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I am always looking for a quick and easy ways to create dishes that truly stand out on the table, and these Roasted Green Beans hit all the right notes. As a classically-trained chef, I like to balance colors, flavors, and textures in my dishes, even if they are just on the side of something else.
Garlic and lemon are a fantastic combination on any veggie, including these fresh green beans. They turn out tender-crisp, bright green, and caramelized with little effort on your part.
Serve these easy green beans on your busiest weeknights or at your holiday table. Sometimes I add extra salt and let them go a little longer, and they turn out like crispy green bean fries. They are so good, even my kids gobble them up!
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
- Green beans: Remove the stem ends and any tough strings that run along the length of the beans, if applicable. There’s no need to trim off the tails. Some love their green beans “frenched,” or sliced lengthwise down the middle.
- Lemon: The lemon zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon) can be added with the lemon juice. Just zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze it.
- Salt: For 2 pounds of beans, I like at least ½ teaspoon salt, but sometimes I do a full teaspoon. If you’re not sure, start with a small amount, then taste test after roasting and add more if needed.
How to Roast Green Beans
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together beans, extra virgin olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and kosher salt.
- Spread in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet (line with aluminum foil for easy cleanup).
- Bake until browned in some places but still crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes. Serve hot or at room temperature.
Roasted Green Beans Recipe variations
- More mix-ins: Add small button mushrooms or halved cherry tomatoes to the pan before roasting. After roasting, toss with crumbled, cooked bacon, red pepper flakes, toasted pecans, toasted walnuts, or a handful of roasted slivered almonds.
- Garnishes: My favorite way to garnish roasted green beans might be with Parmesan cheese, but a handful of fresh herbs are good too. Try tender leafy greens like parsley, basil, or dill. Or, drizzle with fragrant green basil pesto made with pine nuts.
- More beans: This recipe works perfectly for edamame, sugar snap peas, and haricots verts.
How to season Green Beans
There are so many delicious ways to season roasted green beans for extra color, texture, and flavor. Add dried spices such as sage, rosemary, thyme, or cayenne pepper. Or, toss freshly-roasted beans fresh herbs. My favorites are parsley, basil, and dill.
Here are more flavor combinations to keep you inspired in the kitchen:
- Green beans with bacon: Omit the lemon juice and garlic and toss green beans with salty bacon or prosciutto and a touch of brown sugar.
- Green beans with walnuts: Leave out the lemon juice and toss your garlicky green beans with toasted walnuts and Parmesan cheese.
- Pesto beans and potatoes: Combine boiled new potatoes and green beans with fresh basil pesto.
- Tuscan Green beans: Roast green beans with sturdy thyme and rosemary, then toss the chopped green beans with raw seeded tomatoes, salty capers, and olives. Serve with crusty bread.
- Green beans and mushrooms: Roast mushrooms and green beans together in olive oil and salt, then serve with freshly shredded Parmesan cheese or crumbled feta cheese and toasted almonds.
- Green bean salad: Add cooked green beans to a bowl of lettuce with shaved carrots, roasted corn, a Dijon mustard vinaigrette, and feta cheese.
Tips for making Green Beans in Oven
- Yield: 2 pounds of beans will serve 8 as a side dish (½ cup per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. They are great tossed into salads or grain bowls.
- Garlic: If you don’t have fresh garlic on hand, sprinkle with garlic powder (at least 1 teaspoon, maybe more depending on what you like).
Frequently Asked Questions
Blanching green beans means the beans are already cooked through by the time they’re ready to roast. You can quickly finish them at a high temperature for a caramelized texture and brown color. It’s not necessary, but it’s a great restaurant trick when you want to get ahead on your menu.
Green beans taste delicious with lemon zest and juice, fresh garlic, Parmesan cheese, and herbs and spices.
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Oven Roasted Green Beans
Ingredients
- 2 pounds green beans trimmed (see note 1)
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice from 1 lemon (see note 2)
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper (see note 3)
Instructions
- Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil for easy cleanup.
- In a large bowl, add green beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, and salt to taste and pepper to taste (I like at least ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper; sometimes I do a little more).
- Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast until lightly browned in some places but still crispy, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Green beans: Remove the stem ends and any tough strings that run along the length of the beans, if applicable. There’s no need to trim off the tails. Some love their green beans “frenched,” or sliced lengthwise down the middle.
- Lemon: The zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon) can be added with the lemon juice. Just zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze it.
- Salt: For 2 pounds of beans, I like at least ½ teaspoon salt, but sometimes I do a full teaspoon. If you’re not sure, start with a small amount, then taste test after roasting and add more if needed.
- Yield: 2 pounds of beans will serve 8 as a side dish (½ cup per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers covered in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. They are great tossed into salads or grain bowls.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.
Could I used infused lemon olive oil in place of olive oil and lemon juice?
Hi A., Sure! Sounds delicious! – Meggan
Absolutely the best way to cook green beans! They are easy to make, 30 minutes start to finish and fancy enough for company!
Can I toss all the ingredients together before hand (say in the morning), cover it and refrigerate and then cook this around dinner?
Hi Troy, yes! – Meggan
Can I use frozen green beans?
Hey there, yes you can. You need to thaw them first and make sure they are 100% perfectly dry (otherwise they will steam instead of roast). I personally think there is some loss of texture but they still taste good (they are just harder to get tender-crisp). But they still taste good. Good luck! -Meggan
Description at the top implies 10 minute’s roasting time, total time is given as 13 minutes, yet detailed instructions say cook 15-25 min. At 400 degrees, is it closer to 10 min or 25 min?
Hi Linda, I’m so sorry about that. At some point I went back and adjusted the recipe to be “15 to 25 minutes” but I failed to update the cook time. I will go fix that now. I am going to make them again this weekend and see how long it takes! I’m guessing it’s 15 minutes in the oven. Thanks! -Meggan
Hi Linda, I made the green beans over the weekend. I really think the beans are perfect after 20 minutes in the oven. My cooking assistant thought she might leave them in for another 5 minutes, but we both gobbled them up. It was like eating French fries, they are so good. I had forgotten how tasty they are! Anyway, I fixed up the post. I hope this is helpful. thank you for your question and sorry for the confusing recipe. -Meggan