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Why You’ll Love My Recipe

Fresh green beans with lemon and garlic, fried in butter but still a little crispy, make the perfect vegetable side dish for any meal.

Lightly browned to add flavor and cooked tender soft, these are a great side dish to prepare alongside a Roast Chicken or Rump Roast and some Make Ahead Mashed Potatoes. If you like these beans, why not try Green Beans Almondine too?

Karlynn’s Recipe Notes

Skill Level: This is a very easy recipe.
Total Time: This recipe will take you under 10 minutes.
Variations: Try playing with other flavour profiles. Make some Cajun Seasoning to sprinkle on, or use your favourite seasoning blend. Garnish with crunchy fried onions or bacon bits. Increase or reduce the amount of garlic based on your own personal tastes.
Tools Needed: For this recipe, you’ll need a medium skillet with a lid, a spoon or some tongs, a knife, and a cutting board.

What You’ll Need For Ingredients

Green Beans: You’ll need fresh beans for this recipe. Frozen ones will not work. You could make this with yellow wax beans, or some rattlesnake beans, really any fresh beans you like.

Butter, Garlic, and Lemon: The salt is key here, so if you haven’t got salted butter, be sure to add salt to taste while you’re cooking the beans. For the garlic, you can either mince your own fresh garlic or use some from a jar. The lemon juice will be best if it comes freshly squeezed, but you can use the bottled stuff if that’s what you’ve got.

How To Make Fried Green Beans

This is a brief overview of the recipe. The full list of ingredients and step-by-step instructions are in the recipe card below.

Heat water in skillet over medium-high heat. Add beans.
Cover with lid and steam beans until water evaporates. Stir the beans so that all sides get cooked.
Add the butter, stir it in until its melted and the beans are cooked to tender-crisp. Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes.
Sprinkle on lemon juice, toss until coated, and remove from pan to serve.

Karlynn’s Tips and Tricks for Making Fried Green Beans

For Softer Beans: If your beans are a bit dry to start with, or you like beans on the tender side, just add a bit more water at the beginning and let the beans steam for longer. Green beans turn a vibrant, pretty green when they’re cooked, so watch for that colour change.

Serving Suggestions: This is a basic recipe with simple flavours that will work as a side dish for most meals. Try serving these beans with some Baked Cod and Duchess Potatoes, or maybe alongside a Buttery Herb & Garlic Roast Turkey Breast. The options are practically endless.

Storage Instructions

Fridge: Once they are fully cooled, you can store the leftover beans in a sealed container in the fridge for up to two days. Reheat in the microwave when you’re ready to eat them.

Freezer: It’s not ideal to freeze cooked beans, but if you must, store them in a sealed container or bag in your freezer for a month or two. Ideally though, use them up instead of freezing them.

More Delicious Bean Recipes

Looking for more great ways to prepare beans?

Try making some Homemade Baked Beans or Ranch Style Beans.

Have an air fryer? Why not try Air Fryer Green Beans?

Or make some Salmon & Green Beans.

There you go, friends. A quick and easy way to make tasty green beans. Try out this recipe and let me know what you think.

Happy Cooking!

Karlynn