Julie Clark
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Italian Green Beans
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The simplest, most delicious side dish recipe and the best way to eat green beans! These Italian Green Beans are sautéed in butter, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
We’re suckers for buttery garlic parmesan recipes! Easy dinner recipes like garlic butter parmesan chicken, butter breadsticks and baked garlic parmesan wings are three of our favorite go-to recipes. Why not try that classic Parmesan + butter combo on green beans?
The traditional veggie casserole on the dinner table at many family gatherings, including ours, is Green Bean Casserole. But when I serve these Italian Green Beans sautéed in buttery parmesan sauce is one of the only times that we fight over who gets the last little bit of green beans in the bowl.
What are the differences between frozen and canned vegetables?
Green beans are picked and processed (either frozen or canned) at their peak of freshness, usually within a few hours of processing. This means they are both packed full of nutrients and vitamins such as Vitamin C and K, fiber and folate. The canning process takes longer than freezing, but both are great options if you can’t choose fresh garden veggies.
One thing to remember if you choose canned…often times the vegetables will be packed with added sodium or sugars. If you choose canned, be sure to read the labels to know exactly what you are buying.
Can I use canned green beans in this recipe?
As you’ll see, this recipe calls for frozen green beans. But we often get asked “Can I use canned green beans?”. Canned green beans may fall apart a little bit because they are “softer” than frozen green beans.
Because of that reason, we recommend frozen for this recipe. The green beans will be slightly crisp but tender. Or use fresh green beans.
Before You Begin
- Use freshly grated parmesan cheese. It really adds to the flavor and texture of this recipe. The freshly grated cheese will melt a little better than pre-packaged Parmesan.
- You may use store-bought bread crumbs if you’d like, but I usually like to crumble my own bread. We always have spare hot dog or hamburger buns in our freezer. Crumbling one or two up for homemade bread crumbs is a great way to use those random buns.
- As you can read in the recipe below, we use a Ziploc Zip ‘n Steam bag to steam our green beans. We find this is the quickest and easiest no-fail method. You can also steam green beans in the Instant Pot, microwave or stovetop.
How to Make Italian Green Beans
- In a frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Stir to coat and saute over medium heat until the bread crumbs start to brown, about 3-4 minutes.
- While the bread crumbs are sauteing, cook the green beans, either in a Ziploc Zip ‘n Steam bag (according to package directions) or in a pot of water.
- Add the green beans to the frying pan and stir to coat.
- Season with salt, to taste, and serve hot.
Recipe Variations
Looking for a way to jazz up this Italian green beans recipe?
- Add finely diced shallot or onion when sautéing the garlic in the butter.
- Want a hint of spice? Add red pepper flakes.
- Add sun-dried tomatoes or diced Italian style tomatoes.
- Add other Italian spices such as a dash of oregano, thyme or even fresh basil.
What to serve with green beans?
Serve these green beans with cheesy potatoes and baked chicken or baked pork chops. They also go great with a simple salad.
Although these green beans are called Italian-Style Green Beans, they are versatile and can be served as a side to just about any dinner. Their flavor is so savory and your family will love them!
Other Recipes to Love
Italian Green Beans
The simplest, most delicious way to eat green beans! These Italian Green Beans are sauteed in butter, bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese.
Servings 5
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons salted butter or extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1/2 cup bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
- 16 ounces frozen green beans
- salt and ground black pepper to taste
Instructions
- In a frying pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the minced garlic, Italian seasoning, bread crumbs and parmesan cheese. Stir to coat and saute over medium heat until the bread crumbs start to brown, about 3-4 minutes. 2 tablespoons salted butter, ½ teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, ½ cup bread crumbs, ½ cup Parmesan cheese
- While the bread crumbs are sauteing, cook the green beans, either in a Ziploc Zip 'n Steam bag (according to package directions) or in a pot of water. 16 ounces frozen green beans
- Add the green beans to the frying pan and stir to coat.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot. salt and ground black pepper
Video
Notes
Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
The calories shown are based on the recipe serving 5, with 1 serving being ⅕ of the green beans. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. **
Nutrition
Calories: 151kcal | Carbohydrates: 14g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Cholesterol: 18mg | Sodium: 284mg | Potassium: 221mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 845IU | Vitamin C: 11.1mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 1.7mg
Just made this. It was awesome and I even messed it up. I didn’t have garlic, so I did shallot -that turned out great. But I “slightly” burned the bread crumbs (panko)…………and it was still great !!! This will definitely be a keeper. If I can screw up a recipe and can still like it–it’s a winner !!!
I must have done something wrong, my cheese turned clumpy and stuck together.
I had some old green beans. I decided to cook them
anyway. So I looked for a recipe to make the beans taste better
Wow I couldn’t believe the amazing tasty beans
They will become our favourite Family recipe
Thank you so much
Ps I sliced the Garlic in my little slicer and sautéed them I. Butter. I used Italian breadcrumbs that have cheese and parsley in them
Could I use canned green beans. That’s what I have. Not wanting to go to the store w all my kids.
I had some fresh green beans that I needed to use up and wanted to try something different. This recipe turned out delicious! Thank you!
Are the breadcrumbs already toasted when you put them in the butter mixture or do you use fresh breadcrumbs and then they toast as they cook in the butter
Am I able to add blanched beans at to the mixture?
Can you use fresh green beans instead??
I was wondering if you thaw the bag of frozen green beans or add them to the butter frozen?
My 5 yr old LOVES green beans – he will be thrilled to have a new way to eat them! 🙂
These look so fresh and light! Thanksgiving foods can get so heavy, but I love the look of this recipe!
Oh yum! These green beans look so delicious and crunchy. I wanna take a big bite of these babies.
Those look amazing! I would love these rather than the standard green bean casserole at Thanksgiving. Love the bright green color.
Looks delicious..I will be definitely making this for my Christmas dinner as a side dish…Thanks for the recipe..:)
Thank you for the nice recipe.