Chili Garlic Easy Green Bean Recipe

This chili garlic easy green bean recipe makes a quick and delicious side dish! They’re all cooked in one pan to make clean-up easy.

I can’t believe I don’t have a green bean side dish recipe on my blog yet. They’re one of my favorite vegetables and so easy to make.

I actually had to test this simple green bean recipe three times to get it right. I changed the technique for the third attempt and it went much better.

How to cook green beans

Cooking green beans often involves boiling them. To me, the best fresh green bean recipes are either boiled or roasted, but I didn’t just want plain ole boiled beans or to boil them and then have to dirty up another pan.

This initially was going to be a 100% sautéed green beans recipe, but that didn’t work as well and took longer to get them tender.

So, I added a small amount of water to the skillet I cooked the beans in, covered it so the beans nicely steamed, and then drained it. I then added the butter, garlic, and chili flakes and sautéed them for a couple of minutes. Better results and no fuss. One pan and done.

I like my beans slightly softer. Not mushy, but soft enough. If you prefer beans on the crisper side, take a couple of minutes off the cooking time and that should work just fine.

I hope this recipe takes you right through summer – it’s perfect with lighter entrees. Oh and if you want to leave the chili part out of this garlic green beans recipe then go right ahead. 🙂

Hope you’ll love this healthy green bean recipe!

Questions? Let me know in the comments.

5 from 1 vote

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Chili Garlic Easy Green Beans Recipe

This chili garlic easy green bean recipe makes a quick and delicious side dish! They're all cooked in one pan to make clean-up easy.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword easy green beans, green beans recipe

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 12 minutes

Total Time 17 minutes

Servings 4

Calories 106 kcal

Author Natasha Bull

Ingredients

• 24 ounces green beans topped and tailed
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2-3 cloves garlic minced
• 1 teaspoon chili flakes (or to taste)
• Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Add the water to a deep skillet over high heat. Bring to a boil.
2. Add the beans to the skillet and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium. Allow the beans to steam for 10 minutes. 
3. Give the beans a taste and if they're close to being as cooked as you like them, drain the water. If not, cover the pan again and continue cooking until desired tenderness is almost reached.
4. Add the butter, garlic, and chili flakes to the pan. Toss the beans (easiest with tongs) in the melted butter and garlic. I sauté the beans for a couple minutes, tossing continuously, until the garlic is slightly cooked. You can cook them for a bit longer if you wish.
5. Season the beans generously with salt & pepper and serve immediately. 

Recipe Notes

• The beans are on the softer side, but definitely not mushy. If you're concerned about timing, check them after 7-8 minutes.
• If you don't want the garlic to be fairly raw still, cook for a bit longer or sprinkle a bit of garlic powder on the beans instead of using minced garlic.
• Serves 4-6.
• I love freshly cracked salt on green beans (I use Himalayan pink salt in 99% of my cooking - Maldon sea salt flakes would work great too!). 

Calorie information is provided as a courtesy only and should be construed as an estimate rather than a guarantee. 

Nutrition Facts

Chili Garlic Easy Green Beans Recipe

Amount Per Serving (1 /4 of recipe)

Calories 106

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

You may also like my maple roasted beets and carrots recipe or my roasted radishes recipe.