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    Green Beans with Pine Nuts

    Published: Mar 06, 2020 / 27 Comments

    19.7K shares
    • Facebook832
    Recipe Print

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts is an easy and healthy recipe that will make a great side dish for any main course!  It's a perfect and delicious way to add something green and healthy for your dinner!

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese

    Combining green beans with garlic and pine nuts is one of the best and most delicious ways to serve them!  Try this flavorful recipe and it will quickly become a family favorite side dish!

    This basic recipe will impress you with its simplicity.  Green beans with pine nuts is a simple combination that will pair well with any type of the main dish, whether it's beef, pork, lamb, duck, or chicken.  For example, serve green beans with creamy chicken thighs or Hasselback chicken.

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese

    Variations and Substitutions

    This is a GREAT base recipe for simple green beans.  It comes together quickly, the recipe steps are easy, and many ingredients can be omitted altogether or replaced with something else similar.  The recipe is versatile and easily adjustable to what you have available on hand.

    • Nuts.  While pine nuts is an excellent choice here, you can easily use many other types of nuts, including pecans, cashews, or slivered almonds.  Make sure to lightly toast the nuts for the best flavor.  You can also omit the nuts altogether!
    • Don't like nuts?  Not a problem!  Use pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds instead.  I also prefer to lightly toast them before adding to the green beans.
    • Cheese.  While grated Parmesan cheese provides amazing flavor, saltiness, and texture to this recipe, you can easily replace it with other cheeses.  Use Asiago, Pecorino Romano, goat cheese, or feta cheese.  If you prefer not to use the cheese, omit it altogether.
    • Olive oil.  This is THE RECIPE to use high-quality olive oil.  The simplicity of these green beans will showcase the flavor of high-quality olive oil.   If you don't like or don't have olive oil, use butter instead.

    How to cook green beans

    • Boil. If you like softer green beans, bring a large pot of water to boil, add salt and green beans and boil them (on medium heat) for 5 minutes.  Drain.
    • Blanch.  If you prefer crunchier green beans, bring a large pot of water to boil, and boil green beans for about 1 or 2 minutes until a little tender but still crunchy.  Drain.

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts and Parmesan Cheese

    What goes well with green beans?

    • Vegetables.  Many types of vegetables taste amazing when combined with green beans.  These include potatoes, onions, carrots, butternut squash, spaghetti squash, tomatoes.  Add these cooked veggies to the green beans, season with salt and pepper, and you will have a wonderful and satisfying meal!
    • Mushrooms.   Various mushrooms will pair well with green beans.  These include portobello, Bella mushrooms, shiitake, oyster mushrooms.
    • Bacon.  Cooked and chopped bacon will add lots of flavor to the green beans and pine nuts!

    Main courses to serve with green beans

    Green beans with pine nuts are such a basic combination of ingredients that they will go well with pretty much any dinner!  Here are some ideas:

    • Chicken.  Green beans pair well with all types of chicken, whether it's grilled, baked, or roasted.  Try this zucchini chicken bake or buffalo chicken.
    • Duck is another excellent meat that works beautifully with green beans.  Try roast duck or duck breasts with cranberry sauce for dinner.
    • Pork is a fantastic choice as a main dish for green beans.  Check out creamy pork chops with mushrooms and bacon or pork tenderloin with apples and plums.
    • Lamb works so well with green beans flavorwise.  Try lamb chops with mustard sauce.

    Other green beans recipes

    • Garlic Green Beans with Parmesan is a basic side dish with lots of flavors, including lemon zest, garlic, and olive oil.
    • Garlic and Bacon Green Beans is an easy and delicious way to prepare green beans for the holiday menu.
    Green Beans with Pine Nuts
    4.87 from 111 votes

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts

    Green Beans with Pine Nuts is an easy and healthy recipe that will make a great side dish for any main dish! This simple combination will pair well with beef, veal, pork, lamb, duck, or chicken. It's also a fantastic side dish for salmon, trout, scallops, and shrimp. Green beans are one of the best sides for a family weeknight dinner!
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 5 minutes mins
    Cook Time 15 minutes mins
    Total Time 20 minutes mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine American
    Servings 4 people
    Calories per serving 230 kcal
    Author: Julia

    Ingredients

    • 1 pound green beans fresh, rinsed, ends trimmed
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • 2 tablespoons olive oil
    • 6 cloves garlic minced
    • 1 tablespoon lemon juice freshly squeezed
    • ½ cup Parmesan cheese grated
    • ⅓ cup pine nuts lightly toasted
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper coarsely ground

    Instructions 

    • Bring a large pot of water to boil, add green beans and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cook on medium heat for 5 minutes. Drain the beans.
    • Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium heat. Add minced garlic and cooked green beans.
    • Saute on medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring.
    • Remove from heat. Add freshly squeezed lemon juice and stir.  Add grated Parmesan cheese and stir. Top with lightly toasted pine nuts. Season with more salt, if needed. Season with coarsely ground black pepper.

    Nutrition

    Nutrition Information
    Green Beans with Pine Nuts
    Amount per Serving
    Calories
    230
    % Daily Value*
    Fat
     
    18
    g
    28
    %
    Saturated Fat
     
    4
    g
    25
    %
    Cholesterol
     
    9
    mg
    3
    %
    Sodium
     
    354
    mg
    15
    %
    Potassium
     
    336
    mg
    10
    %
    Carbohydrates
     
    12
    g
    4
    %
    Fiber
     
    4
    g
    17
    %
    Sugar
     
    4
    g
    4
    %
    Protein
     
    8
    g
    16
    %
    Vitamin A
     
    880
    IU
    18
    %
    Vitamin C
     
    17
    mg
    21
    %
    Calcium
     
    198
    mg
    20
    %
    Iron
     
    2
    mg
    11
    %
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

    Nutrition Disclaimer:

    The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

    Keyword garlic green beans, green beans pine nuts
    Tried this recipe?Be sure to leave a comment and provide a Star Rating below - I love your feedback and try to respond to every comment!
    « Arugula Tomato Salad
    Butternut Squash Ravioli with Brown Butter Sauce and Pecans »
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    Please share your comment and Star Rating in the comments section below.

    I appreciate your feedback!

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Andi

      February 20, 2023 at 6:21 pm

      Made this recipe tonight - it was delicious!! Will be making this time and again, especially with Italian dishes - thank you!!

      Reply
      • Julia

        March 18, 2023 at 9:19 pm

        Andi, so glad you loved this side dish - thank you for the 5-star review! 🙂

        Reply
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    Hi, I'm Julia! Welcome to my recipe website where since 2012 I've been sharing easy-to-make weeknight dinners and other recipes using simple ingredients!

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