This simple, but delicious Garlic-Herb Green Beans recipe is great for any weeknight dinner or holiday meal! Fresh green beans are boiled in flavorful stock, then drained and tossed in a butter sauce with tons of spices. My mouth is watering just thinking about them!
I feel like green beans are an under appreciated side dish, mostly because people either grow up eating them out of the can (which I personally love!), or they don't learn how to properly cook them.
This recipe for green beans is a little different than the typical one - because we boil the fresh green beans first to get them fork tender. After that, you want to remove most of the liquid and then bloom a spice blend in some melted butter. Finally, a few tosses makes sure that every piece is covered in a tasty seasoning. A squeeze of lemon towards the end of cooking just adds the cherry on top!
The Coined Breakdown
- Total Cost per serving: $0.63
- Total Cost (about 8 servings): $5.07
- Those Other Guys: $6.99 per serving
Ingredients
- Green Beans - In the produce section, pick out a bag of fresh green beans! We won't need the canned version for this recipe.
- Chicken Stock - We're going to boil our veggies in stock to impart even more flavor into them. If you want to keep this 100% vegetarian, use veggie stock instead.
- Worcestershire - A little bit of this gives a ton of flavor and umami to our dish.
- Spice Blend - Made with spices you most likely already have in your cabinet.
- Butter - To help the spices cling to the green beans; plus, who doesn't like butter? You can also use ghee.
- Lemon - Don't skip this! A squeeze of citrus really brightens up the dish.
What to Serve with String Beans
Cajun Baked Turkey Wings: Thanksgiving can be any night with these Baked Turkey Wings and a hearty serving of garlic butter green beans!
Korean Beef Bowls: Serve green beans on the side of this Asian-inspired dish that's ready in less than 30 minutes.
Salmon Wellington: Puff Pastry Salmon is such a fancy-looking meal that really doesn't take much effort! Pair it with garlic-herb green beans and creamy mashed potatoes.
How to Make Garlic-Herb Green Beans
Step 1: Start out by washing and trimming your fresh green beans.
Step 2: Add them to a large skillet with deep sides.
Pour in chicken/veggie stock, and boil - covered - until fork tender.
Step 3: Set aside the beans and a little bit of reserved stock.
In that same pot, melt butter and add in Worcestershire sauce and the dry spices.
Step 4: Pour the green beans back in (with the reserved stock), and add minced garlic and lemon juice.
Stir well, and cook for a few more minutes. It's that easy!
Recipe Pro Tips
- Trim the veggies. Just my opinion... but I never like having to pick through the stems of green beans! Cut these off before you get started cooking.
- Don't burn your butter! Make sure to cut your heat down before adding the butter and spices. Butter will burn really easily at the original high heat that we used to boil the veggies.
Recipe FAQs
I recommend it, 100%. The issue a lot of people have with fresh green beans is that they're still too hard and crunchy when cooked. The boiling step really softens everything up!
Yes, if you use veggie stock and vegetable bouillon powder!
To make them vegan, swap out the butter for a non-dairy version as well.
Other Side Dish Recipes You'll Love!
If you tried this Garlic-Herb Green Beans Recipe, or any other recipe on my website, please leave a star rating and let me know how it went in the comments below. I love hearing from you! Thanks for visiting!
Garlic-Herb Green Beans
Equipment
- Large Skillet with Deep Sides and lid
- Chef's Knife
- Silicone Spatula
Ingredients
- 2 pounds fresh green beans
- 1 ½ cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 teaspoons onion powder
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 count lemon
Instructions
- Add the green beans and chicken stock to a large skillet with deep sides.Cover with a lid, and boil on medium-high heat for 15 minutes until fork tender.2 pounds fresh green beans, 1 ½ cups chicken stock
- Strain the green beans, reserving ¼ cup of stock, and set the beans aside.
- In the same skillet, turn the heat down to low. Add in your butter, Worcestershire sauce, and dry seasonings.4 tablespoons salted butter, 4 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons salt, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon, 1 teaspoon smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon black pepper, ½ teaspoon ground thyme
- Continuously stir until a paste forms.
- Add back in the green beans and top with the minced garlic. Squeeze the lemon juice over the beans, and add the ¼ cup of reserved chicken stock.4 cloves garlic, 1 count lemon
- Stir well, cover the pan again, and cook on low for another 5 minutes. Enjoy!
Alex Z. says
These are seriously addicting. I love how they aren't really crunchy like most green beans.
Shani W. says
Same here, Alex! Thank you for commenting.