handy.
About sautéing garlic
It doesn’t take long to sauté garlic so wait until you’re ready to use the garlic.
What I do is get the pan out, add the butter to the pan and make sure that I have my preferred spatula on hand.
That way when I’m ready, I can heat up the pan and get after it.
Garlic green beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- 3 T butter
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 lemon
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Steam green beans until they are tender
- Juice the lemon and set juice aside
- Mince the garlic and set aside
- When the beans are done, remove from the pan and set aside.
- In a large skillet saute garlic with butter for 1 minute.
- Add in juice of one lemon, dash of salt and pepper and stir.
- Add in green beans, stir and cook for 2-3 minutes until the sauce reduces by half.
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The bottom line
Garlic green beans is a tasty side dish that’s also easy to make!
The secret to making good green beans is to remove them from the water when you’re done steaming them.
And that’s just about it, really.
