Zesty Green Beans Sauteed with Walnuts

· · ·

Ever find yourself staring at the bountiful, yet frankly overwhelming, harvest of green beans from your garden (or farmers market), wondering if there’s more to life than just blanching and freezing? Enter the game-changer: green beans sautéed with walnuts. This isn’t your grandmother’s green bean casserole. It’s a sophisticated yet simple dish that might just make you believe in the transformative power of walnut oil.

Jump to Recipe

Recipe card, instructions and description updated 2/7/24.

Why This is the Best Way to Eat Green Beans

If I had to pick one way to eat fresh green beans, this would be it.  The beans, still crisp and slightly charred from a quick saute in hot toasted walnut oil, are topped with meaty roasted walnuts, huge flakes of sea salt and fresh lemon juice and zest. It is, in a word, perfect.  But because there are so few ingredients, each one must be just right. Normally I’m not so specific when it comes to ingredients in a dish–I don’t really care what brand of oil or salt you use, for example. But here, it makes all the difference. Trust me, take the time to seek out the ingredients below and you will achieve greatness (at least in the kitchen, and in under ten minutes too). If only everything in life were this simple!

green beans sauteed with walnuts and topped with flaky salt and lemon zest

The walnut oil must be La Tourangelle, which is available at Whole Foods markets and William Sonoma stores nationwide (or online).  The company is the first in California to use traditional French methods in their oil extraction. First the nuts are washed, sorted and dried for several days. Then they are slowly roasted in large cast-iron kettles. The resulting paste is pressed, and the oil is then filtered and bottled. Why does all this matter? Because the taste is phenomenal–rich and smooth with no bitter taste at all. I would bathe in the stuff if I could.

The salt must be Maldon Salt. Harvested in Essex, England, its large pyramid-shaped salt crystals are ideal for finishing this dish, or any dish really. They are very light and not overly salty and are free from the bitter aftertaste that is sometimes associated with other salts. It too is available at Whole Foods and other specialty food shops nationwide, or online. I love salt…and this is the brand I love most of all.

Fresh, Young Green Beans are Best

Finally, let’s chat about the green beans. Grow them in your garden or buy them in farmers markets for best results. But if you have to fudge on one ingredient–and I won’t lie that I’ve been hungry for this and made it successfully with supermarket beans (gasp!)–this would be the one. However, I promise you that the difference in taste is real and quite noticeable.  Farm fresh green beans are much more tender, crisp and nutty in flavor than their conventional counterparts. And as for the lemons, well, pretty much any lemon will do.

See? That wasn’t so bad, was it?

What to serve with this green bean recipe:

Did you make these green beans sauteed with walnuts? Be sure to leave a comment and star rating below (⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐) and post a picture and tag us on Instagram using the hashtags #agirldefloured #deflouredrecipes! Thank you!

Zesty Green Beans – Sauteed with Walnuts

Alison Needham
This is a recipe we turn to often during summer when we have more green beans in the garden than we know what to do with. My sister-in-law introduced me to the beautiful combination of walnut oil, green beans, and chopped walnuts several years ago. I know you will love it too! I was specific about the brand of ingredients in the recipe for good reason–they are the best of the best. I hope you seek them out. The results are so worth the small effort it takes to find them.
Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes
Course Side Dish
Cuisine American
Servings 4 servings
Calories 176 kcal

Equipment

  • Large skillet

Ingredients
  

Instructions
 

  • Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the walnuts to the dry pan and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. It takes a few minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.
  • Return pan to the heat and add the walnut oil. Add the green beans to the pan (if they’re still wet from washing they may splatter so be careful) and saute, stirring frequently until the beans are crisp tender, about 5 minutes.
  • Arrange green beans on a platter. Sprinkle with lemon zest and lemon juice. Top with toasted walnuts and Maldon Salt. Serve immediately or at room temperature.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portionCalories: 176kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 3gFat: 16gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 10gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gSodium: 588mgPotassium: 272mgFiber: 4gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 784IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 49mgIron: 1mg
Keyword green beans, green beans sauteed, sauteed green beans with walnuts
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Thank you for helping support my small business! A Girl Defloured earns revenue in a few different ways; I have occasional sponsored post and I also earn an affiliate commission on the sales of products I link to— there are a few of those links in this post. The only items that I feature are those that I use on a regular basis and that I truly love. I earn a small commission on your purchase, but you don’t pay any more than retail price. This allows me to share my recipes with you!

Similar Salads Posts

One Comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating