Green Beans Almondine

This green beans almondine is bright, buttery, and perfectly crisp-tender with toasted almonds and lemon. An easy, elegant side for holidays or weeknights!

Here’s a simple way to dress up fresh green beans as a gourmet side: Green Beans Almondine! If you’re like me, you might first think of a somewhat soggy, bland version of this dish served at wedding buffets. But make it at home, and this dish is brilliant!

The beans are bright green and perfectly tender, sautéed in butter with garlic and toasted almonds and finished with a little lemon zest. After one bite, we were singing its praises: then finished off the entire platter. It quickly jumped to the top of my favorite green bean dishes (like this salad and this simple side).

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Fast and easy prep: This recipe takes about 15 minutes, with a cook time of just 5 minutes!
Extremely tasty: The beans have a bright green color and are crisp tender, topped with crunchy toasted almonds and zingy lemon zest.
Fancy vibe: It’s great for holiday meals and dinner parties, but also easy enough to make on any weekday.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Amandine is a French term for a dish that is prepared with toasted almonds, called “almondine” in English. Green beans almondine features green beans sautéed in butter and served with toasted, sliced almonds. The other ingredients depend on the chef, but often include garlic and lemon.

While green beans are the most popular with the almondine preparation, it actually works with other vegetables like asparagus or broccoli. Here’s what you’ll need for this recipe:

Fresh green beans (haricots verts preferred): French green beans are thinner and cook faster than standard varieties. Regular green beans or string beans work too: Just adjust the blanching time. See my guide to Haricot Verts for more (or keep reading).
Salted butter: This is the star ingredient in the sauce. For vegan or dairy-free, swap in olive oil or plant-based butter.
Sliced almonds: I like sliced over slivered almonds because they toast more evenly and have a lighter crunch.
Shallots: I add a finely minced shallot for a subtle sweetness that garlic alone doesn’t quite give you.
Garlic: This is added at the very end so it stays fragrant without burning.
Lemon zest and fresh lemon juice: Both go in at the end to add brightness.

About Haricot Verts (French Green Beans)

Green beans almondine is best with French green beans, aka haricot verts (“green beans” in French). This type of bean is thinner and shorter than standard green beans. The variety of beans you’ll most likely find in the grocery are called Blue Lake beans.

French green beans cook faster than standard green beans and are more tender in texture. Don’t confuse these with French cut green beans or Frenched green beans, which are beans that are thinly sliced.

I always opt for French green beans: they’re just that good! You can also use standard green beans in this recipe: you may find you need to blanch them for 1 minute more than French green beans.

How to Make Green Beans Almondine

There are two basic steps to green beans almondine. You might think you could throw them right into a skillet and get to cooking, but you’ll need to blanch the beans first. Here’s what to know (or jump to the recipe to get started):

Blanch the Beans

Blanch the beans by cooking in boiling water for 3 to 4 minutes, then plunging in ice water. Blanching is a cooking method that involves boiling vegetables until they’re crisp tender, then plunging them into ice water to stop the cooking process.
This makes the beans perfectly tender before sautéing them with the butter and almonds. If they’re cooked in the skillet only, the beans can come out rather crunchy.

Toast Almonds & Finish the Dish

Toast the almonds in butter for 30 seconds, then add the beans and cook 2 to 3 minutes.
Add minced garlic and cook 1 minute more. Adding the garlic at the end ensures that it won’t get too browned. Finish with the lemon zest and serve immediately.

Tips for Best Results

Don’t skip the ice bath. This is the secret to bright green, perfectly cooked beans. If you don’t, you’ll have olive-green, mushy beans.
Dry your beans thoroughly. Wet beans in a hot skillet full of butter will sputter and steam instead of sauté. Pat them dry on a towel first.
Watch the almonds closely. Sliced almonds can go from golden to burned in seconds. If your butter is browning too fast, lower the heat slightly.
Use a large skillet. Crowding the pan causes steaming instead of sautéing.

Variations and Substitutions

Once you’ve tried the base recipe, you can consider some of these substitutions:

Olive oil instead of butter: For a dairy-free or vegan version, use olive oil. It won’t have quite the same nutty richness, but it will still taste good.
Shallots instead of garlic (or both): Shallots add a mellow sweetness that many restaurant versions of this recipe use.
Nut-free option: Substitute toasted sunflower seeds or pepitas for the almonds.
Red pepper flakes: A pinch added with the garlic gives a subtle heat.
Other ideas: Try adding a pinch of smoked paprika, or a sprinkle of Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese as a garnish.

Serving Ideas

Green beans almondine is endlessly versatile. It’s perfect in summer when you can find beautifully fresh green beans, but it works for anytime. Here are some great ways to pair this dish:

Salmon: This is one of my favorite sides for salmon! Try it with grilled salmon, baked salmon, or any of my top salmon recipes.
Other fish and seafood: It pairs well with baked fish, baked tilapia or seared tuna, or even sauteed shrimp or shrimp scampi.
Chicken: It’s a perfect match for baked chicken thighs, pan-seared chicken, or any of my favorite chicken dinner ideas.
Vegetarian mains: It’s also great to add fiber to vegetarian dinners like lasagna, mac and cheese, or stuffed portobello mushrooms
Holiday dinners: It looks beautiful on a Thanksgiving or Christmas table and can be partially prepped days ahead.

Make-Ahead, Storage, & Reheating

Store leftover green beans almondine in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

For make ahead, you can blanch the green beans up to 3 days in advance and store them in the refrigerator. When you’re ready to serve, the cooking takes 5 minutes.

Warm leftovers in a skillet over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil. The almonds will soften during in storage: if you want the crunch back, toast sliced almonds separately and sprinkle them on top before serving.

Dietary Notes

This green beans almondine recipe is vegetarian and gluten-free. For vegan, plant-based and dairy-free, use olive oil or plant-based butter.