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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These are the best green beans I’ve ever tried!!! I’m looking at you, Thanksgiving 😉
Hi Jen. We have fresh green beans from our garden, so I am definitely making this tonight. I don’t have any Pine Nuts but do have Pepitas. Will they work in this recipe?
Sure, enjoy!
These green beans were fantastic! This was a side dish for a holiday dinner. The flavors were incredible for such a simple and easy dish! My guests were blown away by the beans!
These were absolutely delicious. I saw the comments about wilted beans and was perplexed that someone would find that disappointing. After all, they were roasted. Maybe ascetically that may not be perfect but they certainly passed as delicious. There will be a real keeper as almost all your recipes, Jenn. Perfect.
Made these this evening. Delicious!
I am planning on making these for xmas. I have the frozen Trader Joe’s green beans. Do I need to thaw the beans first? If yes, what is the best method?
Hi Ro, I wouldn’t recommend frozen green beans here — sorry!
I have made this recipe 3 times in the past month- first for Thanksgiving, second for my husband’s birthday dinner and now to take to a church potluck. The green beans are simply delicious with this straightforward recipe. Everyone enjoyed them!! My sister said this was the best Thanksgiving sides I have done – and I have been doing Thanksgiving for awhile 🙂 Thank you!
These beans were a perfect complement to our skillet-roasted lemon chicken! They were easy to make and absolutely delicious. I halved the recipe and followed it exactly. I really appreciate your thoroughly tested recipes because I can count on them which is so important for a holiday meal.
Chef Jenn,
I’m a fan of many of your recipes but this green bean recipe was a miss for us.
Not only were they not esthetically pleasing as they were wilted/ shriveled looking, the taste was ok at best.—recipe was followed and timed.
Was not a nice addition to our Thanksgiving table.
Looking forward to better green bean recipes.
I just tried 1/2 the recipe in prep for Thanksgiving and found them aesthetically challenging for the dinner table. One problem I had is that the garlic burnt which pretty early, a definite taste challenge. I put the garlic through the garlic press so maybe it was just not hardy enough or maybe I need to reduce the oven temp.
Just made these for the first time…absolutely wonderful! Used garlic powder because I didn’t have any fresh garlic on hand but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. Thank you!