Easy Green Beans Almondine
In this flavorful recipe for easy green beans almondine, green beans are quickly steamed and then tossed with garlic, shallots and buttery toasted almonds.
Green beans have never, ever been this delicious! This simple dish takes just a few minutes to prepare, and the green beans can be kept warm if you need to make them ahead of time.
Making Green Beans Almondine in One Pan
Many recipes for traditional green beans almondine call for blanching the green beans. While that is certainly acceptable, my recipe simplifies the process so everything cooks in one skillet.
- Steam the trimmed green beans in broth or water until they are crisp-tender, and then remove them to a plate and discard the cooking liquid.
- Return the same skillet to medium heat and saute the shallots and garlic in butter for a few minutes.
- Add the toasted almonds (and brown sugar, if using – don’t @ me…I know brown sugar isn’t a traditional ingredient, but it adds a tasty caramelization to the almonds) – cook until the almonds are golden.
- Toss the green beans with the almond mixture and hit it up with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
What kind of green beans to use? Green beans almondine is traditionally made with French green beans (haricot verts), which are thinner and longer than regular green beans. However, I make this recipe with regular green beans or French green beans, and it is delicious either way. To trim the green beans, you can cut a small piece off both ends; however, I usually just trim the stem-end of the green beans.
How to Make These Green Beans Ahead of Time
These green beans are tasty, tasty served right away.
However, I made them for Thanksgiving last year and kept them warm for several hours in a slow cooker and they were just fine! In fact, they were more than fine: they were absolutely devoured.
The almonds tend to soften a bit and lose some of their crunch the longer they are made ahead of time and kept warm, but judging by the way I hide and hoard the leftovers whenever I make these, that clearly doesn’t dampen the appeal of these green beans.
Ideally, they are best served immediately or within 2 to 3 hours (keeping them warm in the oven, covered, until serving).
I’m certain classic French cuisine experts are slightly aghast at some of my modifications to make green beans almondine a bit more approachable as a one-skillet dish.
However, I feel very confident that my take on this traditional side dish is perfect for all of us plebeians who want to eat tremendously tasty green beans (yes, from the pan is acceptable) without any fuss.
While this easy green beans almondine recipe has become my go-to green bean dish for Thanksgiving, I make it all throughout the year, as well.
The tasty crunch of the toasted, buttery almonds with the sautéed garlic and shallots is incredibly delicious with the tender green beans. So, so, so yummy! I hope you love this one!
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Easy Green Beans Almondine
Ingredients
- 1 cup chicken broth or water
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 pound fresh green beans, trimmed (see note)
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 2 to 3 medium shallots, finely diced (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
- ½ cup sliced almonds
- Squeeze of fresh lemon juice (optional)
Instructions
- In a 12-inch nonstick skillet, add the chicken broth or water and salt. Give a quick stir. Add the green beans. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover the skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until the green beans are bright green and crisp-tender. Add time for more tender green beans, if desired.
- Transfer the green beans to a plate with tongs. Discard the cooking liquid (no need to wash the skillet).
- Return the skillet to the stove over medium-low heat, add the butter, and cook until melted.
- Add the shallots and garlic, and cook, stirring often, until the shallots start to turn translucent, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the brown sugar (if using) and sliced almonds and increase the heat so the almonds are sizzling (but not burning!). Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until the almonds are golden and toasted.
- Scoot the almond mixture to the side. Add the green beans back to the skillet, and gently toss the green beans with the almond mixture.
- Drizzle with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (about 1 tablespoon), if desired. Season to taste with additional salt, if needed.
- Serve immediately, or cover and keep warm in the oven or slow cooker for up to an hour (preferably no more than 2 to 3 hours – see note).
We loved this! It is the perfect side dish for someone on a low carb diet.
Glad you enjoyed this dish!
I usually make green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, but didn’t want to fry this year, so I made this instead. It was a huge it. Might have to put this dish in the rotation going forward.
Glad you liked the change-up to this green bean dish!
Mel- these beans are delicious! I made them for Thanksgiving. My family loved them. I’ll definitely start making these for dinner from now on. I especially loved how fancy they looked😊 I ended up not having enough time to make the triple berry pie but I’m going to make it sometime in the next week or so!
Thanks for the review, Nat! Glad you loved these!
When is the 1tsp of salt used that’s listed in the ingredients? Do you put it in the water/chicken broth?
Yes, in step #1 it is added with the water or broth.
I don’t really like green beans, and I loved these! I will make them again and I’m think I might try the recipe with a different vegetable. They were fresh and light – a great addition to all the heavy Thanksgiving sides.
Yay! So happy to hear this, Tiffany. Thank you!
I made a 3x batch for Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit!! We will be making these all year long. Thanks for a great recipe Mel!
Fabulous and easy! These were a hit at Thanksgiving today, even with people who don’t usually like green beans.
Happy to hear that, Patty! Thanks for taking the time to let me know!
This sounds yummy! Recently went gluten free so I decided that, rather than experimenting with GF flours and making my own crispy onions, this will be my “green bean casserole” for Thanksgiving this year. Could I put just the cooked green beans in a crockpot and toss them with the nut topping just before serving to keep the crunch factor?
Sure, I think that would work just fine!
These were a hit! Savory, buttery, and just the right amount of crunch. Thank you!!!
Made these last night as a trial for Thanksgiving. So yum! Next time I think I will cut the green beans into halves or thirds before simmering just so they don’t have to be cut on the plate. My 1-year-old gobbled them up! I plan on doubling for Thanksgiving which I don’t think will pose a problem? Thanks for a great veggie recipe!
Thanks for the review, Meghan! So happy you liked this one.
While I love love love green bean casserole, no one else in my family feels the same. I’ve been doing something similar to this recipe, but this time I’m going to follow yours and add the garlic and shallots. Looks delicious. Will serve along with your pretzel sausage stuffing and life changing instant pot mashed potatoes! Thanks for the fabulous recipes!
You are so welcome, Candice. Happy Thanksgiving!
Sounds so yummy and easy – thank you! (Easy is key for me – ha). Your thoughts on adapting for frozen beans? Fresh have been disappointing at store lately. C&W petite frozen would be the backup to fresh.
HI Lisa – if using frozen green beans, steam them until they are crisp-tender and see how that goes! Might work quite well!