Lemony Green Beans with Pine Nuts & Garlic
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These lemony green beans with pine nuts and garlic are flavorful, simple, and go great alongside pretty much any main dish! They’re one of my go-to sides for weeknight meals, holidays, and dinner parties.
Fancy green bean varieties are back at the farmer’s market and I am in my peak Millennial foodie mode. Sundresses and mesh produce bags are involved. I stroll around with a coffee and pretend I’m at a Parisian outdoor market. It’s a whole thing.
The benefit of this is I come home with armfuls of fresh, seasonal fruits and veggies. The fruit sometimes gets spooned over yogurt but more oftentimes get baked into a galette. But with the veggies, I like to make something that’s fancy enough to serve guests but simple and attainable enough for an elevated weeknight dinner. Lemony charred broccoli and this super simple green salad with sherry shallot dressing are some of my other faves!
These green beans I learned how to make in culinary school are a lovely example of my favorite kind of veggie side dish situation! They’re bright, fresh, savory, a bit spicy, and have a nice crunch thanks to the pine nuts.
Green beans or Haricots Verts
My personal favorite for this recipe is Haricots Verts, a.k.a. French green beans. They are a little longer, thinner, and more flavorful than traditional green beans. But traditional will work just as well in this recipe!
To flavor the green beans, make sure you have pine nuts, a shallot, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon, olive oil, unsalted butter, Kosher salt, and black pepper. You can also use almonds!
How to make this recipe step-by-step
Refrigerating leftovers
To store leftover green beans, let them come to room temperature. Then, spoon them into an airtight container. Keep them in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Reheating instructions
To reheat the leftovers, you can either microwave them for 30-60 seconds until hot. Or, you can always reheat them with a little olive oil in a pan on the stove. Heat the green beans just until they’re hot so they don’t get too overcooked!
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Lemony Green Beans with Pine Nuts & Garlic
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons pine nuts
- 1 pound green beans, trimmed
- 1/3 cup water
- 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 small shallot, thinly sliced
- 2 large cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, plus more or less, to taste
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest (about 1 small lemon)
- Lemon juice, to taste
- Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste
Equipment
- 12-inch skillet
Instructions
- In a large dry skillet, cook the pine nuts over medium heat until they are toasted and fragrant, about 1-2 minutes. Spoon the pine nuts into a bowl and set aside. Return the pan to the stove.
- Place green beans in the skillet. Add the water and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover and cook for about 3 minutes, or until the green beans are slightly tender but still crisp.
- Remove the lid from the pan and stir until the water is evaporated, about 3-4 minutes. Then, make a well in the center of the pan and add the olive oil and butter until it is melted.
- Add the shallots to the olive oil-butter mixture and sauté until the shallots are soft and starting to brown on the edges, about 3-4 minutes. Then, add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir the green beans with the shallot-garlic mixture.
- Remove the pan from the heat (at this point, the green beans should be crisp-tender). Add the red pepper flakes, lemon zest, a squeeze of lemon juice, salt, and pepper. Toss, taste, and add additional seasonings if desired.
- Spoon the green beans onto a serving dish and sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts. Serve immediately. Enjoy!
