Garlic Sesame Green Beans

Name: Garlic Sesame Green Beans
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 15 min
Ingredients: 12 oz. fresh green beans (cut in half); 1/2 cup water; 1 tbsp olive or avocado oil; 2-3 garlic cloves (minced); 2 tsp. soy sauce ((I use low sodium soy sauce)); 1/2 tsp. toasted sesame oil; 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes (optional); toasted sesame seeds; salt & pepper to taste

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Flavored with garlic, soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, and toasted sesame seeds, these Garlic Sesame Green Beans are the perfect addition to your favorite Asian dish or any time you need a flavorful vegetable side!

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If you’re looking for a tasty, easy side dish, you’re in luck! You can whip up these delicious Garlic Sesame Green Beans in only 15 minutes!

Not only do these garlicky green beans complement your favorite Asian cuisines, they’re also a flavorful side dish to just about any meal. They’re so good, I eat them by themselves!

From Chinese food, to Korean, Japanese, and others, sesame oil is a fantastic secret weapon ingredient. It adds a wonderful savory, nutty flavor to whatever you put it in.

Both toasted sesame oil and toasted sesame seeds pack a lot of flavor into these garlicky green beans, while the soy sauce adds a salty richness that ties everything together.

I like to add some crushed red pepper flakes for a little heat, but feel free to omit them if you don’t want them spicy.

Ingredients needed for this recipe (scroll down to recipe card for complete recipe):

Green beans
Water
Garlic
Soy sauce
Olive/Avocado oil
Toasted sesame oil
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Toasted sesame seeds
Salt & pepper

To give these garlic green beans their great tender-crisp texture, we first steam them with a lidded skillet, then we sauté them.

This method gives us perfectly cooked green beans that are ready in 15 minutes!

How to serve Sesame Garlic Green Beans:

These flavorful green beans are the perfect side dish to so many main courses! Some of my favorites are:

Sriracha Meatloaf
Spicy Baked Chicken Drumsticks
Slow Cooker Spicy Korean Meatballs (shown below)

Looking for more vegetable side dishes? Here are some favorites:

How to store cooked green beans:

Once cooled, store green beans in an air-tight container in the refrigerator and use within 4 days.

What if I don’t have toasted sesame oil?

Toasted sesame oil infuses a unique flavor into these green beans that can’t be replicated with any other ingredient. If you don’t have some, it’s worth buying!

NOTES:

French green beans (haricot verts) are thinner than traditional American green beans, therefore, they don’t take as long to cook and should not be used in place of regular green beans.
This recipe has only been tested with fresh green beans.
If you don’t have store-bought toasted sesame seeds, you can make your own by toasting sesame seeds in a dry skillet for a couple minutes until they’re golden.

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