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 green beans were very good. The only comment I would make is that I made this for a sit down dinner I planned for Mother’s Day and my adult son helped me put the green beans on each plate and although he tossed it before serving, sadly, the pine nuts kept going to the bottom as he was grabbing the beans with tongs to serve them only for me to find most of the pine nuts left in my baking dish. I can see this happening as well if I were to put the dish for people to serve themselves. Therefore, next time I think I will just sprinkle pine nuts on each plate after they have serve themselves to ensure each person gets a nice serving of them since they are so good. Great recipe otherwise.
If I’m roasting the beans in a convection oven, what temperature would you suggest?
Hi Lori, When using the convection setting, the rule of thumb is to reduce the temp by 25°F. Hope you enjoy!
This dish was PHENOMENAL! A huge hit all around at the dinner table last night and the PERFECT side dish for the bacon wrapped pork medallions. Your recipes never fail to delight!!
These are the best green beans that me and my husband have ever had! Thank you!
Jenn, My daughter in law is being baptized Sunday, and we are all going to meet at their house after church. She and I are preparing a cold lunch (ham, pot. salad. etc) after church, but I wondered would these green beans be ok served cold as a type of salad? Thanks for all your wonderful recipes.
Yes definitely, Laura. They are delicious cold!
Thanks so much, I think I will serve them hot tomorrow night with salmon, and then make some for the cold salad on Sunday.
I made this for a dinner party last night and everyone loved it. I served this as a side dish with cannelloni (which usually gets all the compliments when I serve it). But I have to say there was some cannelloni left over but the green beans were gone! Thanks for a great recipe
Going to make this as a side for Christmas Eve/Hanukkah dinner. How do you think this would turn out in my pressure cooker? Any recommendations for how long? Can’t wait to make this. Looks delish!
Hi Rachel, I don’t recommend making this dish in a pressure cooker – sorry!
Really appreciate your honesty and quick reply. I’ll prepare as directed. Can’t wait to taste! Thank you!
Jenn you are my “go to gal” for all of my recipes! I love your “Tested and Perfected” label. Most recipes can’t claim that. This is another recipe that shined at our Thanksgiving dinner! I made it for my husband’s request for green beans. I did make some adjustments because once again I was using what I already had and that was a 2 lb. package of French green beans from Costco that I had blanched and frozen. I steamed them just to thaw and dried them in a towel. The dish was made the day before Thanksgiving so that all I had to do was reheat it. It turned out most excellent! Thank you!
Made and brought this to Thanksgiving dinner. Everyone loved it! I was sad I didn’t have more leftovers.
This recipe looks amazing. I want to make it for Thanksgiving. Can I make it a day ahead ?
Thanks
Mina
Sure Mina that’s fine; you can just reheat them in the microwave when ready to serve.
Made these for dinner tonight, thinking I would have leftovers. They were fabulous and needless to say, no leftovers! Thankyou for sharing such a great recipe.