Need a super simple side dish? Some days getting a nutritious and tasty side dish on the dinner table just feels like one of about 3,247 things on your metaphorical plate. Let's take one off of it with this easy green beans recipe that's here to make your busy evening a little less stressful.
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Why You'll Love These Air Fryer Green Beans:
- Easy Recipe: We are using very simple ingredients today, if you've got a can of green beans and some pantry basics you're all set!
- Faster than Frozen: Listen no shade to frozen green beans, but freezer space is harder to come by than a bit of room in the pantry, AND these cook faster than a microwave-friendly frozen pouch.
- Versatile: These simple flavors pair well with a wide variety of dishes, and if you want you can always customize the spices or top with some parmesan cheese to further compliment what you're serving it with.
Let's Get Started! Here's What You'll Need:
Ingredients:
Canned Green Beans- We're using canned green beans because they're convienient, consistent, and easy on the budget. They're a great pantry staple to keep on hand when you need a quick healthy side dish.
Butter- Just a half tablespoon of butter to add that creamy richness really gives canned green beans a flavor boost. If dairy and you aren't friends you can swap it for olive oil.
Salt and Pepper- For seasoning, we'll keep it simple yet effective with classic sea salt and black pepper.
Equipment:
You'll of course need your handy dandy air fryer! Beyond that we need a spatula for stirring, and a heat safe bowl that we'll season them in AND serve them from. Less dishes means a happier cook, at least in my book. You'll also need a can opener, unless you bought a fancy can of green beans that has a pull tab, and a butter knife for the butter. Seasoning is to taste, so you don't really need measuring spoons- if in doubt use less because you can always add more but can't take it out once it's there.
How to Make This Green Bean Recipe:
Step 1: Drain & Preheat
First things first, let's preheat the air fryer to 350°F so it's ready. While that's warming up open you can of green beans and drain the liquid.
Step 2: Air Frying
Place the drained green beans in your air fryer basket in a single layer for even cooking. Air fry for 5-6 minutes. While the green beans are in the air fryer, grab about half a tablespoon of butter and place it in your heat-safe bowl.
Step 3: Season & Stir
Once the green beans are done cooking, pour them out of your air fryer basket and into the bowl on top of the butter. This will melt the butter easily, then just add your salt and pepper and stir to combine everything well.
Step 4: Serve & Enjoy
Serve these tender green beans with your favorite weeknight dinner. If you have any leftovers be sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days.
FAQs
Absolutely. You'll want to increase the cooking time from 5 minutes to at least 8, likely 10. Fresh will give you more crispy green beans, and are another great option.
I keep it simple here with salt and pepper, but you can easily add different flavors if you prefer. I've added onion powder before, or you could use garlic salt in place of the regular salt. A teaspoon of lemon juice, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce or balsamic vinegar would be great added with the butter- you may not need salt if you use soy sauce. For a bit of heat and color you could add some red pepper flakes.
Regular cut green beans are the kind you see pictured here, but your grocery store likely has more options. There's canned french style you typically see in the classic casserole, which will work here but may need a bit less cooking time since they're cut more thin- check on those after 3 minutes. There are also haricots verts which are french beans grown a bit longer and thinner- they generally cost more and I don't usually see them sold in cans.
More Air Fryer Recipes
Need some cheesy broccoli in your life? This air fryer broccoli uses a simple 2 ingredient cheese sauce. During summer zucchini and yellow squash and tomatoes are abundant, and they cook up great in your air fryer!
Looking for an entree instead? Try these pork tenderloin medallions, or make these roasted lemon pepper chicken legs faster in the air fryer.
Enjoy!
I hope you love this quick side dish and that it brings a bit of ease to your busy evening. Be sure to come back and let me know how it went for you, and happy eating!
📖 Recipe
Air Fryer Canned Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 can Green Beans
- ½ tablespoon butter
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 350 degrees F. Open can and drain liquid, and distribute beans evenly in air fryer basket.
- Air fry for 5 minutes. While air frying, add butter to your serving bowl.
- After cooking, add beans to serving bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir and enjoy.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate. It is recommended to use your preferred calculator with the actual ingredients you use for optimal accuracy.
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