Buttery garlic green beans with almonds make a great side dish. This one pan green beans with brown butter are perfect for weeknights or holiday meals, and takes under 20 minutes to make!
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Green Beans With Almonds
This dish is also called green beans almondine, and I've added mint for a fresh burst of herbs.
Green beans, when prepared correctly, make the most divine side dish. Cooked in browned butter, with butter toasted almonds, and fresh mint–these garlic green beans with almonds are savory and flavorful.
What an easy side!
If you're ever looking for that quick veggie dish to go with your main, here it is. You can put this together in minutes, and the simple flavors actually impress!
Browning butter only takes a couple of minutes, and garlic and fresh herbs always flatter vegetables, so you'll make any meal really great.
Ingredients for Brown Butter Green Beans
Add these ingredients to your grocery list, or find them in your pantry and you'll be ready to make easy green beans in a skillet.
- Unsalted butter: the milk solids in the butter are what browns and caramelizes for a nutty flavor.
- Sliced almonds: these toast in the melted butter and add a nice crunch to the dish.
- Garlic cloves: sliced, they add a lovely flavor to the entire dish.
- Haricots verts, or regular green beans: thin green beans or regular are great for this quick-cooking veggie side.
- Kosher salt: or use sea salt. You can add more to taste at the end if you need.
- Ground black pepper: just a little adds the perfect savory flavor.
- Fresh mint: it's a nice pop of green freshness. You can swap it for basil or parsley if you'd like.
Types Of Green Beans
Haricot verts are thin, tender green beans. They take less cooking to become soft than typical green beans, and are often eaten raw on crudités platters.
You can use regular green beans in this recipe as well. Both work perfectly well, and you will find either, or both at your local grocery store.
Side Dish Recipes
How To Brown Butter
Browned butter is truly magical. It can take any dish from just okay to show-stopping.
Browned butter is just that; butter that has been melted gently and cooked until the milk solids turn brown and caramelize. The simple cooking process completely changes the flavor. Browned butter has a rich, nutty, and much more complex than plain melted butter.
To make your own browned butter, simply melt butter in a pan, stirring gently, until the butter foams and the specks at the bottom of the pan turn a dark amber color. The butter should smell toasted and nutty. Make sure to heat slowly so it doesn't burn.
Steps for Making Green Beans In A Skillet
This one-pan side dish comes together in just a few minutes. Haricots verts cook quickly, so the only part you need to be patient for, is browning the butter.
1- In this recipe, brown the butter along with the almonds, toasting them and infusing them with all that liquid gold.
2- After the butter is melted and browned, add the garlic and cover with the green beans, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium, and cover the pan with a lid or foil, and steam 3 minutes.
3- Remove the lid and cook for another 5 minutes, or until the beans are tender. Stir in the fresh mint and serve.
I like to use haricots verts. They are thinner, longer green beans, and have great flavor. You can also use normal green beans, but they might take a few minutes longer to cook because they're a little chubbier.
If you don't have fresh mint, don't use the dried stuff. Opt for another tender fresh herb like basil, parsley, or tarragon.
I like to use a cast iron skillet because it heats so evenly. If you don't have a cast iron skillet you could use a nonstick frying pan.
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📖 Recipe
Browned Butter Green Beans With Almonds
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- 2 cloves garlic (thinly sliced)
- 1 pound haricot vert, or regular green beans (trimmed)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons chopped mint
Instructions
- Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add almonds. Stir occasionally until almonds begin to turn brown and the milk solids in the butter turn brown, 5 to 6 minutes.
- Add the garlic and cover with the haricot vert, salt, and pepper. Reduce heat to medium, cover pan with a lid or foil, and steam 3 minutes. Uncover and cook, stirring, until beans are just tender, about 5 minutes.
- Stir in mint and serve. Top with extra mint if desired.
Nutrition
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Tara Teaspoon
I’ve been in food publishing for over 25 years, creating recipes & food-styling for magazines, books, television, food brands, & advertising. With two cookbooks under my belt and thousands of my recipes at your fingertips, I hope you'll be inspired to spend more time in the kitchen!
Raquel says
Love how simple this recipe is and it is perfect for a holiday meal!