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Green Beans and Almonds is a light and crisp fresh green side dish to serve on Thanksgiving. It’s the best green bean side dish (better than casserole in my opinion), and offers a nutritious and colorful dish to add to your meal. It’s embarrassingly easy to make and pairs really well with turkey and mashed potatoes! I hope you include it on your ever-growing Thanksgiving menu.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Green Beans: Trim the green beans before blanching them in hot water. Once tender, place them into iced water so that they stay a vibrant green color and don’t overcook.
- Oil: For cooking. Olive, canola or vegetable will all work well. For a richer tasting dish, you can also use a tablespoon of butter with the oil.
- Seasonings: Salt and pepper
- Garlic: Use freshly minced garlic for the best flavor.
- Almonds: We like to use Marcona almonds in this recipe. They are rounder and plumper and have a softer texture, though regular almonds will also work well. Toast them first to enhance their natural flavors.
- Parmesan: Parmesan is optional, but adds a great flavor. If using, use freshly grated rather than pre-grated for the best flavor and texture.
- Lemon: I like to serve these green beans and almonds with a little squeeze of lemon juice for a nice fresh and zingy flavor.
How to make green beans with almonds
- Wash the green beans.
- Trim the ends of the green beans.
- Blanch the beans in hot water, then place them into iced water.
- Cook the garlic in the skillet and add in the cooked green beans.
- Remove from the heat and sprinkle with the parmesan.
- Toast the almonds and serve on top of the beans.
Tips to make this recipe
- Blanche and shock the green beans for the best results. This technique is widely used to make sure that green beans come out tender yet crisp without losing that beautiful bright green color. Cook for 2 minutes in boiling water and then place in iced water. A rule of thumb is the beans should spend as much time in the cold water as in the hot.
- Trim the green beans evenly. The green bean pieces are similar in length so they cook evenly in the skillet after the blanching process is done
- Take care not to overcook the garlic. It should be softened and fragrant, but don’t let it brown. If the garlic overcooks it can become bitter in flavor.
- Try using different nuts. Green beans work wonderfully with almonds, but you can easily make this recipe with other varieties like pecans, pine nuts or walnuts if you prefer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! You can make this recipe with either fresh or frozen beans. If using frozen, don’t thaw them first, just blanche them in the boiling water for an additional minute.
These green beans and almonds are best served soon after you’ve made them so that they are fresh and vibrant green in color. If you have leftovers, they will keep well in the fridge for up to 4 days and can be reheated in a skillet to serve.
This green bean side dish is great to enjoy any time of the year, but they are especially great to serve as part of your Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. Serve them alongside:
Thanksgiving Turkey
Spatchcock Chicken
Honey Lemon Salmon
Vegetarian Stuffing
Lighten up the heavy Thanksgiving meal or holiday meal with this green beans with almonds side dish. It’s a really tasty reliable compliment to the main course, and everyone will love the golden toasted almonds crunch on top! If you’ve ever had green beans amandine, this kinda reminds me of that recipe but without the lemon-butter sauce. It’s an all around perfect side dish to make for the big meal.
Other Thanksgiving side dish recipes:
- Melting Sweet Potatoes
- Sautéed Mushrooms
- Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Healthy Mashed Sweet Potatoes
- Autumn Pear Salad
- Cranberry Orange Sauce
- Oven Roasted Carrots
If you’ve tried this healthy-ish feel good Green Beans with Almonds recipe or any other recipe on FeelGoodFoodie, then don’t forget to rate the recipe and leave me a comment below! I would love to hear about your experience making it. And if you snapped some shots of it, share it with me on Instagram so I can repost on my stories!
Green Beans with Almonds
Video
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans ends trimmed
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper
- 3 cloves garlic clove minced
- ¼ cup marcona almonds
- 1 tablespoon parmesan cheese grated (optional)
- 1 lemon for serving
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a rolling boil. Add the green beans, and cook until bright green but still firm, about 2 minutes. Use a colander to drain the green beans, then quickly transfer them to bowl filled with ice and water to stop the cooking process. Drain again and pat dry with a paper towel.
- Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant but not golden, about 1 minute.
- Add the green green beans, salt and pepper to the skillet with the garlic and cook until the green beans become fork tender but still crisp, about 3-4 minutes.
- Remove the green beans from heat, and sprinkle with grated parmesan
- In the same skillet used to cook the green beans, add the marcona almonds and toast them until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes. Remove from heat and add on top of the green beans.
- Serve with more parmesan cheese and fresh lemon wedges, if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information provided is an estimate. It will vary based on cooking method and specific ingredients used.
Friend brought this to dinner. Delicious. Green beams were andante which was perfect!
So glad you enjoyed it, Cathie!
Amazing ! Made this for thanksgiving dinner and everyone loved it!
That is amazing! Yay!!
Lovely, Easy Dish but why would You suggest eating it with Turkey?😖.
All these Precious Birds will be Killed now ready for these meals and Christmas!!
It is SO CRUEL!! Loads of Fabulous alternatives!
Why is there no way to print this recipe. I won’t waste my time in the future with this site.
If you scroll down to the recipe card, on the right of the title “Green Beans with Almonds” and on top of the image on the recipe card, there is a printer symbol that will allow you to print the recipe.
I made this last night for thanksgiving and absolutely loved it!! It was so quick and easy. Thanks so much for this recipe! I love green bean casserole but wanted a healthier version and this was perfect. I would definitely make this again and not wait for thanksgiving!
Totally agree with you! I made it for ours too and love how light and tasty it is!
Perfect side dish for a thanksgiving meal! Love it!
So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Just made. DE-LI-COUS!
Yay! So glad to hear it! Thanks for sharing!
Healthy and light. Will definitely be one of my side dishes for Thanksgiving dinner.