Honey Garlic Green Beans are lightly seasoned in a honey garlic soy sauce and cooked to the perfect consistency. They make a great side dish without a ton of fuss!

Green beans are quickly becoming one of my absolute favorite side dishes. If you would’ve known me in my younger years, you wouldn’t have guessed it.

I wouldn’t touch green beans with a 10 foot pole. Of course, those were the canned variety, and what we’re making now are fresh green beans.

Green beans have such a wide range of flavor options, so it’s hard to get bored with all the varieties available. We keep green beans almondine and sautéed green beans with bacon on rotation.

When we want a more substantial meal, we’ll make chicken green beans and potatoes, roasted cabbage wedges and sausage, or sausage green beans and potatoes. Those are easy, one-pan dinners that can be tossed together in a jiffy.

Honey garlic green beans are another variation that we love. Fresh green beans are sautéed in sesame oil then coated in a honey garlic soy sauce. The flavors are perfect together, and make an easy side dish.

Honey garlic green beans with sesame seeds.

How to make Honey Garlic Green Beans:

Start by washing and trimming the ends off the fresh green beans. Set those aside and make the sauce.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, soy sauce, garlic, and salt. If you like a little spice or heat, toss in some red pepper flakes. A tiny bit of sriracha would also work, but I’d go light on it since it packs a punch.

Set the sauce aside while you cook the beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.

Drop the green beans into the boiling water, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until they turn bright green. Drain the water from the green beans and place them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

Three photos showing how to make honey garlic sauce.

Drain the beans from their ice bath, and prepare the skillet.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, and add 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Once the oil gets hot, add the green beans.

Toss the beans in oil until they’re evenly coated. Continue to cook the beans for 4 to 5 minutes or until they reach the desired consistency (the thought here is that they should still have some bite and not be too soft).

Pour in the honey soy sauce mixture, and toss to coat. Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, then remove the beans from the pan.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, and serve hot!

Three collage photos showing how to make honey garlic green beans.

Can you use frozen green beans?

You can use frozen green beans. However, we recommend sticking with fresh green beans for this recipe.

Frozen green beans will lose some of their firmness and won’t hold up as well as fresh green beans. Definitely do not use canned green beans.

Can you skip blanching the green beans?

We don’t recommend omitting the step where you blanch the green beans. This is the part where you pre-cook the beans to soften them a bit while allowing them to retain a crisp “bite”, lock in their bright green color, and prevent vitamin loss from the cooking process.

What can you use in place of soy sauce?

If you’d like to reduce the sodium, try a reduced sodium soy sauce. If you have an allergy to soy, try coconut aminos in place of soy sauce. It’s not exactly the same flavor, but it’s a great replacement.

Can you double the recipe?

Yes. The recipe can be doubled or tripled. If you’d like to double only the sauce portion but leave the green beans as 1 pound, that can be done as well.

Honey garlic green beans on a brown plate.

Other Recipes to Try:

Beef with Garlic Sauce
Crockpot Ham and Potato Soup

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