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About This Recipe
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.
Looking for more Thanksgiving recipes? Try my Healthy Green Bean Casserole, Maple Ginger Glazed Carrots or my Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole!
Why You’ll Love These French Green Beans With Pine Nuts
- 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.
- 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!
How To Make
- 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.
The Secret To Beautiful Vegetables
The secret: blanching!
What is blanching? Blanching involves putting the green beans 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.
Why do you need to cool the green beans off with cold water or in an ice bath?
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.
Do you wash green beans before cooking?
Yes. Like all veggies, you should wash them before cooking.
Can I use canned or frozen green beans?
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.
Do I need to blanch the green beans before sautéing them?
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.
Did you make this? If you snap a photo, please be sure leave a review, tag me on Instagram or TikTok at @LaurenFitFoodie or hashtag #LaurenFitFoodie so I can see your creations!
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
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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 Information
Nutrition is hand-calculated and accurate. No autocalulations! However, note that values can vary based on the brands you use and if you substitute ingredients.
