Bursting with flavor, these green beans with roasted garlic are always a winner!

My mother-in-law was the one who introduced me to green beans. Before I met her, I thought a vegetable dish was a lettuce salad with tomatoes and cucumbers. If I wanted to be fancy, I would add some mango or Craisins! The first time my mother-in-law served me green beans I thought it was so American and Thanksgiving-ish; it didn’t seem appropriate for a Yom Tov table — until I tried them…

My mother-in-law serves green beans at almost every meal and I have officially dubbed her the “Green Bean Queen”! She makes so many different dishes with green beans — some more “patchke” than others — and over the years I have come to love some of those recipes so much that they have become staples in my own house.

This one is a real winner. All that fresh and delicious pan-roasted garlic is like a flavor bomb in your mouth. If I’m serving this Friday night and you’re lucky enough to scoop up some garlic and eat it with your warm challah, well…lucky you!

close up sauteed green beans with roasted garlic

There are different kinds of green beans. My favorite are the French beans, also known as “haricots verts,” which are long, skinny and super crunchy. I used to buy big bags of them in Costco but the past few years I have been having a harder time finding them. Then there are regular green beans, which are also long but not as thin. These typically need to be trimmed (cut off the ends), and they are not as crisp as the French green beans.

While I will use regular green beans when I can’t find French beans, I almost never use frozen green beans for sauteed green beans with roasted garlic. People often ask me if they can be used for my green bean recipes. The answer is yes, BUT don’t expect the recipe to come out nearly as crunchy and good as it will with fresh green beans. To me it’s just not worth it, and if I have green beans on my menu and the grocery store is out of the fresh ones, I won’t even use frozen as plan B. I will just make something else instead! However, I do know people who will use them and they think they’re fine.

(There are also canned green beans, but we won’t even go there. There’s nothing to discuss!)

This recipe calls for lots of garlic. I highly recommend you use fresh, as it’s the key component in this recipe — I didn’t even test it without it. I am assuming if you used frozen cubes instead, they would melt and turn mushy pretty fast and start to burn.

I made the recipe with my cast-iron pan. I love using it as it gets extremely hot and crisps up the garlic perfectly. If you don’t have one, you can use any large frying pan.

You can also make this recipe in the oven, although it doesn’t have the same wow factor as when it’s pan-roasted. Just place all ingredients on a cookie sheet and roast in the oven at 400 for about 40 minutes, until done, mixing halfway through. Make sure you don’t overbake so the green beans stay crisp.

You can make these two to three days in advance and serve either warm or at room temperature. If reheating, only warm gently, uncovered, or they will get soggy.

Love garlic? Try this Spinach-Garlic Confit Oven-Baked Orzo for more garlicky goodness!

Sauteed Green Beans with Pan-Roasted Garlic

A delectable blend of crisp green beans and pungent roasted garlic!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

1 lb. green beans
10-15 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp lemon juice
Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

In a frying pan, heat the oil over medium flame. Add garlic and sauté for about 5 minutes until golden brown. Remove from pan and set aside.
Add green beans to the pan and sauté until they are blistered, about 10 minutes. Add lemon juice, salt, and pepper and sauté a few minutes more.
Add garlic and toss to combine.

Notes

Serve warm or at room temperature.
Feel free to double or triple the recipe.

Variation: To oven roast, combine all ingredients on a cookie sheet and roast at 400 for about 40 minutes, until done (but still crisp), mixing halfway through.