Garlic Green Beans
Prep Time 5 minutes 
Cook Time 15 minutes 
Total Time 20 minutes 
Servings 4Ingredients
- 500 gr green beans or haricot vert
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 handful parsley fresh
- 50 gr unsalted butter
- salt and black pepper
Equipment
Instructions
1. Prep the beans
- Start by preparing your haricots verts. Trim off the ends and give them a quick rinse under cold water. If you’d like shorter beans, feel free to cut them in half or into thirds. For beans that are extra crisp and vibrant, you can blanch them: bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the beans, and cook for about 2–3 minutes. Drain them and immediately plunge them into ice water to stop the cooking process, then drain again and set aside. This step is optional but does wonders for their texture and colour.
2. Sauté the garlic
- Place a large frying pan or skillet over medium heat and melt the butter (or heat the olive oil). Add the garlic and let it cook gently for about a minute, just until it becomes fragrant, be careful not to let it brown, as it can turn bitter.
3. Cook the beans
- Add the haricots verts to the pan and toss them so they’re well coated in the garlicky butter or oil. Let them cook for about 5–7 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they’re tender but still have a bit of bite. If you blanched the beans earlier, just heat them through for 2–3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
4. Finish with parsley and serve
- Add the finely chopped parsley to the pan and toss everything together so the parsley is evenly distributed. Transfer the beans to a serving dish and enjoy them immediately while they’re hot and full of garlicky, herby aroma.
Notes
- For extra richness, use butter; for a lighter, Provençal touch, opt for olive oil. Feel free to make this dish your own by adding a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of grated parmesan just before serving.
About this recipe
There’s nothing I like more than garlic green beans or green beans almondine. I think I just like green beans, full stop. There’s something about that grassy, sweet taste that I find completely addictive. And they go with everything, so it’s only natural to have them as a regular side dish at home. My mum used to make this simple garlic green beans dish when I was a child, and as I’ve always loved garlic (it must be in my blood), I wanted to share it with you too.
Where garlic green beans comes from
The French haricot vert is a specific thing. It’s thinner, more tender, and more delicate in flavour than the broader green beans common in other cuisines. French cooks have been growing and eating them since the 16th century, when beans arrived in Europe from the Americas and quickly established themselves in French kitchen gardens. The thin, elegant haricot vert became the standard in France partly because French cooks preferred the texture and partly because the country’s temperate climate suited them well.
Garlic and green beans is one of the oldest and most reliable combinations in French home cooking. The garlic should be gentle here, cooked briefly in olive oil until fragrant but not browned. Browned garlic turns bitter and takes over the dish. The goal is flavour that supports the beans rather than competing with them.
How to pick good beans
This is worth knowing before you even start cooking. A fresh green bean should be firm. Snap one in half and it should break cleanly and sharply, so avoid anything that feels soft or limp. The thinner the bean, the more delicate the flavour, which is what you want for this garlic green beans recipe.
If you can’t find fresh haricots verts, frozen ones work fine here too. Frozen green beans are actually less oxidised than fresh ones that have been sitting around, which gives them better nutritional quality, particularly for vitamins and minerals. Not something to feel bad about using at all.
Blanching the green beans
The salt in the blanching water. It sounds obvious but most recipes don’t make enough of it. Well-salted water seasons the beans from the inside while they cook, and you simply can’t get that same result by seasoning at the end. The water should taste properly salty. It’s not too much, I promise.
String beans and garlic: getting the balance right
The garlic needs to be gentle here, cooked in olive oil until it smells fragrant but before it colours. Browned garlic turns bitter and takes over everything, which is not what you want in a garlic string bean dish. The goal is garlic that supports the beans, not competes with them.
Two cloves for four people is right. Slice it rather than crushing it. Sliced garlic cooks more evenly and more gently, crushed garlic catches in the pan too fast and can burn before the beans are even warm.
As for the parsley, it goes in right at the end, off the heat. Parsley cooked for more than thirty seconds loses its brightness and its flavour. It should hit the hot pan, coat the beans in the residual heat, and go straight to the table.
Prepping before cooking
This is a simple recipe but it does need a bit of precise knife work: slicing garlic finely without crushing it, and topping and tailing the beans cleanly. Both tasks need a sharp knife that gives you nice and easy control.
The Opinel Intempora knife set is perfect for this kind of prep. Opinel is made in the Savoie region of France and has been part of French kitchen culture for generations. It’s a brand you can find in many French households.
How to eat garlic green beans
This garlic and green beans recipe goes alongside almost anything. A simple omelette, a piece of fish, a slice of quiche Lorraine. It doesn’t impose itself, which is exactly why it works so well as a side dish. You can serve it straight away. Green beans lose their colour fast and the garlic gets stronger and less pleasant as the dish sits. It’s best eaten the moment it leaves the pan.
Share your feedback and spread the love!
If you try this recipe, I’d love to hear how it turns out! Leave a ★★★★★ rating and your thoughts in the comments, it helps fellow French foodies discover this recipe too. Snap a photo and tag @obviously.french on Instagram. Come talk about it in our Facebook group. And don’t forget to save this recipe to Pinterest so you’ll always have it handy for your next French-inspired meal!
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