The Best Garlicky Green Beans (oil free)

The Best Garlicky Green Beans are those with a delicious umami taste! These green beans are incredibly flavorful and a perfect and easy addition or side dish to any savory meal. With just a few cupboard ingredients you can make these garlicky green beans under 20 minutes.

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Bright green, slightly crunchy, fresh, savory, and garlicky. Let me introduce to you my new favorite side dish: garlicky green beans. To be honest, I actually add these beans to everything savory. Or sometimes I make a larger portion and serve it just like that with brown rice. It’s really that good!

All you need are a few cupboard ingredients and less than 20 minutes.

Fresh Green Beans

It is very important to use fresh green beans for this recipe. In my opinion canned green beans taste horrible anyway, but for this recipe canned green beans or green beans from a glass jar are a big no. You want to use fresh green beans.  

If you have always used canned or frozen green beans, you will be amazed how delicious fresh green beans taste. They actually taste like green beans and have that typical fresh crunchy bite.

Green beans smothered in soy sauce, miso and garlic is irresistible.

What To Do With Fresh Green Beans?

I can understand that green beans can be a forgotten vegetable and you might not know how to make fresh green beans taste good. Just keep in mind that when it comes to green beans it’s important to go for fresh. Frozen (in this case) is almost as good as fresh, but anything in a can or jar is for me personally just not worth the purchase. The taste and texture is just off.

Fresh green beans are easy to prepare. All you have to do is cut off the tip and wash the greens beans under running water. If the green beans have a string (they might be string beans then), use a paring knife to snap the ends off and pull it back to remove the string in the middle.

Next, flavor them with just a few basic ingredients. Quite often just a bit of garlic, salt and pepper and an oil (or water) will do. But when you have them sizzling in a pan try adding in some umami flavors, such as soy sauce, tamari, or miso paste. It’s amazing what these flavors van do together with the garlic.

How To Cook Fresh Green Beans?

You can decide whether you boil or steam fresh green beans. You can also roast or sauté them. I like to lightly boil or steam them and then add the green beans to a pan to sauté (or pan fry) the green beans. When you boil or steam green beans, make it short. It’s very easy to overcook them and they will lose texture and flavor then.

After lightly boiling or steaming the green beans, add the green beans to a nonstick pan over high heat and let simmer while you make the sauce in the same pan at the same time. Then stir in the sauce with the green beans and let heat for about 3-5 minutes so that the flavors can develop. Keep tossing the green beans in the pan. That’s it!

white plate with ingredients for making easy green beans recipe

How to make Garlicky Green Beans

Most classical recipes for garlicky green beans require butter. Butter and green beans are indeed a delicious combination and you can add vegan butter to this recipe instead of the miso paste, but I would highly recommend following my recipe. It’s just so delicious!

All you have to do is clean the green beans and remove the ends. Then quickly boil or steam the green beans so they are not raw. And to flavor the green beans quickly heat the green beans in a hot (non-stick) pan with sliced garlic, soy sauce or tamari, miso paste, lemon juice, water from the green beans and date syrup. Let everything heat up and combine well. Finish with some sliced almonds for that extra crunch and flavor.

Oh my! So delicious, and so fragrant!

garlicky green beans on a white plate with a fork

A great thing about this recipe is that it’s very flexible, as in very versatile and forgiving. If you would like to lower the umami flavor, simply add less soy sauce and more water from the cooked green beans. The other way around also works well. Sometimes I use more soy sauce or miso paste, because I love those flavors.

And if you like a bit more heat, try adding in a dash of chili powder. Make this recipe your own and I’m sure it will become a favorite (side) dish.

It’s so nice to have a fool proof side dish that you can memorize and make whenever you need a quick recipe. It takes of the stress for the holiday season, but it’s also a great way to eat more veggies for lunch or dinner. I also love garlicky green beans as a snack. They are just the perfect recipe and you will love it!

showing how to cook green beans in a pan

close up garlicky green beans when served

What To Eat With Garlicky Green Beans?

The best thing with garlicky green beans is that they go with anything savory. Here are some ideas:

I’d love to know if you are going to make this garlicky green beans. Don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below. And if you snapped a photo of your green beans, share it with me on Instagram #thegreencreator or Facebook.

garlicky green beans on a white plate with a fork

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garlicky green beans on a white plate with a fork

The Best Garlicky Green Beans (oil free)

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  • Author: Bianca
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 15
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 2 (as sides) 1x
  • Category: side dish, starter
  • Method: stovetop
  • Cuisine: Gluten-Free, Vegan, Oil-Free
  • Diet: Vegan

Description

Delicious Vegan Garlicky Green Beans! Big garlic flavor, no-oil or butter and combined with slivered almonds for that extra crunch. All in just 20 minutes!


Ingredients

Scale
  • ~2 cups (300 gr) fresh green beans,washed and tips removed
  • ½ tbs (dark) miso paste
  • 2 tbs soy sauce (or tamari or coconut aminos)
  • 23 tbs water from the cooked green beans
  • 4 garlic cloves, chopped (cut into wedges) not minced
  • 1 tbs lemon or lime juice
  • ½ tbs date syrup
  • ½ tbs sliced almonds

Instructions

Remove the tips from the green beans and rinse the green beans under running water.

Place the green beans in a pot with boiling water and let it boil for about 5 minutes or until the green beans are slightly soft. Alternatively, you can steam the green beans.

Remove the green beans from the pot, but don’t discard the water. I use tongs to take the green beans safely out of the boiling water.

Heat a non-stick fry pan over medium heat. Add in the green beans.

Move the green beans to the side and add to the other side of the pan the sliced (not minced) garlic, 2-3 tablespoons water from the cooked green beans, soy sauce, miso paste, lemon juice and date syrup. Stir to combine until the garlic is well coated with all the ingredients and starts to brown.

Then move the green beans from the other side to the pan, to combine with the garlic. Stir to combine so the green beans are coated with the sauce.

Turn green beans constantly until they turn bright green and maybe a few little brown spots, about 3 minutes.

When the beans start to dry out too much, lower the heat and add in a tablespoon of water and ½ teaspoon soy sauce.

Optional: before serving add sliced almonds for extra flavor and crunch. Stir well to combine.

Serve warm immediately.



Notes

These garlicky green beans will keep in the fridge for about 5 days in an airtight container.

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