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Green Beans Almondine with Garlic and Shallots – delicious, fresh, healthy, and prepared in no time! A simple vegan green beans recipe that the whole family will love!
There are so many ways to prepare green beans, but this recipe is one of my absolute favorites! It has everything you ever wanted in a healthy veggie side dish!
Green beans are healthy, tasty, and can be served as a side dish with almost every meal.
But simply boiling green beans in salty water isn’t enough. This will make them look bland and lacks flavor. And hey, I am sure you want your kids actually LOVE to eat greens, and don’t hate it! Am I right?! 🙂
So let me show you how to turn a pound of fresh green beans into a healthy AND delicious side dish everybody will love.
What Are Green Beans Almondine?
It’s a tasty side dish made with green beans, sliced almonds, garlic, onion, lemon juice, and Dijon mustard. Imagine crisp-tender green beans with lots of flavor! Here you go!
The secret ingredient, which gives those beans the name “almondine”, are almonds! Golden brown toasted almonds. They provide the beans with a beautiful nutty taste and add some crunch.
I am almost sure that if you once made this recipe, you will never prepare green beans another way.
No almonds at hand? If you don’t have almonds at hand or don’t like nuts in general, you can simply leave them out! No big deal! Sautéd green beans taste delicious even without almonds (see picture below).
Green Bean Almondine Recipe
First, you need to blanch the green beans in boiling water. It’s crucial to undercook them, as you are going to sauté them for another few minutes.
The next step is to sauté the green beans together with olive oil, minced garlic, and onion in a large skillet. THIS step is what gives your beans the irresistible flavor. To make them even tastier, season with Dijon mustard and lemon juice. Last but not least, toss with toasted almonds and season with salt and pepper.
The acidity of the lemon gives beans an irresistible flavor! → If you have another favorite way to cook green beans, try to season them with lemon juice the next time, I promise it will take your beans to the next level!
Aline’s Serving Suggestion: I love to serve green beans almondine with freshly cooked tagliatelle. This combination makes a perfect dinner! Simple, quick, and so tasteful!
How To Cook Green Beans – Tipps & Tricks
Wash & Trim Beans: You must wash and trim green beans first. Trimming beans means to cut off the brown hard ends whit a knife. You only need to trim one side! By the way, frozen green beans are always trimmed. But I highly suggest using fresh ones for this recipe.
Blanch Green Beans (means to cook them in boiling salt water): In order for the beans to keep their beautiful bright green color, you should salt the water with plenty of salt. I suggest ½ tablespoon of salt for each pound of beans.
Rinse With Cold Water: After blanching, drain the beans over a sieve and then rinse under running cold water. → This stops the cooking process and ensures that the beans retain their green color. Some recipes call for an ice bath, but it’s much easier and sufficient doing it with cold water for this particular recipe.
Don’t Overcook: Be aware that the beans first are blanched and afterward sautéd. So do not cook them for too long in boiling salt water as you might be used to from other recipes. You want crisp beans.
Leftovers: You can either reheat leftovers or mix it with a vinaigrette of olive oil and vinegar to make a green bean salad.
Green Beans Almondine Make Ahead Tip: Blanch green beans one day in advance and store them in the refrigerator after you drained and rinsed them with cold water. Go ahead with step 3 (in the recipe card) the next day.
More Side Dish Recipes You Will Love:
- Simple Green Salad
- Sheet Pan Vegetables
- Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Homemade Baked French Fries
- Grilled Vegetable Skewers
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📖 Recipe
Green Beans Almondine
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Ingredients
- 1.1 lb (500 g) green beans
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 2 shallots minced
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup (25 g) sliced almonds
Instructions
- Trim the brown ends of the beans and wash them thoroughly under cold water.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add ½ tbsp salt, and blanch beans for 5 minutes. They must be slightly undercooked! Drain them and rinse under running COLD water. → This stops the cooking process and ensures that the beans retain their green color.
- Meanwhile, toast sliced almonds for a few minutes in a skillet over medium heat. Set aside.
- In the same skillet, heat the olive oil, add minced garlic and shallots and sauté for 3 minutes.
- Add mustard, lemon juice, and drained beans. Toss and sauté for another few minutes until you are happy with how firm/soft your beans are. Toss with toasted sliced almonds, season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately.
Notes
- Keeps Fresh: For 2 days stored in the refrigerator.
- Reheat: In a skillet or microwave.
- No almonds at hand? If you don’t have almonds at hand or don’t like nuts in general, you can simply leave them out! No big deal!
