Sauteed Green Beans or string beans are quickly sauteed with garlic and lemon. They are a delicious, and super quick and easy to make side dish. Perfect alongside anything you're serving!
Trim green beans by lining them up in the same direction and slicing off the ends.
Over medium-high heat bring ¼ cup of water to a boil in a large saute pan or skillet.
Add green beans to the skillet and allow to boil 3 minutes, turning
Drain beans and heat the oil in the same pan.
Sautee the beans in the oil for about one minute, stirring.
Add the garlic, red pepper flakes and salt.
Cook, stirring, about 1 more minute
Remove pan from the heat immediately
Squeeze lemon over the beans and toss to combine
Serve right away.
Notes
You can blanch the beans ahead of time and store them in the fridge until you're ready to sautee them. Just follow steps 2 & three, and after draining, plunge the string beans into ice water to stop them from cooking further. Keep them in the fridge until you're ready to give them a quick saute. Trim the knobby stem ends of the beans before cooking. To trim, line up a pile of beans facing in the same direction, then using a chef's knife, slice the ends from all the beans at once. No need to cut the tapered ends.The key to perfect tender-crisp string beans is timing. Be very careful not to overcook or the beans will turn mushy and grey.You can use frozen green beans. Just skip the blanching (steps 2,3,&4) and saute them straight from frozen.Add other vegetables to the pan and saute them first before adding the beans. Our favourites are mushrooms and red bell pepper strips.Add a pat of butter to the oil if you want to make the dish a bit richer. Otherwise this recipe is dairy and gluten-free.