Green Beans Skillet FAST Recipe – 10 Minutes
This is an unusually quick green beans skillet recipe. They're mildly seasoned and fresh. Additional options shown like vinegar, carrots, and oriental.
About this Green Beans Skillet Recipe
This is a non-stop fast-paced green beans skillet recipe for the skillet or pan. The seasonings are lightly sprinkled across and the beans are tossed in the pan during cooking to distribute the spices and oil. As another planning option, you could just put the raw trimmed (rinsed) beans in a mixing bowl, add in the oil and seasonings, followed by a thorough tossing and set aside for cooking later. I’ve even made them a day early, along with some other sides, so all I had to do was heat up a pan and cook them quickly.
Green Beans Skillet FAST Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans
- 2 tbsp olive oil or peanut oil, or other vegetable oil
- ¼ tsp salt
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper or less
- ¼ tsp onion powder optional
Instructions
- Add oil to pan and begin to heat to medium.2 tbsp olive oil
- Snap the stringy ends off the green beans, if any are present. Then, quickly rinse beans and shake to drain.1 lb green beans
- Increase the pan burner heat to medium high and add in green beans now. Toss them to coat with the heated oil. Add more oil if needed for just a light coating. Add in all seasonings and continue to toss briefly to distribute.¼ tsp salt, ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper, ¼ tsp onion powder
- After a total of about 5 minutes, some will begin to brown a bit. They're ready to serve.
Other Green Beans Skillet Cooking Options
Softer Green Beans Skillet Options
The higher heat and the short timing does leave the beans in a hot, cooked crunchy state. So, if you want them more wilted, you just keep the heat at medium and cook them for about 10-15 minutes.
And, still another way to make them softer, is to leave the heat at medium, and after about 3 minutes and a couple of tosses, add a small amount of hot tap water (1/8 cup), and cover it with a lid. They should be ready in about 10 more minutes.
This recipe is listed on our Dinner Ideas for Christmas Eve article, where you’ll also see other traditional and non-traditional fun recipes for main courses, sides, appetizers, salads, and breads.
Different Flavorings or Add-in Options
For flavoring changes, you can opt to use any of the following ideas to mix it up:
Use some diced onions, to replace the onion powder. Then, add in one of the below items, if desired.
You can add in some shredded carrots, if desired.
Another super nutritious addition is to add in about 1/2 can (drained) of black-eyed peas.
Balsamic Green Beans Skillet
If using just green beans, or green beans and diced onions, a good addition is a splash of balsamic vinegar after it’s done cooking. That’s no more than about 1-2 tsp.
And, in case the kids won’t like it, you could just splash a small amount on individual servings.
Another good side dish that uses balsamic vinegar, in place of green beans (and cooks in 5 minutes) is this recipe for sugar snap peas.
Oriental Green Beans Option
For an oriental touch, you can use sesame oil instead. And add just a pinch (1/8 tsp) garlic powder (or 1/4 tsp garlic granules). The rest of the seasonings are the same and you can add in about 1 tsp of sesame seeds (optional). As an added option, after it’s done cooking, you can add in a splash (about 1-2 tsp) of rice vinegar (or regular white vinegar if you don’t have it).
It doesn’t taste as good with adding soy sauce, in case you’re wondering. However, if you make tempura green beans, that’s a whole different story, and you would use a seasoned soy sauce as a dip.
Nutritional Values of Green Beans Recipe
The nutritional values are shown in the <Print Recipe> option.