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Green Bean Almondine is a classic, French side dish that comes together in just 15 min. This Whole30 version requires minimum effort & yields maximum reward.
In an effort to minimize clean up time, I like to prepare my Green Bean Almondine in a single skillet. A sauté pan is ideal because its high walls will allow you to blanche the beans and then prevent oil from splattering once you sauté them with the aromatics and almonds.
If you’re going by the measurements listed in my recipe below, you can probably get away with using a 12″ fry pan. That’s what I used when testing this recipe and didn’t have any issue with blanching my beans in enough water to submerge. Though some oil did splatter while sautéing and the occasional green bean managed to slide out of the pan, it wasn’t a big deal and things got on just fine.
Tips for the Perfect Green Bean Almondine
Aside from using the right pan for the job, there are a few golden rules to making sure you hit this Green Bean Almondine out of the park.
Mise En Place:
This French culinary phrase, which means “everything in its place”, refers to having all of your ingredients prepared before you start cooking.
Those who watch my step-by-step Instagram stories know that I do this every single time I cook. It has become second nature to me and often saves me from making mistakes.
In this recipe, that means having your ice bath ready, green beans rinsed and trimmed (if necessary), almonds slivered (if starting with whole ones), shallots and garlic sliced, and seasoning at hand.
The reason mise en place is particularly important here is because this dish comes together so quickly that you won’t have time to do things once you get started. Getting yourself organized before cooking will help prevent burnt garlic and overcooked green beans.
Don’t Overcook the Aromatics:
The main flavourings in this Green Bean Almondine are shallots and garlic. Both ingredients cook very quickly and, perhaps more importantly, have a tendency to burn before you know it.
I have seen far too many shallots and garlic burn because people want to cook them to the point of being golden brown before moving onto the next step in the recipe.
Instead, try cooking them until they are just golden yellow, keeping in mind that they will continue to develop colour after you add the almonds and even the green beans.
If You Want to Make This Ahead of Time…
Green Bean Almondine is best prepared and served in one fell swoop and considering this whole dish comes together in around 15min, you can probably pull it off come game time.
However, if you are cooking for a large crowd and want to give yourself a bit of a head start, you can blanch and shock the green beans. Dry them and store them in the fridge to keep them crisp. When ready to serve, start sautéing the shallots, garlic, chili flakes and almonds. Add the green beans, toss everything to coat and finish with lemon juice.
Personally, I do not recommend preparing the whole dish and then leaving it to sit in the oven until ready to serve. The lemon juice will dry out and the green beans will lose their crisp, juicy bite you strived to achieve.
EVOO, Ghee, or Both?
You can use Extra Virgin olive oil, ghee or a combination of the two in this dish. The flavour of both is really delicious and if you have both on hand, it’s what I recommend.
However, you can also use one or the other.
Remember, you’re the boss, applesauce.
Green Bean Almondine
Ingredients
- 400 gr green beans, rinsed, flat ends trimmed
- 1 small shallot, finely sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely sliced
- 1/4 cup blanched, slivered almonds, or sliced almonds
- 1/2 tsp dried chili flakes, optional
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 3 tbsp Extra Virgin olive oil, (EVOO)
- kosher salt, - to taste
- flaky sea salt, such as Maldon, - for finishing
Instructions
- Fill 12" sauté pan or frying pan with water. Bring to a rapid boil, season with a heavy pinch of kosher salt, and add green beans. Blanch green beans 2-3 minutes or until slightly softened. Immediately transfer cooked green beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking process and set the dark green colour.
- Drain ice water and dry green beans thoroughly. Tip: a salad spinner works perfectly here. Set dried green beans aside.
- Drain the pan used to blanch the green beans and return to the stovetop. Lower heat to med-low and add EVOO, shallots and garlic. Gently sauté until golden (approx. 6 min).
- Add almonds and chili flakes. Toss to coat and cook an additional 1-2 minutes.
- Add drained green beans and toss to coat. Cook 2-3 minutes or until green beans are warmed through.
- Turn off heat, add lemon juice and toss everything to coat.
- Transfer to serving platter and finish with flakey sea salt. Serve immediately.
About the Author
Hi, i'm Ronny! In 2013, after a lifetime of struggling with my weight and body issues, I rehabilitated my relationship with food, lost over 40 pounds and completely changed my life.
Delicious! Love the chili flakes
Spice is life!
Ooooh this looks like an easy but tasty recipe to try out. It can be a great side dish for dinner. I’ll have to make this son. I just need to go buy some green beans first haha thank you!
Hope you enjoy it! Let me know how it goes!