Oven Roasted Green Beans Recipe (2025)

FAQs

Why are my roasted green beans tough? ›

If your green beans are tough after roasting it most likely means one of two things. Either the green beans you used were a bit too mature and tough (this method is best with slender green beans, especially haricots verts, or French green beans) or you didn't cook them long enough.

I added some sliced onion sautéed along with the green beans, added some garlic paste from the tube (Gourmet Garden®), some freshly-ground black pepper, and a healthy sprinkle of lemon pepper. Wow, so simple and yet soooo delicious.

Make sure you spread out the green beans. They can overlap some, but you want as much surface area exposed to the heat as possible for crispness. Along the same lines, you can technically double this recipe, but remember that the more you make at once, the less crispy the green beans will be.

Fill a medium saucepan two-thirds full with water, add a tablespoon of kosher salt and bring to a boil over high heat. When the water reaches a rolling boil, add the green beans and stir gently until the water returns to a boil. Cook until just tender but not mushy, about 4 to 4 ½ minutes.

Once the water is boiling, add the beans and cook for two to three minutes. While the beans are cooking, fill a large bowl with cold water and ice. As soon as the beans are done cooking, transfer them immediately to the ice bath to stop the cooking process and preserve their bright green color.

Then, I toss the blanched beans with olive oil, lemon juice and zest, garlic, and salt to pep up their flavor. Serve them just like that, or dress them up more with toasted almonds or pine nuts, grated Parmesan cheese, red pepper flakes, or fresh herbs like basil, parsley, or thyme.

Blanching your greens is key to getting that bitterness level down. Because glucosinolates are water-soluble compounds, a lot of them are leached out into the water, allowing for a less bitter green.

If you're looking for a simple mixture that will pair well with a variety of meals, a combination of onion salt, garlic salt, garlic powder, and black pepper works well. You can add dry spices, such as the ones in this mixture, to the skillet at the same time as the green beans.

Avoid buying green beans that feel soft, limp, have brown spots or open pods.

Always Add Aromatics to the Pot

It may sound too basic to be true, but aside from salt, there is no more drastic way to improve the flavor of your dried beans than to cook them with flavor-enhancing vegetables and fragrant, woodsy herbs.

Why put green beans in ice water? ›

Shocking the beans (submerging them in an ice bath) stops the cooking process and locks in their a bright green color.

On a cooking note, regarding tough green beans, you may be undercooking them.

Steamed green beans can become rubbery if they are overcooked. To avoid this, make sure to steam them just until they are tender-crisp and still bright green (3-4 minutes).

Dried beans typically have a moisture content of around 16%. However, as they age, moisture evaporates, giving pectin time to age and harden the skin. These beans can often take much longer to soften while soaking and cooking, up to twice the time!