Roasted Green Beans

Roasted green beans are my go-to 5 minute side dish. The beans crisp up around the edges in the oven and are reminiscent of French fries for me! I serve them with ranch for dipping, and the whole family eats the entire pound of green beans that night. It feels like a mom win to me!

Roasted green beans

Please, take a peek at the golden brown spots on the green beans above--can't you just taste the crispiness? I love these roasted green beans so much! When I first perfected the recipe for making green beans in the oven that remind me of French fries, I was buying 3 bags of beans each week. It was our go-to side dish with dinner several nights a week, and I kept waiting for my family to get tired of it but they never did.

We are definitely a family that loves green beans! Our green bean casserole is pretty famous for being the absolute best version of that recipe ever! 

When green beans are overflowing the farmer's market stalls in the summer, I can hardly resist telling everyone within earshot of this recipe. Crispy green beans from the oven are just TOO GOOD!

I have seen some green bean fries recipes on the internet that require bread crumbs, and that seems like too much work to me. If you crank the oven to 425, you get plenty of crispness without having to dip each bean in bread crumbs.

I think of this recipe as the quicker version of one of our other favorite side dishes: sauteed green beans. This recipe requires roughly 2 minutes of prep work, and then it roasts in the oven completely hands-off. The roasting time is about 15 minutes total, but it does require a few things.

Tips for perfect roasted green beans:

1. You must space the green beans out on the pan. If they're touching, they won't get super crispy. Use the biggest sheet pan you have (I like this one) and spread it out.
2. To keep the prep work as low as possible, you can look for a bag of already washed and cleaned green beans at the grocery store. The bags will say 'cleaned and trimmed green beans.' However, if you're using loose green beans from the bulk section of the grocery store or from the farmer's market, you'll have to wash and snap off the stem end of each green bean. For roughly a pound of green beans, you're looking at 5 minutes of work. Wash everything together, line up the green beans in your hand with the stems facing down, and then snap multiple beans at the same time.

Ingredients:

• green beans: You need 12-16 ounces of fresh green beans that have been washed and trimmed (this means the stem end snapped off because it's tough. You can leave the tiny point on the end of the beans, because it's very tender).
• olive oil
• salt
• dipping sauces: Ranch and ketchup are what my family uses, but a garlicky aioli would be fabulous, too.

Step by step instructions:

1. Gather your ingredients: trimmed green beans, olive oil and salt is all you need.
   
2. Preheat the oven to 425. Yes, really, it needs to be that hot to make crispy green beans!
   
3. Place the green beans on the baking sheet, and drizzle with the olive oil and salt. Toss very well to combine. Then, use your fingers to arrange the green beans on the baking sheet with as much room between each bean as possible. The more evenly spaced the beans are, the more chances they will have to develop golden brown crispy spots! Beans that are touching will steam more than roast, so space these babies out!
   
4. Roast the green beans for 5 minutes, toss them, and then roast them for another 10-15 minutes. Remove the beans from the oven when they have golden spots like you see in the photo above. Serve the beans immediately with ranch or your favorite dipping sauce.

Are roasted green beans healthy?

While I am definitely not a nutritionist, I think of these roasted green beans as healthy because they're just 100 calories per serving (this recipe makes 4 servings). Also, I happen to know that green beans are loaded with vitamin K and have some calcium, too. I would definitely say they're healthier than real French fries that are fried in lots of oil! Speaking of potatoes, my green beans and potatoes would be something you might love, too!

Can you freeze roasted green beans?

I seriously understand that this recipe is so good, you'd like to freeze it for meal prep. However, the crispiness of the green beans are lost once they're cold. 

Do I have to use fresh? Can I use canned green beans for this roasted green bean recipe?

I did not test this recipe with canned green beans, because I feel that they're way too soggy to crisp up in the oven.

Roasted Green Beans

Yield: 4

Prep Time: 5 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Crispy oven roasted green beans, just 2 ingredients!

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Ingredients

• 12 ounces fresh cleaned and trimmed green beans
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ½ teaspoon salt
• dipping sauces*

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425°F.
2. Arrange the green beans on a large baking sheet. Drizzle the olive oil and salt over the beans, and toss to coat evenly.
3. Arrange the beans as spaced out as possible, because the more room between the beans, the more crisp and golden brown spots they develop.
4. Roast for 5 minutes. Shake the pan, and roast for another 7-10 minutes, until the green beans are blistering with golden brown spots. Serve immediately.
   

Notes

green beans: You need 12-16 ounces of fresh green beans that have been washed and trimmed (this means the stem end snapped off because it's tough. You can leave the tiny point on the end of the beans, because it's very tender).
dipping sauces: Ranch and ketchup are what my family uses, but a garlicky aioli would be fabulous, too.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 106Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 1mgSodium: 410mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 3gSugar: 5gProtein: 2g