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These sautéed green beans come out of the skillet crisp-tender and buttery, tossed with toasted almonds and a hint of garlic. Made for one person, this is classic green beans almondine ready in about 20 minutes.
Quick Look
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Equipment: 2-quart saucepan, 10-inch skillet
- Cook Method: Stovetop
- Servings: 1
- Difficulty: Easy
- Flavor Profile: Buttery and garlicky, with the nutty flavor of toasted almonds
Single serve green beans made the French way, the almond-topped classic scaled to a single plate.
Why You’ll Love These Single Serving Sautéed Green Beans
The first bite tells you why this almond-topped side dish shows up on restaurant menus and holiday tables alike. The beans still have a light snap, the butter carries the garlic into every bite, and the toasted almonds give you a little crunch at the end. This is green beans almondine, made for one person, so there’s no pound of cooked beans waiting in the refrigerator for the rest of the week.
I blanch the beans before they ever touch the skillet, and that one step is what separates these from most sautéed green beans. The quick boil cooks them evenly all the way through, so they finish in the butter in about a minute, tender but never browned past their bright green color. A reader once wrote that this method gives him the texture he could never get from the skillet alone, and that’s exactly why I do it.
Fresh green beans, butter, garlic, almonds, and salt are the whole ingredient list, and every bit of it lands on one plate. Looking for more single serving side dishes? Try my Rice Pilaf For One, Roasted Carrots For One, Cheese Grits For One, or my Small Green Bean Casserole when you want green beans in their holiday form.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
Five ingredients are needed to make this single serving of sautéed green beans, and each one is explained below. If you’re looking for leftover green bean recipes or ways to use anything else left over, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Green beans: Fresh green beans hold their snap through blanching and give you the best texture in the skillet. Look for beans that are bright green, firm, and snap cleanly when you bend them. Haricots verts, the thin French green beans sold next to regular beans in most stores, also work; they’re more slender, so watch them closely in the boiling water.
I’ve tested this recipe with frozen green beans and they work, though fresh turn out better. You can drop frozen beans in boiling water for 1 to 2 minutes first to soften them evenly, though you can also cook them directly in the pan. If they go straight to the skillet, thaw and pat them dry first so the extra water doesn’t thin out the butter.
Butter: Butter does two jobs here. It toasts the garlic and almonds to a golden brown, and it coats the beans with the richness this dish is known for. Use salted butter; if you’d rather cook with olive oil, the recipe works the same way with a lighter finish.
Garlic: One fresh clove, minced, seasons the whole serving as it toasts in the butter with the almonds. If you love garlic, add more.
Salt: Kosher salt seasons the blanching water so the beans are flavored from the inside, and it keeps their color bright. If you’re using table salt, use less, and taste the beans after cooking. Add a pinch of salt if you think they need it.
Almonds: Slivered almonds toast in the butter and give the dish its name and its crunch. Sliced almonds, pine nuts, or cashews all work in their place, and you can leave the nuts out entirely for an allergy.
How Many Green Beans Per Person?
Plan on about 1 cup of fresh green beans per person as a side dish, which is roughly 4 ounces, or 110 grams, of whole beans. This recipe makes one serving at exactly that amount, and it doubles or triples easily when you’re cooking for more. If you’re buying for a group, a standard 1-pound bag covers about 4 servings. And if you don’t have a measuring cup handy, a generous handful of green beans is roughly one serving.
Recipe Variations
A few small changes give you a different green bean side dish from the same single serving base. Each of these is one we’ve tested, and the add-ins below are measured for 1 cup of beans.
One-Skillet Sautéed Green Beans
You don’t need the saucepan for this recipe; the whole thing works in the 10-inch skillet. Add enough water to cover the beans, about an inch, salt it, and bring it to a boil. Blanch the beans for 4 minutes, just as the recipe card directs. Drain the beans, rinse them under cold water, and wipe the skillet dry. Then melt the butter in the same skillet, toast the garlic and almonds for about 1 minute, and toss the beans back in. Same blanched texture, one pan to wash.
Sautéed Green Beans With Bacon
Chop 1 slice of bacon and cook it in the skillet until crisp, then use the bacon drippings in place of the butter. Toast the garlic and almonds in the drippings for about 1 minute, add the blanched beans, and toss until coated. The bacon pieces go back in at the end so they stay crisp.
Green Beans Almondine With Lemon
Finish the beans with ½ teaspoon of fresh lemon zest tossed in off the heat. The zest brightens the butter and almonds without adding liquid to the pan, which keeps the beans from steaming. This is the closest version to what you’d be served in a restaurant, where almondine often comes with lemon.
Spicy Garlic Green Beans
Add ⅛ teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes to the butter along with the garlic and almonds. The flakes toast in that same minute and season the whole serving. Start small; you can always add more at the table.
Shredded Parmesan over the finished beans or a few fresh basil, rosemary, or oregano leaves tossed in at the end also work, no measuring required.
How To Sauté Green Beans For One
These step-by-step photos show you exactly how to make sautéed green beans with almonds, from blanching to the buttery garlic finish. See the recipe card below for ingredient amounts and full instructions.
- Place the trimmed green beans in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the beans are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes; they should still have a slight snap when you bite one. This quick boil is called blanching, and it’s what cooks the beans evenly so they never turn mushy in the skillet.
- Drain the water from the pan and rinse the beans under cold water until they’re cool to the touch. This stops the cooking and keeps them crisp and bright green. Set the beans aside.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and almonds and toast, stirring often, until the almonds are golden and the garlic smells fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the green beans to the skillet and toss to coat in the garlic butter, about 1 minute, until the beans are warmed through. Serve hot.
Expert Tips
Boil the beans only to crisp-tender. The beans cook twice, once in the water and again in the skillet, so take them out of the boiling water while they still have a slight snap. Beans boiled until fully soft will overcook in the butter.
Dry the beans well before they hit the skillet. After the cold rinse, drain the beans and pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Water clinging to the beans spatters in the hot butter and thins the garlic coating before it can stick.
Stay at the stove once the butter melts. Garlic and almonds go from golden to burnt quickly in a small pan, and burnt garlic turns the whole dish bitter. One minute of stirring is all they need, so this isn’t the moment to step away.
Prep everything before you start. This recipe moves fast once the skillet is hot. Trim the beans, mince the garlic, and measure the almonds before the butter goes in.
Troubleshooting
If your green beans didn’t come out exactly how you wanted, here’s how to get this single serving of green beans the texture and flavor you’re after.
Why are my sautéed green beans mushy?
Sautéed green beans turn mushy when they’re boiled past crisp-tender or go into the skillet wet, where the clinging water steams them soft. Pull the beans from the boiling water while they still have a slight snap, stop the cooking with a cold rinse, and pat them dry before they hit the butter.
Why are my green beans tough or squeaky?
Green beans stay tough and squeak against your teeth when they’re underblanched. Give them the full 4 minutes in boiling water before they go to the skillet; the butter toss is too brief to soften them further. If you bite one after draining and it’s still firm at the center, return the beans to the boiling water for another minute.
Why do my green beans taste bitter?
A bitter flavor in this dish almost always comes from burnt garlic. Garlic needs only about 1 minute over medium heat, and it keeps cooking in the hot butter after the beans are added. If the garlic turns dark brown before the beans go in, wipe out the skillet and start the butter again; the dish is only a tablespoon of butter away from saved.
Why did my green beans lose their bright green color?
Green beans turn a dull olive color when they’re overcooked or left sitting in hot water after boiling. The cold rinse in step 2 is what locks in the green, so don’t skip it, and drain the beans the moment they’re crisp-tender.
Serving Suggestions
Wondering what to serve with sautéed green beans? This side dish goes with just about any main you’d cook for yourself, and these single serving pairings are the ones we come back to:
- Meatloaf For One: the classic plate, with the crisp beans standing up to the rich, saucy meatloaf.
- Beef Tenderloin Steak: the steakhouse pairing; buttery beans and almonds belong next to a pan-seared steak.
- Turkey Cutlet with Gravy: a holiday-style dinner for one without roasting a whole bird.
- Glazed Ham Steak: the sweet glaze plays against the garlicky beans.
- Baked Chicken Breast: the simple weekday dinner, ready in about the same time as the beans.
Frequently Asked Questions
Green beans almondine is a dish of blanched green beans tossed in butter with toasted almonds, often with garlic. The name comes from the French culinary term amandine, meaning garnished with almonds; almondine is the American spelling, and the full French name is haricots verts amandine. This recipe is a single serving version of that classic.
Yes, sautéed green beans can be partially made ahead. Blanch the beans, cool them in cold water, dry them, and refrigerate them in an airtight container for up to 4 days. When you’re ready to eat, toast the garlic and almonds in the butter and sauté the pre-cooked beans until heated through.
Sautéed green beans last up to 4 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat them in a skillet over medium heat or in the microwave until warmed through; the skillet keeps more of their texture.
Yes, trim green beans before cooking by cutting off the tough stem end. Line up a handful with the stems facing the same direction and slice them off together with one cut. The thin pointed tail is tender and can stay on, or trim both ends if you want uniform beans.
Yes, this recipe doubles easily for two. Use 2 cups of green beans and double the butter, garlic, and almonds, and use a 12-inch skillet so the beans have room to sauté instead of steaming; the cooking times stay the same.
To freeze green beans, blanch and cool them as the recipe directs, dry them well, and freeze them in a freezer-safe container for up to 8 months. Cook them straight from frozen in the skillet; they’ll need an extra minute or two to heat through.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
If you’ve tried this quick sautéed green beans recipe please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Sautéed Green Beans For One
Watch How To Make This
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh green beans , stem ends trimmed
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 tablespoon salted butter
- 1 clove garlic , minced
- 2 tablespoons slivered almonds
Instructions
- Place the trimmed green beans in a 2-quart saucepan and cover with cold water. Add the salt and bring to a boil over high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the beans are crisp-tender, about 4 minutes. They should still have a slight snap when you bite one.
- Drain the beans and rinse them under cold water until they’re cool to the touch, then pat them dry with a kitchen towel. Set the beans aside.
- Melt the butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and almonds and toast, stirring often, until the almonds are golden and the garlic smells fragrant, about 1 minute.
- Add the green beans to the skillet and toss in the garlic butter until warmed through, about 1 minute. Taste and add salt if needed. Serve hot.
Notes
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
I recently had a stent procedure and have changed my diet. That includes a limit of 1500 mg of sodium per day.
Sodium is a part of almost every recipe. With my love for asparagus, what happens if I don’t use sodium in your recipe. Is there a change in taste or is it a chemical reaction change?
Looking forward for your reply.
Good news for an asparagus lover: in recipes like these, the salt is there purely for flavor, not for any chemical reaction, so leaving it out won’t change how the asparagus or green beans cook. The only difference is taste. Without salt they’ll come out a little flatter, but you can bring that flavor back other ways. A squeeze of fresh lemon, black pepper, garlic, or fresh herbs all add brightness without any sodium, and lemon is especially good on asparagus. Season to your own taste and you won’t miss much.
Joanie, good recipe. I like the idea of blanching the beans first before sauteing. It makes them Tender Crisp throughout without over Browning the outside. Don’t need the almonds but do need the garlic. I’ve been an advocate of there’s no such thing as too much garlic. LOL that was until about 15 years ago while on a cruise, my wife said “either cut back on the garlic or get your own cabin.”
Thank you for your comment—it gave me a good laugh! I completely agree, blanching the green beans really helps get that perfect texture. And I’m with you on the garlic—I love adding it to just about everything! Your story about the cruise is too funny, and I can definitely see how too much garlic might have led to that ultimatum! Thanks again for sharing, and I always enjoy hearing from you!
Thank you for all your recipes. Always enjoy receiving your email. I immediately go through all the recipes. You bring me great joy! Thank you
Thank you so much, Murielle!
Ok This is going to be included for Thanksgiving. I hate green bean casserole!
Terrific recipe!