Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon, Pine Nuts & Parmesan
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Looking for a side dish that steals the show? Roasted green beans with garlic, lemon, Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts are simple, flavorful, and sure to impress!
While roasting isn’t the most common method for cooking green beans, it absolutely should be! Roasted green beans are a game changer—tender, caramelized, and packed with flavor, unlike boiled beans that can be bland and squeaky. This recipe from Washington, DC chef Ris Lacoste is hands down one of the best green bean (and vegetable) dishes I’ve ever had.
The beans roast with heaps of sliced garlic, which turn mellow and sweet, then get a finishing touch of bright lemon, nutty Parmigiano-Reggiano, and crunchy toasted pine nuts. They’re perfect alongside parmesan crusted chicken or a simple steak—and they reheat beautifully, too.
“I’m obsessed! SO much flavor.”
What You’ll Need To Make Roasted Green Beans
- Pine Nuts: Lightly toasted, these nuts add a rich, buttery flavor and a pleasant crunch.
- Fresh Green Beans: Provide a crisp, fresh texture that holds up well during roasting. To save time, use pre-washed and trimmed beans from a bag.
- Garlic: When thinly sliced and roasted, the garlic becomes caramelized and mellow.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil: Coats the beans, ensuring they roast evenly while adding richness.
- Lemon Juice and Zest: Adds a bright, citrusy flavor that balances the richness.
- Sugar: Helps balance the lemon and boosts caramelization of the green beans.
- Coarsely Shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano: Adds a salty, nutty flavor that melts slightly over the warm beans. Use authentic Parmigiano-Reggiano and avoid pre-grated “Parmesan”—it is not the same!
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-By-Step Instructions
To begin, in a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until golden. Watch carefully and stir frequently as they can burn quickly (and they’re expensive).
Put the green beans in a large bowl. Add the sliced garlic, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, kosher salt, pepper, and sugar.
Toss well and transfer to a lined baking sheet.
Roast the beans and garlic for 15 minutes, stir, then continue roasting until the beans are tender, about 10 minutes more.
Add the lemon juice, Parmigiano-Reggiano, remaining lemon zest, and pine nuts to the roasted green beans.
Toss well, then transfer to a serving platter and serve hot or room temperature. The beans can be made up to 3 days ahead of time and reheated in the microwave.
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Roasted Green Beans with Garlic, Lemon, Pine Nuts & Parmesan
Looking for a side dish that steals the show? Roasted green beans with garlic, lemon, Parmesan, and toasted pine nuts are simple, flavorful, and sure to impress!
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup pine nuts
- 2 pounds fresh green beans, stem ends trimmed
- ¼ cup thinly sliced garlic, from 7 to 10 cloves, (a medium clove should yield 4 slices)
- 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1½ tablespoons lemon zest
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- ¼ teaspoon sugar
- 1½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 6 tablespoons coarsely shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Instructions
- Set an oven rack in the middle position and preheat the oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with heavy-duty aluminum foil.
- In a small dry skillet over medium heat, toast the pine nuts until golden. Watch carefully and stir frequently as they can burn quickly. Immediately transfer the nuts to a small bowl (don't leave them in hot pan as they will continue to cook). Set aside.
- Put the green beans in a large bowl. Add the sliced garlic, olive oil, 1 tablespoon of the lemon zest, kosher salt, pepper, and sugar; toss well. Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet (don’t leave any flavor behind: use a rubber spatula to scrape all of the oil and seasoning out of the bowl and onto the beans).
- Roast the beans and garlic for 15 minutes. Stir with a spatula to promote even cooking, then continue roasting until the beans are tender throughout, about 10 minutes more. The beans should be fully cooked, with some lightly browned but not overly shriveled.
- Add the lemon juice, Parmigiano-Reggiano, remaining ½ tablespoon lemon zest, and pine nuts to the beans and toss well. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper and lemon juice if necessary. Transfer to a serving platter and serve hot or room temperature.
- Make-Ahead Instructions: The beans can be prepared up to 3 days ahead of time and reheated in the microwave.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (6 servings)
- Calories: 264
- Fat: 21 g
- Saturated fat: 4 g
- Carbohydrates: 14 g
- Sugar: 6 g
- Fiber: 5 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 448 mg
- Cholesterol: 6 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
Gluten-Free Adaptable Note
To the best of my knowledge, all of the ingredients used in this recipe are gluten-free or widely available in gluten-free versions. There is hidden gluten in many foods; if you're following a gluten-free diet or cooking for someone with gluten allergies, always read the labels of your ingredients to verify that they are gluten-free.
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Served with turkey Christmas dinner. Everyone from vegetarians to carnivores loved it!
Oh.my.gosh. Jenn, this was phenomenal. Best green beans my husband and I have ever had (and we’re seniors!!!). We immediately started talking about having more dinner parties so we could feature this as a side! Thank you from the bottom of my heart!
Do you really use a quarter cup of garlic? Maybe my cloves are small, but it takes 14 cloves to make 1/4 cup.
Sorry for this question…I wish your reviews were searchable so I could see if someone asked this before.
I know it sounds like a lot, but 1/4 cup is correct.
Hi,
Absolutely love your recipes. For this one you mentioned they could be made ahead but I didn’t see your normal note at end on best way to do this and how far ahead. Would appreciate that information. Thanks!
So glad you like the recipes! To reheat, I’d microwave them until just heated through. Enjoy 😊
As to reheating, would you complete the recipe and then reheat, or just stop short of some ingredients?
You can complete the recipe with all the ingredients prior to reheating.
No microwave, any other way of reheating?
Sure, you can reheat them gently on the stove.
A great dish for someone by themselves! Toast the nuts on the stove (I just can’t justify pine nut prices) so I use loads of nuts I keep on hand in the freezer (chopped up cashews, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts all work great). Did a pound bag of green beans and adjusted other amounts and cooked in my countertop convection oven. Leftovers reheat beautifully in the microwave.
I have a question about the recipe. It calls for 1/4 cup of garlic. That seems like so much so I am checking to see how garlicky the beans are. Did anyone decrease the amount or did you go with it?
I keep kosher and would love to serve this for a meat meal – can I just skip the cheese?
Sure, Terri, that’s fine. Enjoy!
I don’t even like green beans and this recipe changed my mind. I won’t make them any other way. Thank you Jenn!
AS USUAL FABULOUS!!!
Outstanding recipe! I served this for a dinner club and had to share the recipe with others. I love cooking vegetables in the oven, but the lemon, pine nuts, parmesan, garlic really bring its up a notch..