Green Beans Almondine
A classic and easy side dish, Green Beans Almondine is a simple recipe of crisp, tender green beans sauteed in butter, lemon juice and shallots then topped with toasted almonds. Don’t save this one for a special occasion.
Green Bean Almondine
Side dishes reign supreme during the holidays at my house. It doesn’t matter what the main course is, or what holiday exactly, we always have the most amazing vegetables, casseroles and salads. It’s just a given that we need a ton of choices but one of the BEST side dishes I’ve made by far is also the simplest.
This Green Beans Almondine recipe is super simple to make and is packed with tons of flavor even though it’s made with just a few ingredients. It’s one of our favorite Thanksgiving side dish recipes but you’ll also find this green bean recipe for other occasions, too.
Served at some higher end steakhouse, Green Beans Almondine is not super fancy at all….as the name sounds. I’m on a steakhouse side dish kick lately it seems but they all are great holiday side dishes so we’re going to keep going with that. No worries, I’ll hit the desserts, too!
What is Green Beans Almondine?
Green Beans Almondine is easy to make and is a classic French dish of green beans with almonds. Almondine (or amandine) is a culinary term for an almond garnish.
It’s simply blanched fresh green beans that are then sauteed in butter, garlic and shallots. To brighten up the flavor, fresh lemon juice and lemon zest are added to the mix.
The almonds are toasted in a skillet and then piled high on top of the green beans for a tasty looking presentation that ensures everyone gets a bit of everything with each serving.
How To Cook Fresh Green Beans
Though it may be tempting to use frozen green beans for this recipe, fresh green beans work best.
- Trim – You’ll need to trim off the stem end of the green beans if it hasn’t been done already. You can either cut them off with a knife or they should snap easily if you bend right at the tip. It will only take a couple minutes to trim your green beans. You can even snap your green beans up to 24 hours in advance to save time when you’re ready to cook them.
- Blanch – Blanching green beans before sauteing them is super simple to do. Bring a pot of water to a boil and drop the green beans in for 1-2 minutes until they turn bright green. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the green beans to an ice bath (a bowl of cold water with ice) to stop the cooking process and preserve the color. By blanching your green beans first, you’ll end up with perfectly sauteed green beans that are crisp, tender and not mushy.
- Saute – Add the butter to the pan and allow it to melt over medium heat. Bonus points if you allow it to brown slightly (Brown butter = flavor). Add your green beans to the pan and saute for 3-4 minutes or until tender.
That’s it…..it’s so easy to cook green beans in a matter of minutes. And they’re tasty with or without the almondine topping!
How To Make Green Beans Almondine
While you’re blanching your green beans, toast the almonds in a skillet with butter. After the shallots are toasted, add butter, shallots, garlic and green beans to the pan. Once the green beans are tender, add the almonds back to the pan with the lemon juice, zest and parsley.
If you want to add a variation on your Green Beans Almondine, you can stir in crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms (my favorite), grated pecorino or parmesan cheese, or crispy cracker crumbs.
This simple preparation for green beans is great paired with beef, chicken or pork. It also goes very well with your Thanksgiving turkey!
Pro Tips
- Mise en Place – Meaning, get all your ingredients together ahead of time because this green bean recipe cooks up quickly.
- Almonds – Buy sliced almonds or slivered almonds because they’ll be uniformly sliced and cook more evenly saving you time chopping. Also, cook them in butter as opposed to a dry skillet which will keep the from browning too quickly.
- Green Beans – I like to use Haricot Vert (which is a slender, more tender variety of green bean) because they cook quickly and taste better. If you can’t find Haricot Vert, you can use regular green beans. (Which I did for the photos because our grocer was out of Haricot Vert.)
- Blanch – Don’t skip the step of blanching your green beans in heavily salted water. The salt in the water adds a ton of flavor to the green beans and this is the only way you’ll get to season the inside of the beans. Do NOT overcook your green beans, this step is only to get the party started.
What To Serve With It
This is the ultimate party side dish and it goes well with just about anything.
We love to serve this Green Bean recipe alongside this Crock Pot Ham at Christmas time but it’s also fantastic with my favorite Prime Rib Roast. Both are fantastically easy but make you look like a total rock star in the kitchen.
If you’re having a more low key dinner, you can serve your green beans with this Oven Baked Chicken Breast for something more simple or a whole roast chicken for Sunday dinner!
More Easy Side Dish Recipes
- Green Bean Casserole
- Cheesy Creamed Spinach Recipe
- French Lyonnaise Potatoes
- Garlic Parmesan Baked Asparagus
- Easy Sweet Potato Casserole
Get the Recipe: Green Beans Almondine Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup butter, divided
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
- 1/4 cup shallots minced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed and washed
- kosher salt and pepper to taste
- juice and zest of one lemon
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Equipment
- skillet
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil over medium high heat.
- Season the water, liberally, with kosher salt and then add the green beans.
- Blanch the green beans for 3-4 minutes or until they are crisp tender. (They need to be slightly undercooked since they’ll finish cooking in the skillet.)
- Using a slotted spoon, transfer the green beans to an ice bath (a bowl of cold water with ice) to stop the cooking process. (You can do this step in advance and store in an airtight container for up to 24 hours in the refrigerator.)
- Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a skillet over medium heat.
- Add the almonds to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes or until golden brown, tossing occasionally to prevent burning.
- Remove the almonds from the pan and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel.
- Melt the remaining butter in the pan. Add the shallots and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Add the green beans and toss with the shallots. Cook the green beans, stirring occasionally, for an additional 3-4 minutes.
- Stir in the lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper.
- Sprinkle the almonds over the green beans and garnish with parsley.
- Serve immediately.
Video
5 Comments on “Green Beans Almondine”
Yum! I love green beans and the almonds give a great texture. This is definitely going to be a new favorite.
Growing up I wasn’t a big green beans fan, but now I love them. This recipe looks fantastic! 🙂 The almonds add the perfect contrast to the soft beans. Awesome!
Thank you so much! They’re definitely on repeat here.
Oh my goodness, how tasty is this side dish! A new favorite of mine for sure! Will be making it over the holidays!
These have such amazing flavor! Love the crunch from the almonds!