These are the best green beans that I have ever eaten. They have a little bit of sesame flavor, mixed with a punch of ginger, garlic, soy (or coconut aminos), red bell peppers, and onion. Ready in less than 30 minutes – they are the most delicious dinner side dish.
You guys, I am not kidding. These green beans are SO GOOD. My husband said these might be one of the best recipes that I have come up with. They are healthy, delicious, and almost addicting. (And they are a vegetable! What?!)
These green beans remind me of the Peruvian Green Beans from the restaurant chain Viva Chicken – with a touch of extra ginger. I tested this recipe many times and made these with tamari, soy sauce, and coconut aminos – my husband couldn’t tell the difference.
We just bought a house that came with a garden. It had a few things planted in it, so I gave it a little bit of love, and the green beans started growing out of control. I’m not kidding – twice a week, we are picking 3 – 4 pounds of green beans. This recipe is tied with my Instant Pot Southern Style Green Beans for my favorite way to cook them!
Table of Contents
🥘 Ingredients Needed
- Green Beans (Fresh is best – if you buy frozen, try to get Haricot Verts or Thin French Green Beans – they cook faster.)
- Water & Salt to blanch the green beans.
- Sesame Oil – I like to use Toasted Sesame Oil if I can find it – the flavor is much deeper. Kadoya is the brand I use but you can usually get it locally in an International Market for less than $10. In a pinch, I will use La Tourangelle or the Whole Foods 365 Brand.
- Sliced Onion
- Diced Red Bell Pepper
- Minced Garlic
- Grated Ginger (We like to use A LOT of ginger, but you can use as much as you know your family likes.)
- Tamari, Soy Sauce, or Coconut(Coco) Aminos – We like to use tamari because my body does not react negatively to it as it does with regular soy sauce. It is made from ONLY fermented soybeans (no additional grains or wheat) and has more nutritional value (protein and antioxidants) than regular soy sauce as well. For some reason, soy sauce gives me hiccups, but tamari does not. (This one is still a mystery to me. I can eat cookies made from all-purpose flour, but soy sauce with gluten gives me hiccups for hours.) If you have a complete intolerance to soy or are following a Paleo or Whole30 diet, you can use coconut aminos – just be sure to read the notes, as you will need to add a little more salt.
- Kosher Salt – I always use kosher salt – it measures consistently, salts well, and doesn’t have additives.
🍽 Equipment Needed
- A Large Pot (to boil water and blanch the green beans)
- A Colander or Strainer
- A Huge Bowl (to make an ice bath)
- A Wok or Large Frying Pan
- Measuring Cups & Spoons
🥣 How to Make It
This sautéed green bean recipe is a quick and easy side dish.
How to Blanch Green Beans
The first step is to blanch the green beans. This is especially important if you are using fresh green beans.
First, bring a pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil, then drop the green beans in the water and let them cook for 3-5 minutes. (Pictures 1-3)
Drain the green beans and drop them immediately into an ice bath and submerge them. (Pictures 4-5) This will keep them tender and crisp and nice and bright and green, but will also help them to cook a little bit faster when you stir fry them. Once they cool, drain the cold water and use as directed in this recipe.
Here’s a little more information about how to blanch green beans.
Now, Stir Fry the Blanched Green Beans
Begin by heating your wok or skillet over medium/low heat. I like to use a wok because the shape allows for optimal heating and stir-frying.
When the wok is hot, add the sesame oil. When it starts to become fragrant – it won’t take long, about 30 seconds – add the onions and cook them until they are translucent and slightly caramelized. (Pictures 6 – 7)
Now add red peppers, then garlic, and ginger, cooking just briefly so that the ginger and garlic become fragrant and the bell pepper begins to soften. (Pictures 8 – 9)
Add the green beans and toss them in the garlic, oil, and ginger. (Picture 10) The flavor that develops when you sauté the green beans in garlic and ginger is delicious.
Let the green beans cook until they are your desired tenderness. We like to keep them a little crunchy so we cook for only 3 to 4 minutes. Near the very end, add soy sauce (or coconut aminos) and salt, cook for another minute or two then remove from heat. (If you want them to be softer, you can absolutely cook them longer.)
If you want to serve these green beans over rice, you can add an extra tablespoon of soy sauce to create more of a “sauce.”
These green beans look delicious!
🙋♀️ Frequently Asked Questions
Of course. You can follow the exact same directions for frozen green beans, just make sure to check the bag to make sure that they are not pre-cooked. If they are pre-cooked, do not blanch them and cook them for a shorter amount of time.
To make these greens paleo, you can make them with coconut aminos and a little bit of extra salt in place of the tamari or soy sauce.
There are about 35 – 40 green beans in a cup and about 3 cups of green beans in a pound, so usually around 120 green beans in a pound.
There are about 3 cups of green beans in a pound.
Yes. Use about 1 teaspoon each of dried granulated garlic or dried ginger – add more if you desire.
What to Serve them With
We like to serve these green beans as a side dish with roasted chicken, Kalua Pork, fried chicken, or Instant Pot Shredded Chicken – with a side of rice pilaf, there are so many tasty options.
How to Store Leftovers
Once the beans are cooled, store any leftovers in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to a week. The beans can be frozen as well, but they get a little mushy when reheated, so I would recommend just eating them within a week.
How to Reheat Leftovers
These garlicky green beans are just as good the next day. We reheat them by tossing them in a skillet on the stove or heating them in the microwave.
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Share with friends✏️ Helpful Tips
- When making these green beans, try to mince the garlic and grate the ginger instead of chopping it. The smaller bits will caramelize in the heat and will coat the beans with an amazing and intense flavor. (If you don’t have a fancy grater like they use on TV – don’t worry – pull out that box cheese grater that you have had forever and take a look at the sides. I guarantee one of those sides has tiny holes that are perfect for grating ginger and garlic – just be careful of your fingers!)
- Be sure to avoid over-blanching your green beans. They will cook some more when you sauté them, and you don’t want them to become soggy and mushy.
- If you want to serve these green beans over rice, you can add an extra tablespoon of soy sauce to create more of a “sauce.”
Looking for a recipe for Chinese Sautéed Green Beans?
This recipe is more of a Peruvian-inspired sautéed green bean recipe. For a more Asian-inspired recipe, Drive Me Hungry has a lot of options. Some of my favorites are Dry Sautéed or (Dry Fried) Green Beans and Panda Express Copycat String Beans and Chicken.
Other Side Dish Recipes
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Have You Tried This Recipe?
Please rate it and leave a comment below. I would love to hear what you think!
Peruvian Green Beans
Equipment
- a metal colander/strainer
- a large pot
- a pair of tongs
- a zester/grater
Ingredients
- 2 quarts water
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt to blanch green beans
- 3 – 3 ½ cups green beans this is approximately one pound
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- ½ cup onion, thinly sliced
- ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced use 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of dried garlic as a substitute
- 1 tablespoon ginger, grated use 1 to 1 ½ teaspoon of dried ginger as a substitute
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce use coconut aminos for paleo (add another ½ teaspoon kosher salt with coconut aminos to make up for the lack of salty soy)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Blanch the Green Beans
- First, bring a pot of water with 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil, then drop the green beans in the water and let them cook for 3-5 minutes.2 quarts water, 3 – 3 ½ cups green beans, 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- Drain the green beans and drop them immediately into an ice bath and submerge them. Once they cool, drain the cold water and use as directed in this recipe.
Stir Fry the Blanched Green Beans
- Begin by heating your wok or skillet over medium/low heat. I like to use a wok because the shape allows for optimal heating and stir-frying.
- When the wok is hot, add the sesame oil. When it starts to become fragrant – it won't take long, about 30 seconds – add the onions and cook them until they are translucent and slightly caramelized.2 tablespoons sesame oil, ½ cup onion, thinly sliced
- Now add ginger, garlic, and red peppers, cooking just briefly so that the ginger and garlic become fragrant and the bell pepper begins to soften.1 tablespoon garlic, minced, 1 tablespoon ginger, grated, ½ cup red bell pepper, diced
- Add the green beans and toss them in the garlic, oil, and ginger. Now let them cook until they are your desired tenderness. We like to keep them a little crunchy so we cook them for only 1 to 2 minutes.3 – 3 ½ cups green beans
- At the very end, add soy sauce (or coconut aminos) and salt, cook for another minute or two then remove from heat. (If you want them to be softer, you can absolutely cook them longer.)2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce, 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
Green Bean Tips
- When making these green beans, try to mince the garlic and grate the ginger instead of chopping it. The smaller bits will caramelize in the heat and will coat the beans with an amazing and intense flavor. (If you don’t have a fancy grater like they use on TV – don’t worry – pull out that box cheese grater that you have had forever and take a look at the sides. I guarantee one of those sides has tiny holes that are perfect for grating ginger and garlic – just be careful of your fingers!)
- Be sure to avoid over-blanching your green beans. They will cook some more when you sauté them, and you don’t want them to become soggy and mushy.
- If you want to serve these green beans over rice, you can add an extra tablespoon of soy sauce to create more of a “sauce.”
Nutrition
Nutrition information is approximate and is automatically calculated, so should only be used as a guide.
This recipe was originally published on November 9, 2020, but has been updated with new images and more helpful tips!
I haven’t tried this recipe but it sounds great. Can this be made ahead or frozen? I was thinking it would be a wonderful side dish to serve at thanksgiving but always try to use as many cook ahead dishes as I can
You can definitely make this recipe a few days ahead of time, but the more you reheat the green beans, the softer they will get, so I would undercook the beans just a little, then give them a quick saute and a fresh seasoning of salt right before serving them. We almost always have leftovers and eat them for several days, and the quality doesn’t suffer – they just don’t freeze very well.
These really do sound like the best!!
Making this tonight. You show pictures of blanching the beans and make mention to not over blanch but your recipe never actually suggests that they are blanched. What am I missing?
Mike in Reno
Hey Mike, Sorry for the confusion! We are actually making them tonight as well. We blanch them until you can kind of stab them with a fork – they are a little crunchy but not yet soft? They will soften more as you saute them. I usually pull one out with a spoon and then jab it with a fork to test it. Since I’ve made them so many times, I can kind of tell now by snap as well! Hope you love them! Our whole family does!
I’m going to try your recipe this weekend. I wish you gave a time for blanching the green beans
It is hard to give a time because the size of the beans and whether they are fresh or frozen can change how long they need to cook. I usually do 3 – 5 minutes for thick, fresh beans or skinny frozen beans. If the beans are thick cut and frozen, it could take a little longer.