This Sautéed French Green Beans with Parmesan and Pine Nuts recipe is elegant and packed with flavor, but so simple to make! Serve them with Thanksgiving dinner or alongside meatloaf during the week. No matter the occasion, they’re a real crowd pleaser!
Need an easy delicious side dish that’s guaranteed to impress? I gotchu! These Sautéed French Green Beans taste like something you’d get at a 5 star restaurant, but are actually so easy to make. Not only do they taste incredible, flavored with fresh herbs, garlic, and lemon, but they also have a beautiful presentation!
These delicious green beans are complemented by toasted pine nuts and rich parmesan cheese. The flavors melt in your mouth so well that you may forget you are eating a vegetable! The way veggie dishes should be. 😉
In this recipe, I’m also sharing a secret to truly beautiful vegetables. We’ll be blanching this green beans, which involves putting them in an ice bath immediately after boiling them. This will help maintain their color, brightness, and flavor. The process also helps remove dirt and microorganisms, so you can be sure you’re eating clean veggies.
Whatcha waiting for? Let’s get started!
WHY YOU’LL LOVE THESE FRENCH GREEN BEANS
- Packed with the delicious flavor of lemon, fresh herbs, and cheese!
- This recipe is quick and easy.
- Despite how simple it is, this dish is guaranteed to impress!
- Makes a great side dish to literally anything!
- It’s lighter in calories and fat than most green bean dishes.
INGREDIENTS
- French green beans – These are longer and thinner than regular green beans. However, you really could use either.
- Garlic cloves – Dice up some cloves or used minced garlic from a jar. You could just use garlic powder, but the fresh garlic really packs a lot flavor.
- Olive oil – You can substitute with any oil of your choice if needed.
- Pine nuts – These taste delicious when toasted!
- Lemons – We’ll use the juice and zest for more flavor.
- Fresh herbs – You can use any herbs of your choice here.
- Parmesan cheese – Fresh grated is best! 😊
- Salt and pepper – To taste.
HOW TO MAKE SAUTEED FRENCH GREEN BEANS
- Prepare green beans by washing and trimming the ends.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Add the beans and cook for 2-4 minutes until tender. Then, remove and run under cold water or put in a bowl of iced water. Drain the beans and set aside.
- Warm a medium skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Watch carefully and stir frequently as they can burn quickly! Immediately transfer to a small bowl. You don’t want to leave them in the hot pan as they will continue to cook.
- In the same skillet, add the oil and minced garlic. Let garlic sauté for a minute. Then, add the green beans. Cook, moving around frequently, for 2-4 minutes.
- Remove skillet from the heat and then add lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and toasted pine nuts. Toss around until everything is mixed well.
- Transfer to a platter for serving.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
The quick blanching helps cook and tenderize the green beans, but shocking them right after in a large ice water bath stops the cooking and any further change in color. The result is crisp, tender, gorgeous, and green vegetables.
Yes. Like all veggies, you should wash them before cooking.
While I have nothing against either, this is one case where fresh is best! Canned green beans just aren’t going to turn out quite the same. If frozen is your only option, you can give it a try, but you can expect to sacrifice the recipe’s texture.
Blanching helps make the green beans soft while keeping their color. But you can sauté green beans without blanching, so just skip it if you’re OK with firmer beans.
MORE DELICIOUS SIDE DISHES
WANT TO MAKE THIS RECIPE?
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Sautéed French Green Beans with Parmesan and Pine Nuts
Ingredients
- 1 lb. french green beans trimmed
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1/2 Tbsp olive oil 7g
- 2 Tbsp pine nuts 16g
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice 15g
- 3 Tbsp fresh parsley finely chopped
- 3 Tbsp parmesan cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt + 1 pinch for boiling
- 1/4 tsp pepper
Instructions
- Prepare green beans by washing and trimming ends if needed.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add a pinch of salt. Add the beans and cook for 2-4 minutes until just tender then remove and either run under cold water or put in a bowl of iced water. Drain the beans and set aside.
- Warm a medium skillet over medium heat and add the pine nuts. Toast the pine nuts until golden. Watch carefully and stir frequently as they can burn quickly! Immediately transfer to a small bowl (don’t leave them in the hot pan as they will continue to cook).
- In the same skillet, add the oil and minced garlic. Let garlic saute for a minute then add the green beans. Cook, moving around frequently, for around 2-4 minutes.
- Remove skillet from heat and the lemon zest, lemon juice, parsley, parmesan cheese, salt, pepper, and toasted pine nuts. Toss around until everything is mixed well, then transfer to a platter for serving.
Notes
Nutrition
