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This Green Bean Almondine recipe is the holiday side that steals the show without stealing your oven. Green beans get tossed in nutty brown butter with garlic, shallot, and toasted almonds, then finished with fresh lemon. A well-salted blanch and a quick ice bath keep every bite bright green and seasoned all the way through!
Down here in Florida, green beans show up at just about every dinner I host. Most days that means my slow-simmered Southern Style Green Beans or a big batch of Crock Pot Green Beans cooked low with bacon. But when the good dishes come out for the holidays, I want something that feels a little dressed up, and that’s when I make green beans almondine. It’s a French classic (you’ll also see it spelled amandine) that tosses beans in butter with toasted almonds, and it’s on the table in just about 30 minutes!
What makes this the best green bean almondine recipe is the brown butter. I am a firm believer that brown butter makes everything better! Instead of just melting it, you let the butter cook until the milk solids turn amber and smell like toasted nuts, which is where nearly all the flavor comes from.
Pair that with a salty blanch and an ice bath, and you get beans that are seasoned clear through and stay vibrant green. If your crowd leans sweet and smoky, my Bacon Brown Sugar Green Beans are another holiday favorite!
Why you’ll love this Green Bean Almondine Recipe
❥ Ready in 30 minutes. It’s 10 minutes of prep and 20 minutes on the stove. That makes it easy enough for a weeknight and polished enough for company.
❥ A lifesaver when the oven is full. Everything happens on the stovetop. On a busy holiday, that frees up oven space for the turkey, ham, and casseroles.
❥ Simple ingredients, big flavor. Butter, garlic, shallot, lemon, and almonds are all it takes. The technique does the heavy lifting, not a long shopping list.
❥ Make-ahead friendly. Blanch the beans and toast the almonds up to 2 days early. Then it’s a 5-minute finish right before dinner.
Nikki’s Top Tips Before You Start
- Salt the water like the sea. A full tablespoon of kosher salt in the blanching pot is not too much. This is the only chance the beans have to take on seasoning from the inside, since salt added in the skillet just sits on the surface.
- Set up the ice bath first. Green beans go from crisp-tender to mushy faster than you’d think. Keep the bowl of ice water right next to the stove so you can move them over the second they’re ready.
- Dry the beans completely. Spread the chilled beans on a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry. Wet beans steam in the skillet and water down the butter instead of getting glossy and coated.
- Toast the almonds in a dry pan first. Use the same skillet you’ll make the butter in, so there’s only one pan to wash. Shake it often and tip the almonds onto a plate the moment they turn golden, because they keep cooking in a hot pan.
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Ingredients
- Fresh green beans: Look for firm, bright beans that snap when you bend them. Trim the stem ends before blanching. Thin French haricots verts work too!
- Kosher salt: Used twice, once to season the blanching water and again in the skillet. Kosher salt dissolves fast and is easy to pinch.
- Sliced or slivered almonds: Either cut works. Sliced almonds toast faster and cling to the beans, while slivered give a chunkier crunch.
- Unsalted butter: This is the star, since it becomes the brown butter sauce. Unsalted lets you control the seasoning.
- Garlic cloves: Thinly sliced rather than minced, so they don’t scorch in the hot butter.
- Shallot: One small shallot, finely minced. It’s milder and sweeter than onion and melts right into the sauce.
- Lemon: You’ll need both the zest and fresh juice. Bottled juice tastes flat here, so grab a whole lemon.
- Black pepper: Freshly ground is best for a little bite.
How To Make Green Beans Almondine
✱ Below shows step-by-step photos and instructions. For the complete recipe, along with ingredient amounts, scroll down to the recipe card.
Step 1 | Blanch the Beans
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Add the beans and cook 3 to 5 minutes, tasting at 3, until just tender with a little bite.
Step 2 | Shock and Dry
Move the beans straight into the ice water for 2 minutes. Drain and spread them on a clean towel until completely dry.
Step 3 | Toast the Almonds
In a large dry skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds 3 to 4 minutes, shaking often, until golden. Tip them onto a plate right away.
Step 4 | Brown the Butter
Melt the butter in the same skillet and keep cooking 3 to 4 minutes, swirling, until the bits on the bottom turn amber and smell nutty.
Step 5 | Add the Aromatics
Stir in the garlic and shallot for about 1 minute.
Step 6 | Toss the beans
Add the beans, salt, and pepper and toss 2 to 3 minutes until hot and glossy.
Step 7 | Finish off the Heat
Pull the pan off the burner, add the lemon juice, zest, and almonds, and toss once more. Taste for salt and serve right away.
Variations & Substitutions
- Use haricots verts. These skinny French green beans are the traditional choice. Start testing them at 2 minutes in the boiling water since they cook faster.
- Try frozen green beans in a pinch. Frozen beans are already blanched, so skip the boil and ice bath. Thaw them, pat very dry, and give them an extra minute or two in the brown butter.
- Trade the shallot for onion. About 2 tablespoons of finely minced yellow or sweet onion works if you don’t have a shallot on hand.
- Make it dairy-free. Use a plant-based butter or olive oil. It won’t brown the same way, so lean on the toasted almonds and lemon for flavor.
Gluten-Free Green Beans Almondine
Good news: this green bean almondine is naturally gluten-free, with no flour or breadcrumbs anywhere in the recipe.
If you’re cooking for someone with celiac disease, check the almond package for a gluten-free label, since some nuts are processed in facilities that also handle wheat. And if you add toppings like crispy fried onions, be sure to pick a certified gluten-free brand.
Recipe Tips
- Add the lemon off the heat. Acid hitting a hot pan cooks off and goes flat. Stirred in at the very end, it stays bright and cuts right through all that rich butter.
- Save the almonds for last. If they go into the butter too early, they soften and lose their crunch. Adding them off the heat keeps them crisp against the tender beans.
- Watch the butter, not the clock. The foam hides what’s happening underneath, so swirl the pan and peek at the bottom. Pull it as soon as the specks turn amber and smell nutty, then add the garlic and shallot right away.
What to Serve with Green Bean Almondine
Green bean almondine is made for the holiday table! Set them next to an Easy Oven Roasted Turkey or a Honey Baked Ham Copycat, and round out the plate with Homemade Mashed Potatoes, Easy Cornbread Stuffing, and a basket of Homemade Dinner Rolls.
For Christmas, they’re just as elegant beside a No Fail Prime Rib. And on a regular weeknight, they pair perfectly with my Pecan Crusted Chicken, since the toasted nuts tie the whole plate together.
Make-ahead and Storage Instructions
Green bean almondine is best served right out of the skillet, but a little planning makes it a breeze for holiday hosting.
- Make Ahead: Blanch, shock, and dry the beans up to 2 days early and refrigerate them in a zip-top bag lined with a paper towel. Toast the almonds ahead and keep them in an airtight container. When it’s time to eat, brown the butter and finish the dish in about 5 minutes.
- Storage: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Reheating: Warm in a skillet over medium heat with a small pat of butter until heated through. The microwave works in a pinch but softens the beans. Toast a few extra almonds to sprinkle on fresh, since the leftovers lose some crunch.
- Freezing: I don’t recommend freezing the finished dish, because the beans turn soft and watery when thawed.
Frequently Asked Questions
Green beans and almonds bring fiber, vitamins, and healthy fats, so this is a wholesome side, though the butter does add richness. To lighten it up, cut the butter to 3 or 4 tablespoons or swap half of it for olive oil.
Boil regular green beans for 3 to 5 minutes, or about 2 to 3 minutes for thin haricots verts, until they’re just tender with a little bite. They’ll soften a bit more in the skillet, so it’s better to pull them early.
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Green Bean Almondine Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1½ lb green beans - trimmed
- 1 tbsp kosher salt - for the blanching water
- ½ cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 4 garlic cloves - thinly sliced
- 1 small shallot - finely minced
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- ½ tsp kosher salt - plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the tablespoon of salt. It should taste like the sea. This is the only chance the beans get to absorb salt from the inside.
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water and set it next to the stove.
- Add the green beans and boil 3 to 5 minutes, until just tender with a bit of bite. Start testing at 3 minutes. If you like your beans soft, extend boiling time for up to 6-8 minutes, checking regularly as they cook fast.
- Drain and immediately dump the beans into the ice water. Leave them 2 minutes, then drain and spread on a clean towel to dry completely. The ice bath stops the cooking and locks in the color, and drying them matters because wet beans will steam in the pan instead of taking on the butter.
- Toast the almonds in a large dry skillet over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes, shaking the pan often, until golden and fragrant. Tip them onto a plate right away. They go from toasted to burnt fast and they keep cooking in a hot pan.
- Add the butter to the same skillet over medium heat. Let it melt, foam, and then keep cooking 3 to 4 minutes, swirling the pan, until the foam subsides and the milk solids at the bottom turn golden brown and smell nutty. Watch the color under the foam and pull it as soon as it’s amber. This is where almost all the flavor in the dish comes from.
- Add the garlic and shallot and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. The pan is hot and the butter is already browned, so they only need a moment.
- Add the green beans, salt, and pepper. Toss for 2-3 minutes, until heated through and coated in the butter. This time will soften the beans a bit more, test and remove from heat once they are cooked to your liking.
- Take the pan off the heat. Add the lemon juice, lemon zest, and almonds, and toss once more.
- Taste and adjust the salt. Serve right away.
Notes
- Don’t skip the ice bath. It stops the cooking right away and keeps the beans bright green instead of dull.
- Dry the beans well. Wet beans steam in the skillet and won’t take on the brown butter.
- Watch the butter closely. Swirl the pan and pull it as soon as the bits on the bottom turn amber and smell nutty. A light-colored skillet makes this easier to see.
- Make ahead: Blanch, chill, and dry the beans up to 2 days ahead and refrigerate in a bag lined with a paper towel. Toast the almonds ahead and store airtight. Finish in about 5 minutes before serving.
- Storage: Refrigerate leftovers up to 3 days. Reheat in a skillet over medium heat with a small pat of butter, and top with a few freshly toasted almonds for crunch. Freezing is not recommended.
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Nutrition
Soulfully Made is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
