Brown Butter Green Beans with Toasted Almonds
This is a simple stovetop green bean side dish with nutty brown butter, crisp-tender beans, and crunchy toasted almonds.
It’s designed to be weeknight-easy but polished enough to sit next to a roast turkey or seared steak.
Why You’ll Love It
Very little prep and about 15 minutes of actual cooking time.
Uses basic, affordable ingredients you can find in any grocery store.
All in one pan after blanching for easy cleanup.
Flexible enough for holidays, dinner parties, or quick weeknight meals.
Scales up easily without getting fussy.
Ingredients (What You Actually Need)
1 ½ lbs fresh green beans, ends trimmed.
3 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces so it browns evenly.
⅓ cup sliced almonds, preferably raw so they can toast in the butter.
1 small shallot, finely minced, optional but adds nice flavor.
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice, plus extra to taste if you like more brightness.
½–¾ tsp kosher salt, adjust to taste and the saltiness of your butter.
Freshly ground black pepper, about 8–10 grinds.
Optional but helpful, 1 tsp olive oil to mix with the butter if you worry about it burning.
Optional garnish, extra toasted almonds or a little lemon zest.
If you don’t already have one, a sturdy 4–5 quart pot for blanching the beans makes this easier, and something like this medium saucepan works well.
A wide 10–12 inch skillet gives the beans space to sauté without steaming too much, and a pan like this stainless steel skillet is ideal for browning butter because you can see the color clearly.
Steps (Do This)
Prep the beans.
Trim the stem ends off the green beans and rinse them well so they’re ready to go.
Boil water and salt it well.
Fill a medium or large pot with water, bring it to a rolling boil, and add a generous pinch of salt.
Blanch the green beans.
Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for 2–3 minutes until they turn bright green and just start to soften.
Shock or drain.
For the best texture, transfer beans to a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking, then drain and pat dry.
If you’re short on time, just drain well in a colander.
Dry the beans thoroughly.
Spread the drained beans on a clean kitchen towel and pat them dry because excess water will steam them instead of letting them sauté in the butter.
Start the brown butter.
Place your skillet over medium heat, add the butter, and let it melt completely, stirring occasionally with a heatproof spatula.
Watch for browning cues.
After the butter melts and foams, watch for it to turn golden with tiny brown specks and a nutty smell, which usually takes 3–4 minutes.
Add the almonds to the butter.
Stir the sliced almonds into the brown butter and cook for 1–2 minutes, stirring often, until they are light golden and fragrant.
Add the shallot.
Stir in the minced shallot and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until it softens and loses its sharp raw taste.
Add the green beans to the skillet.
Put the blanched and dried green beans into the skillet, tossing them in the brown butter and almonds so everything is coated.
Season the beans.
Sprinkle in the salt and a few grinds of black pepper, then toss or stir again to distribute the seasoning evenly.
Sauté to finish.
Cook the beans for another 2–4 minutes over medium heat until they are heated through and just tender with a bit of bite.
Add lemon juice off the heat.
Turn off the heat, drizzle in the lemon juice, and toss again, tasting and adjusting with extra salt, pepper, or lemon if needed.
Serve right away.
Transfer the beans and all the browned butter and almond bits to a warm serving dish so the butter doesn’t sit and overcook in the pan.
A good pair of kitchen tongs makes tossing the beans much easier, and something like these stainless steel tongs will get a lot of use in your kitchen.
Helpful Tips and Substitutions
Blanching the beans first gives you control over texture, so they end up crisp-tender instead of either squeaky-raw or mushy.
If you want firmer beans, shave 30–60 seconds off the blanching time.
If you want softer beans, add 1–2 minutes.
Shocking in ice water locks in the bright green color and stops carryover cooking, which is especially helpful if you’re cooking ahead.
Drying the beans thoroughly before they hit the pan prevents water from cooling the butter and keeps it from splattering too much.
Use a light-colored stainless steel or enamel skillet to see the browning stage of the butter clearly, because dark pans make it easy to overshoot and burn.
If you’re nervous about burning the butter, you can mix in 1 teaspoon of olive oil with the butter, which raises the smoke point slightly.
Brown butter goes from perfect to burnt fast, so stay at the stove and stir occasionally instead of walking away once it starts to foam.
If the butter gets too dark or smells acrid rather than nutty, it is better to start over than try to save it, because that bitterness will carry into the whole dish.
If you don’t have shallots, you can use 1–2 cloves of minced garlic, but add it after the almonds have toasted so it doesn’t burn.
You can also skip the shallot or garlic entirely and let the brown butter and almonds carry the flavor, which still tastes great.
For nut substitutions, sliced or slivered almonds are classic, but chopped pecans, hazelnuts, or walnuts also work and bring a different flavor.
If you’re cooking for someone with a nut allergy, you can skip the nuts and use toasted breadcrumbs instead, added at the very end.
To make toasted breadcrumbs, brown ¼ cup of panko in a teaspoon of butter or olive oil until golden and sprinkle over the dish when serving.
If you want a little heat, add a pinch of red pepper flakes when you add the shallot so the chili warms in the butter.
A silicone spatula is helpful for scraping up all the browned bits from the pan without scratching it, and something like this high-heat silicone spatula is great for many recipes.
If you’re feeding a crowd, use the biggest skillet you have so the beans can sit in a relatively even layer instead of being piled too high.
Crowded pans trap steam and soften the beans instead of letting them get that glossy, sautéed look.
Serving Ideas
Serve this as a side with roasted chicken, pork chops, steak, salmon, or any simple protein that needs a flavorful vegetable next to it.
It works well on a holiday table with turkey, ham, or roast beef because it brings freshness and acidity from the lemon.
Add a sprinkle of extra toasted almonds or lemon zest right before serving if you want it to feel a bit more special.
For a simple grain bowl, combine these green beans with cooked rice, quinoa, or farro and top with sliced chicken, tofu, or a soft-boiled egg.
You can slice leftover beans into bite-size pieces and toss them into a salad with mixed greens, feta, and a simple vinaigrette.
They also work stirred into leftover pasta or a quick fried rice for an easy lunch the next day.
If you like things extra rich, you can serve the beans on a warm platter and drizzle any butter left in the pan right over the top.
A sturdy rimmed sheet pan is handy if you want to hold the beans warm in a low oven, and something like this half-sheet baking pan is useful for many recipes beyond this one.
Make-Ahead and Storage
You can blanch the green beans up to 2 days in advance, shock them in ice water, dry them thoroughly, and store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
If you do this, the final sauté with brown butter and almonds will only take about 5–7 minutes before serving.
For best texture, wait to brown the butter and toast the almonds until just before you plan to eat.
Leftover cooked beans keep well in the refrigerator for up to 3–4 days in a sealed container.
To reheat on the stove, warm a skillet over medium-low heat, add a small knob of butter or a teaspoon of water, and toss the beans just until hot.
To reheat in the microwave, cover loosely and heat in short bursts, stirring once or twice, so the beans warm through without overcooking.
Freezing is not ideal for this recipe because green beans tend to lose their crisp texture and the almonds soften.
If you must freeze, freeze just the blanched beans in a single layer on a tray before bagging, then add fresh brown butter and almonds when you cook later.
Stackable glass storage containers keep the beans from getting crushed in the fridge, and a set like these glass meal prep containers is useful for storing all kinds of leftovers.
Wrap-Up
This dish gives you a reliable, upgraded green bean side without extra stress or complicated steps.
Once you’ve made it a couple of times, you can easily tweak the texture, nuts, or seasoning so it fits your taste and whatever you’re serving it with.