Green Beans Almondine is an easy, yet impressive, green bean recipe. Made with fresh green beans, a simple lemon butter sauce, and toasted almonds, this simple recipe elevates green beans into a memorable side dish with minimal effort.

Green Beans Almondine dished out in white dish.

Green Beans Almondine is a classic French dish that simply means "green beans with almonds." While absolutely delicious, unlike most French recipes (think Beef Bourguignon, Quiche Lorraine, Crepes, and French Onion Soup), Green Beans Almondine is one recipe that is uncomplicated and easy to make.

This elegant vegetable side dish doesn't take much more effort than making Instant Pot Green Beans, yet delivers a dish as memorable as Green Bean Casserole.

Reasons to Love Green Beans Almondine

Amazing Flavor Delivered Fast. This recipe for Green Beans Almondine only requires 5 simple, easy-to-find ingredients and is ready in less than 20 minutes, making this recipe the perfect side dish to prepare on busy weeknights.
Pairs Well with Endless Entrees. Green Beans Almondine is a simple side dish that pairs beautifully with just about any main course, like Baked Salmon, Chicken Florentine, or Chicken Piccata
Kid-Friendly Vegetable Side Dish. Between the buttery, bright sauce and the crunch of the almonds, this simple green bean recipe is truly irresistible and wins over the pickiest of eaters.

Key Ingredients

fresh green beans, lemon, shallot and almonds on white counter.

Green Beans: String beans, fresh green beans, or French green beans, also known as Haricot Vert, work for this recipe. The beans should be cleaned and trimmed. While fresh beans are best, I do have directions for how to dress up frozen steamed beans with this sauce as well.
Butter: Butter gives the sauce so much richness and is a must in French cuisine. Use unsalted butter to control the level of sodium yourself.
Shallots: Shallots add a mild flavor that is a cross between both onions and garlic, giving this dish the best of both flavors.
Lemons: Fresh lemon juice will make the flavors pop and finish this dish with a bright acidity that wakes up your taste buds, letting them enjoy the flavor of the dish. Be sure to only use FRESH lemon juice. Jarred is not equivalent.
Almonds: Slivered almonds give the dish crunch and a nutty flavor. It is best to toast the almonds yourself for the best flavor. Pro-Tip: I often find slivered almonds or almond slices in the baking aisle next to chocolate chips at the grocery store.

Substitutions/Recipe Modifications

Dairy-Free/Vegan-Friendly Green Bean Almondine: If you are vegan or dairy-free, I suggest using your favorite vegan butter in place of the unsalted butter. Keep in mind you may not need to add salt to the green beans, as nondairy butter is typically salted.
No Shallots? Omit the shallots. If desired, add up to 1 tablespoon of minced garlic with the green beans and lemon juice.
Green Beans Almondine with Frozen Green Beans: To prepare this dish with frozen green beans, skip the step of blanching green beans. Simply steam your green beans according to the package directions, pat them dry, then proceed with the recipe as stated.

How To Make Green Bean Almondine

The following tips are provided to help you achieve perfect results. You will find the detailed instructions in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step One: Blanch Green Beans. While you may be tempted to skip this step, blanching green beans is essential to this dish! It helps to keep the green beans fresh and vibrant, while also letting the beans get tender. Blanching is not a hard process at all, it simply means boiling something lightly and then shocking it in cold water to stop the cooking process.

Green Beans in ice bath after simmering.

Step Two: Toast Almonds. You can purchase toasted sliced almonds, but it is easy to toast almonds at home and will result in the freshest flavor. I take the time to do this step, while the green beans are being chilled in the ice bath.

Slivered almonds in saute pan being toasted.

Step Three: Saute Green Beans with Shallots Once the green beans have been blanched and the almonds toasted, saute the shallots in butter until softened. Add the green beans, toss to coat, and lightly saute just to warm the green beans.

Sauteed shallots in saute pan after sauteeing them in butter.

Green Beans in skillet with lemon butter sauce

Step Four: Finish. To make the flavors pop, add the juice of a lemon to the beans and top with the toasted almonds right before serving.

Green Beans Almondine in white serving platter

Storage Instructions

Leftover green beans almondine can be stored in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a dry skillet until just warmed through. This will help the almonds stay crispy, as they may become soggy if the leftovers are microwaved.

More Easy Vegetable Side Dish Recipes

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Green Beans Almondine

Made with fresh green beans, a simple lemon butter sauce, and toasted almonds, this simple recipe elevates green beans into a memorable side dish with minimal effort.

5 from 15 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: French

Prep Time: 5

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 20

Servings:

Calories: 144kcal

Author: Kristen Chidsey

Ingredients

▢ 1 pound fresh green beans ends trimmed off
▢ ⅓ cup slivered almonds
▢ 2 tablespoons butter
▢ 2 tablespoons shallots minced
▢ 1 medium lemon
▢ ½ teaspoon kosher salt plus additional salt for cooking beans

Instructions

Bring a large pot of water to a rapid boil. Season the boiling water with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt. Drop green beans into boiling water and boil for 2-3 minutes, or until just crisp-tender.
Remove green beans from the pot with a slotted spoon or spider strainer and place immediately into an ice bath.
Preheat a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add in slivered almonds. Shake the pan every 30 seconds. As soon as your nose begins to smell the almonds, or the almonds begin to turn light brown, remove the almonds from the skillet.
Remove green beans from ice bath and gently pat dry.
In the same skillet that you toasted almonds in, melt butter over medium heat. Add in shallot, and saute until just softened, about 3-4 minutes.
Add green beans and ½ teaspoon of salt, and juice of a lemon, and toss to coat. Saute until warmed through, about 3-5 minutes.
Remove beans from skillet and place in serving dish. Top with toasted almonds.

Notes

Shallots: Feel free to leave out shallots, for a more kid-friendly recipe.

Lemon Juice: Do not substitute jarred lemon juice for fresh lemon juice. Feel free to add the zest of the lemon along with the lemon juice for a more intense lemon flavor.

Frozen Green Beans: To prepare this dish with frozen green beans, skip the step for blanching green beans. Simply steam your green beans according to package directions pat dry and proceed with the recipe as stated.

Green Bean Varieties: String beans, haricot verts, or fresh garden green beans all work in this recipe. You will need to cook string beans and haricot verts for 1 minute less time in the boiling water than thicker green beans.

Storage: Leftover green beans almondine can be stored in an airtight storage container for up to 4 days in the refrigerator. Reheat in a dry skillet until just warmed through. This will help the almonds stay crispy, as they may become soggy if the leftovers are microwaved.

Nutrition

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