Roasted Green Beans with Garlic and Lemon
Lemon garlic roasted green beans come out of a 425°F oven deeply browned at the edges and tender in the middle. The trick to perfect baked green beans is leaving them the heck alone on the pan! No stirring and no flipping equals no soggy, steamed beans.
FEATURED COMMENT
"This is my go to green bean recipe! This is in constant rotation. I cook a little longer to get a little more char on them."
- Andrew
Recipe at a glance
Why I Love This Recipe
I've cooked green beans every possible way. But this is the method I keep coming back to, because it takes just four ingredients and one sheet pan, and it tastes like pure kitchen sorcery.
For a long time I could not make a decent pan of roasted green beans. They came out floppy. Mushy. Steamed instead of roasted. Turns out, I was doing three things wrong all at once: oven too low, a crowded baking sheet, and me opening the door every five minutes to stir them around. Fixing all three at the same time is what finally worked to make my favorite way to cook green beans: 425°F, a single layer, and hands off the dang pan!
Now that I've nailed the method, these beans are in constant rotation all summer long in my house. I do recommend fresh, in-season green beans (either grow your own green beans or grab them from a farmer's market), but honestly, this roasting method is so tasty, it works with out-of-season beans and even frozen green beans, too. Here's why you'll love this recipe:
- Four ingredients, one sheet pan: green beans, olive oil, garlic, lemon, plus salt and pepper you already have.
- Nothing to stir or flip: the beans go in and stay put, which is the whole reason the edges brown instead of steaming.
- 425°F does the work: five minutes of trimming while the oven preheats, then twenty minutes hands-off.
- Goes with basically anything: holiday tables, weeknight chicken, or a night when the vegetable was an afterthought
- The easiest green bean method: when I want slow, my country green beans and potatoes recipe, but when I want something quick and wildly easy? It's these roasted green beans.
If green beans have always been the boring part of dinner at your house, this is the pan that changes it.
Ingredients
Head's up: Check the recipe card below for the full ingredients list
- Green beans-Fresh is best, but you can also use frozen green beans. Just make sure to defrost them first and pat them dry with a towel. If you have French green beans, you can use these as well, but they'll take less time to cook, so keep an eye on them.
- Salt and pepper-Adjust how much you use based on your own personal tastes.
- Crushed garlic cloves-Crushing the garlic really helps release the flavor. If you don't have a garlic press, you can finely mince the garlic and crush it with the side of a knife. You can also use jarred minced garlic (also known as: jar-lic in our house).
- Lemon juice-This won't make your roasted green beans taste citrusy, but it will make them taste super fresh.
- Extra-virgin olive oil-You can use any mild-flavored oil you have on hand. If you use a different oil, make sure it's one that can handle the cooking temperature and time of this recipe.
How to Make It
Step 1: Get ready. Preheat your oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. While the oven is preheating, prepare your green beans by washing them and trimming off the ends. Make sure to dry off your beans by patting them with a towel.
Step 2: Mix up the seasoning. Mix your oil, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and crushed garlic in a bowl.
Step 3: Toss to coat. Toss the green beans in the spice and oil mixture.
Step 4: Roast. Spread the beans on your baking sheet. Make sure there is only one layer of beans. If they are too packed, they'll steam. You can use two trays if you need to. Roast for 20 minutes. No stirring. No peaking! Remove from the oven and serve.
👩🏻🍳 Cassie's Tips
- No wet beans. Rinse the trimmed beans in water and pat dry. Wet beans turn soggy in the oven so it's important that you get rid of all the excess water.
- Skip the flip. I recommend leaving your beans to cook without disturbing them so they form the nice brown, caramelized edges that make these so yummy. No flipping or stirring. In fact, I recommend not opening the oven at all!
- Give them room. A pound of beans fills a half sheet pan in a single layer. Crowd them, and they release water faster than the oven can cook it off, which is how you end up steaming instead of roasting. Doubling the recipe means two pans, not one packed one.
- Want more char? Roast longer. A reader named Andrew leaves his in past the twenty minute mark for deeper color.
FAQs
Yes, you can use frozen! Just defrost the beans completely in a colander in the sink. Then pat the beans dry well before tossing with the oil and seasonings. The beans wont get quite as caramelized, but they'll still be super tasty.
Usually it's the beans, not the oven. French green beans and haricots verts are much thinner than standard green beans and cook considerably faster, so they can scorch in the time a regular bean needs to brown. Another possible culprit: dark metal pan runs hotter than a light-colored one. If either applies to you, start checking around the twelve minute mark instead of fifteen.
Standard green beans, sometimes labeled snap beans or string beans, are what I use here. They're thick enough to hold up to twenty minutes at 425°F without going limp. French green beans work too, they just need less time.
Almost anything, honestly, which is one reason why they're in constant rotation. They're my go-to alongside baked fried chicken legs or sheet pan pork chops, and with the pork chops you can run both pans in the same oven at once. They are great with summery meals like zucchini chicken burgers or slow cooker barbecue ribs. Come November they hold their own on a holiday table next to a dry brine turkey recipe.
Pop any leftovers into an airtight container and stash in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat: warm in a 400° oven for 10-15 minutes.
Make these once, and I don't think you'll go back to steaming green beans. They're just flat out better and easier. Enjoy!
More Simple Veggie Sides
If you tried these Roasted Green Beans or any other recipe on my blog, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the comments!
📖 Recipe
Lemon Garlic Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans washed and ends trimmed off
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 425°F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper.
- Toss the prepared green beans in the flavored oil until fully coated.
- Spread the green beans onto the prepared baking sheet in a single layer.
- Roast in the preheated oven for 15-20 minutes or until tender.
- Remove from the oven and serve.
Notes
- Give them room: One pound fills a half sheet pan in a single layer. Crowded beans steam instead of browning. If you double the recipe, use two pans.
- Dry the beans well: Pat them dry after washing. Wet beans make their own steam and won't brown no matter how hot the oven is.
- Don't stir: Leave the pan alone for the full roasting time. Opening the oven drops the temperature and stalls the browning.
- Yes, you can use frozen: defrost completely in a colander, then pat dry well. The beans wont caramelize quite as well as fresh, but they'll still be tasty!
- Substitutions: Any mild oil works in place of the olive oil. Jarred minced garlic or garlic powder will do in a pinch.
- Storage and reheating: Pop any leftovers into an airtight container and stash in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat: warm in a 400° oven for 10-15 minutes.
Nutrition
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