Green Beans (Crispy & Flavorful!), roasted

At a glance

What stands out: This is such a tasty way to make green beans! A little effort yields a big reward. Roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil are crispy and so flavorful.

How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven
Servings: 4

We don’t know if we've ever seen our mom enjoy a food as much as she enjoyed these roasted green beans! Okay, that might be an exaggeration but our mom LOVES these beans. She couldn’t stop eating them! She was snacking on them right off the sheet pan.

We love cooking with our mom and she is the one who gave us the love of cooking. Any time we knock a recipe out of the park in her eyes, we feel an extra sense of accomplishment and success.

Roasted green Beans

Salty and crunchy. If you’re a person that loves french fries, you’ll love these too. Of course, they’re not exactly the same but they satisfy the same cravings.

Straightforward to mix. Guys. We're talking green can Parmesan and dried basil. There are times for freshly grated cheese and leafy green fresh basil, but in this case, it’s not necessary.

They honor the green bean. That might sound weird, but you’ll find that the fresh beans are still crisp and flavorful. We’re not boiling them to death, we’re highlighting and enhancing their flavor in a hot oven until they’re tender but still crisp.

Franklin Said:

“This was the standby recipe for roasted green beans! They were eaten as if they were FRENCH FRIES! We had to make a SECOND batch!”

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What goes in

We'll highlight a few aspects of the recipe and give you extra information and tips. Refer to the recipe card for the complete recipe with details.

• Fresh green beans: Whether you get the green beans from your garden, grocery store, or farm market, it doesn’t matter. Fresh is best for roasting. Look for crisp firm beans that aren’t wrinkled or soft. Snip off the stem end and leave the tail end on. You can mix the green beans with yellow wax beans if you like.
• Olive oil: A bit of oil is necessary to roast vegetables. If you prefer a different type of oil, go for it.
• Seasoning: Roasted green beans are seasoned simply with coarse salt, freshly ground black pepper, and dried basil. If you’d rather use fresh, add it after roasting instead of before. Don’t add too much salt because the Parmesan cheese adds a salty flavor, too.
• Parmesan cheese: Whether it’s from a green can or freshly grated, Parmesan cheese adds a nice touch to these beans.

How it comes together

Preheat the oven. The oven needs to be good and hot before you put the beans in. We use a large rimmed sheet pan, about 18 by 13 inches.

Prep the green beans. After you’ve snipped the stem end off, rinse the beans to wash them. Dry your green beans well. This is true when you’re roasting any vegetable and green beans are no exception. Put them right onto a towel and roll them around a bit to remove any excess water.

Season the beans. Mix the beans with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and dried basil. You can do that right on the sheet pan or in a mixing bowl if you find that’s easier. Spread them evenly on a rimmed sheet pan.

Roast the green beans. Roast the beans for ten minutes, give them a stir, and roast for five more minutes.

Finish and serve. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the beans with the cheese. Serve immediately.

Ways to serve it

While you have the oven on, bake Parmesan and almond crusted salmon to go with the green beans. It’s so good and you can roast them both (and potatoes, too) at the same time. We also love baked chicken cordon bleu, which sounds fancy but is straightforward to mix. Crockpot ham with maple Dijon sauce is straightforward and goes great with green beans. They go well with grilled chicken with Italian marinade.

These roasted green beans with Parmesan are almost as good as French fries. Okay, no, nothing like French fries, but good on their own merits! Totally different than French fries but just as good. Where was we going with this?

Green Bean 101

Should you cut the ends of green beans?

While it’s important to snip the stem end off because it can be tough, there’s no need to snip the opposite end off (the dark green pointed end). It is tender and looks kind of cool.

How do you know when green beans are done?

The answer to this question varies a bit. Roasted green beans aren’t going to have the same texture or taste as steamed or boiled beans. Steamed/boiled beans should be bright green and tender, with an almost buttery flavor. If they are still “squeaky” when you bite into them, they probably could use a couple more minutes of cooking. If they are olive green and limp, they are overcooked.
Roasted green beans won’t be as tender as boiled/steamed beans. They’ll have a chewy texture but should taste cooked, not grassy or raw.

Can you roast canned or frozen green beans?

While you technically could, we don’t recommend it for this particular recipe. They have a higher water content and they just won’t turn out the same.

Ways to change it

• Add garlic. Once the beans have roasted for 10 minutes, stir 2 to 4 cloves of minced or pressed garlic into the beans. Don’t add it right away because the garlic tends to scorch.
• Vary the oven temperature. If you are baking something else in the oven at a lower temperature, say 350°, you can still roast the green beans at the same time. The beans will be fine at a lower temperature but will take up to 20 minutes to cook. They won’t be quite as browned and crisp.
• Use a different vegetable. If green beans aren’t available, try roasted broccoli or roasted cauliflower, and add basil and Parmesan cheese.

Keeping leftovers

Leftover green beans can be refrigerated for three to four days. Reheat in the microwave or give them a speedy blast in your air fryer.

Leftover Love

Have some roasted green beans left over? Chop them up and add them to a salad or bowl, with fresh greens, cooked quinoa, and tomatoes (try our marinated tomatoes!) for a speedy lunch. They are particularly good on a gazpacho salad or panzanella salad.

Roasted Vegetables

• Yield: 4
• Prep: 5 minutes
• Cook: 15 minutes
• Total: 20 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans (trimmed, stem end snipped off)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (or any oil you prefer)
• ¾ teaspoon dried basil (see note)
• ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (more or less to taste)
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Dry green beans well and spread on a large rimmed baking sheet, about 18 x 13 inches. Toss with olive oil (use your hands), so that all the beans are coated. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil. Toss again to coat. Arrange on baking sheet in an even layer.
3. Roast for 10 minutes, toss, and continue to roast for 5 more minutes, or until desired tenderness. Immediately sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Notes

Fresh basil: If you prefer, use fresh basil instead of dried. Add finely minced basil leaves after the beans are roasted, when you add the Parmesan cheese.

Garlic: If you’d like to add garlic, stir in 2 to 4 cloves minced garlic to beans after they’ve roasted for 10 minutes (when you stir them). If you add the garlic to the pan right away, the garlic tends to scorch.

Yellow wax beans: If you like, try yellow wax beans, or use a combination of green and yellow beans.