Sautéed Frozen Green Beans

A delicious side dish made with just 4 simple ingredients, this sautéed frozen green beans recipe is an easy way to add more vegetables to your dinner table. Great for busy weeknights or a special occasion alike, the whole family will eat their veggies with this tasty side dish. And you'll appreciate how low maintenance it is to make!

Jump to:

• The Ingredients
• The Method
• Leftovers and Storage
• Make it Your Own
• Serving Ideas
• And if you liked this recipe...
• Recipe Card
• Comments

If you're like me and you're always striving to serve more vegetables with your weeknight dinners, then these sautéed green beans are for you.

A healthy side dish with a simple cooking process and no prep (you don't even have to cut beans or defrost them first!), it is a great option for serving alongside almost any main course or even with a holiday meal (as are these Roasted Asparagus and Carrots).

For best results (so that no one can tell you took a shortcut and didn't use fresh beans!), use a large skillet so that they are not overcrowded and in a single layer.

And don't rush them (they'll take about 20-25 minutes total) in order to develop the best texture.

The Ingredients

• Frozen Green Beans- In the frozen section look for extra fine or thin green beans that are whole (not chopped) for the best results and texture.
• Salt
• Black Pepper
• Avocado Oil- Olive oil or another vegetable oil can be used instead.

The Method

1. Cook covered. Add the avocado oil to a large skillet and place over low medium heat. Add the frozen beans to the hot pan in a single layer and cover. Cook covered for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 or so minutes.

2. Cook uncovered. After cooking the green string beans covered for long enough that they are cooked through and just tender, stir in your seasonings and increase to medium high heat for a couple of minutes, stirring often to lightly crisp the beans.

3. Serve.

Leftovers and Storage

To Store: Store leftover sautéed green beans in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

To Reheat: Heat beans in a skillet over medium low until warmed through or reheat in the microwave.

Make it Your Own

The beauty of this recipe is how simple it is and how it can easily be adapted to feature different flavors! Here are some ideas for ways to take this simple green side dish to the next level:

• Garlic- Add 1-2 cloves minced fresh garlic or ½ teaspoon garlic powder at the same time as the pepper and salt.
• Onions- Slice and sauté an onion until tender and just starting to caramelize and then add the green beans and resume with the recipe. Or add ½ teaspoon of onion powder at the same time as the salt and pepper.
• Ginger- Add 1 tablespoon of minced ginger at the same time as the pepper and salt.
• Additional Seasonings
  • Italian Seasoning (or other dried herbs of choice)- add 1 teaspoon at the same time as the pepper and salt.
  • Red Pepper Flakes- Add ¼ teaspoon at the same time as the salt and pepper.
• Buttery Sautéed Green Beans- Use butter in place of oil for cooking and add an extra drizzle of melted butter on top for serving.
• Bacon- Cook 2 slices of bacon, remove from the pan and crumble. Use 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease to cook the beans instead of the avocado oil and then add the crumbled bacon on top for serving.
• Balsamic Green Beans- Stir 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar into the green beans at the same time as the seasonings.

Serving Ideas

Add some garnishes:

• Grated Parmesan Cheese
• Fresh Cracked Pepper
• Chopped Fresh Herbs- such as parsley, basil, green onions or dill
• Lemon Zest and a squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice
• Chopped Roasted Almonds or Pecans

These frozen sautéed green beans make a great side dish for almost anything! Here are some dishes that we enjoy them with:

• Lemon Herb Cod
• Bruschetta Chicken Sheet Pan
• Lemon Herb Shrimp and Rice
• Sautéed Spinach Pasta
• Whole Roast Chicken

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And if you liked this recipe...

...you might also like:

• Cajun Honey Butter Corn (Made with Frozen Corn)
• Baked Herb Tomato Zucchini
• Sautéed Carrots and Spinach

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