29 Green Bean Recipes That’ll Make Other Veggies Envious

Stir-fried with paneer, roasted with meatballs, blistered with so much garlic, and more ways to make green beans the star of your dinner table.Photograph by Joe Lingeman, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarcoGreen beans can take a lot more than a quick blanch and a pat of butter. Blister them in a hot skillet until smoky, slow-cook them until silky, toss them with a creamy dressing, or bake them under a blanket of mushrooms and crispy onions. They’re equally game for chile, miso, garlic, Parmesan, tahini, brown butter, and just about any other big flavor you throw their way.These green bean recipes cover the whole calendar: quick stovetop sides and full-on weeknight dinners, crunchy salads and charred beans for summer, plus the casseroles and make-ahead sides we want around the Thanksgiving table. Start with BA’s Best Green Bean Casserole for the classic, Blistered Green Beans With Garlic when you want something fast and punchy, or Pasta e Fagiolini when the green beans need to become dinner.Alex LauBA’s Best Green Bean CasseroleFresh green beans keep their snap under a rich Parmesan béchamel, browned mushrooms, and the one shortcut we refuse to apologize for: store-bought crispy fried onions.Photograph by Emma Fishman, food styling by Susie Theodorou, prop styling by Sophie LengGreen Beans and Mushrooms With Crispy ShallotsAll the mushroomy, buttery satisfaction of green bean casserole, minus the casserole dish. This stovetop side is especially handy when Thanksgiving has claimed every inch of oven space.Photograph by Lucia Bell-Epstein, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, and Prop Styling by Erica LutzGreen Bean SaladBlanched green beans soak up a creamy Parmesan-Dijon dressing in this punchy make-ahead salad. Chill it for an hour, then finish with more cheese and plenty of black pepper.Photograph by Isa Zapata, food styling by Judy Kim, prop styling by Beth PakradooniGreen Beans With Almond Butter SaucePart goma-ae, part amandine, this 20-minute side coats crisp-tender green beans in a savory almond butter dressing. Bonus: It’s just as good cold the next day.Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Emma RingnessGreen Beans With Tahini SbagliatoTahini, miso, lemon, and a garden’s worth of herbs turn simply blanched green beans into the kind of side dish you keep swiping from the platter.Photo by Chelsie Craig, Food Styling by Kate BuckensBlistered Green Beans With GarlicSix cloves of garlic, chile flakes, and briny capers meet deeply blistered green beans in one of our fastest routes from a pound of beans to dinner-table glory.Photograph by Joe Lingeman, Food Styling by Liberty Fennell, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarcoHazelnut Green Beans With Prosciutto and DatesCrunchy hazelnuts, chewy dates, and crisp prosciutto turn barely tender green beans into a side that works just as well at Thanksgiving as it does at a cookout.Photo and Food Styling by Sarah JampelGreen Beans PalyaMustard seeds, curry leaves, chile, coconut, and lemon give this South Indian green bean dish layers of flavor without obscuring the beans themselves.Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Sue LiSummer Beans With Miso ButterGreen beans, wax beans, Romano beans—whatever looks best at the market gets a hot sear and a swipe through gingery chile-miso butter.Photograph by Scott Semler, Prop Styling by Maggie Dimarco, Food Styling by Drew AicheleBlistered Romano Beans With Chile ButterBroiling meaty Romano beans blisters them, turning them tender before introducing them to a punchy chile butter. Regular green beans work too; just start checking them sooner.Photographs by Laura Murray, food styling by Rose Daniels and Yia VangBlistered Green Beans With Fried ShallotsLet the beans sit long enough to deeply brown before tossing them with lemongrass, ginger, and oyster sauce. A shower of crispy shallots does the rest.Photo by Chelsie Craig, food styling by Claire SaffitzSlow-Cooked Green Beans With Harissa and CuminForget crisp-tender: These green beans roast low and slow with harissa and cumin until deeply savory, caramelized, and almost impossibly silky.Photo by Emma Fishman, Food Styling by Tami HardemanSpicy Pickled Summer BeansA hot-sour brine keeps green or wax beans crisp for weeks. Eat them straight from the jar or deploy them anywhere a sandwich, grain bowl, or Bloody Mary needs some zip.Green Bean TempuraClub soda keeps this tempura batter light and crisp around snappy green beans. A pot of hot oil and three minutes per batch stand between you and the ultimate green bean snack.Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Mieko TakahashiPasta e FagioliniHere green beans go well past crisp-tender, simmering with tomato until silky and sweet before pasta, Parmesan, herbs, and lemon join the pot. Frozen beans work too.Photograph by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Emilie FosnochtGreen Bean and Farro Picnic SaladSmash blanched green beans so they drink up the hot-pepper vinaigrette, then add farro, white beans, and two cheeses for a make-ahead lunch that travels beautifully.Photograph by Heami Lee, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Maggie DiMarcoPaneer and Green Bean Stir-FryCoat golden, pan-fried paneer and blistered green beans in curry powder, soy sauce, and mirin for a 30-minute vegetarian dinner with plenty of savory depth.Photograph by Elizabeth Coetzee, Food Styling by Taneka Morris, Prop Styling by Christina AllenGarlic-Coconut Shrimp and Green BeansThe real trick in this speedy stir-fry recipe is the crispy coconut-garlic topping—and the fragrant oil left behind, which does double duty cooking the shrimp and beans.Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Jesse Szewczyk, Prop Styling by Dayna SemanBangladeshi Spiced Shrimp and Green Bean Stir-FryGreen beans and shrimp cook quickly in mustard oil with green chile, turmeric, and cumin in this streamlined take on a Bangladeshi home-style dish. Serve with rice and lemon.Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Gerri WilliamsChicken Meatballs With Sesame Green BeansChicken meatballs roast on one side of the sheet pan while green beans cook on the other; a sweet soy glaze and bright sesame dressing bring them together over rice.Photograph by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Stephanie De LucaHerby Sheet-Pan Meatballs With Green BeansHerb-packed turkey meatballs and green beans roast together, then take a quick trip under the broiler to brown the edges. Stir turmeric and tahini into yogurt for an earthy-but-bright sauce.Photo by Alex Lau, Food Styling by Susie TheodorouMiso Chicken and Green Bean Stir-FryA fast miso-curry paste turns chicken breast, green beans, and peas into a savory weeknight stir-fry that lands on the table in one skillet.Photo by Travis Rainey, Food Styling by Thu Buser, Prop Styling by Alexandra MassillonMiso Curry Beef and Green BeansGround beef, curry powder, and miso make this Japanese-style dry curry rich and deeply savory, while a generous helping of green beans keeps it firmly in dinner territory.Photograph by Elliott Jerome Brown Jr., Food Styling by Thu Buser, and Prop Styling by Christina AllenSoy-Glazed Salmon BowlsSweet-savory glazed salmon sits alongside a make-ahead salad of blanched green beans and juicy tomatoes in this weeknight-friendly dinner.Photo by Isa Zapata, Food Styling by Pearl Jones, Prop Styling by Anne EastmanButternut Squash and Green Bean StewFor this prep-ahead green bean recipe, you can roast the squash and make the all-purpose coconut curry sauce a few days in advance. When you’re ready to serve, heat the curry and squash together with fresh beans, and dinner's ready in just 10 minutes.Joe joined the Bon Appétit team in 2022 after climbing the editorial ranks for a few years at Condé Nast’s other food publication, Epicurious. As the senior SEO editor, he works to make sure Google loves all of BA’s cooking stories just as much as you do. Look for his ... Read More