Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil
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These roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil are crispy, flavorful and probably don’t even require a trip to the store — just open your pantry and fridge!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This is such a yummy way to make green beans!
How long it takes: 20 minutes
Equipment you’ll need: sheet pan, oven
Servings: 4
I don’t know if I’ve ever seen my mom enjoy a food as much as she enjoyed these roasted green beans! Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but my mom LOVED these little suckers. I had cranked out a bunch of recipes the day before she visited last time and I got these out with dinner the night she and my dad arrived.
They were slightly soggy by that point and I lazily reheated them in the microwave, making them even soggier. But she couldn’t stop eating them! (She’s probably annoyed that it took me so long to post the recipe.)
I love cooking with my mom and she is the one who gave me the love of cooking. Any time I knock a recipe out of the park in her eyes, I feel an extra sense of accomplishment and success.
About This Recipe
To be honest, I wasn’t really sure these roasted green beans with Parmesan were going to be all that. I was a little embarrassed to be using grated Parmesan cheese (we’re talking green can!) and dried basil.
Should I be using freshly grated Parmesan and basil leaves picked from my (non-existent) garden? Perhaps, but perhaps not. Sometimes what you have on hand is more than good enough. Sometimes it’s great! Sometimes it will have your mom talking about green beans for a week.
Plus, Rachel Cooks is all about E-A-S-Y. I don’t want you to have to run to the store if you don’t have to. And you totally don’t have to because these green beans rock just as they are.
Look for the printable recipe card near the end of the post. It has complete instructions and nutrition information.
What You’ll Need
- Fresh Green Beans: From your garden, grocery store, or farm market, doesn’t matter. Fresh is best for roasting. Look for crisp firm beans that aren’t wrinkled or soft.
- Olive Oil: A bit of oil is necessary to roast vegetables. If you prefer a different type of oil, go for it.
- Salt and Pepper: Use coarse freshly ground black pepper and coarse sea salt if you can. They provide the most flavor.
- Dried Basil: Nothing fancy here, just dried basil leaves from your pantry. If you’d rather use fresh, add it after roasting instead of before.
- Parmesan Cheese: Whether it’s from a green can or freshly grated, Parmesan cheese adds a really nice touch to these beans.
How to Make Roasted Beans
When roasting anything, crispy is the goal. Those brown crispy bits are the best part.
To achieve that, make sure to dry your green beans really well. This is true when you’re roasting any vegetable and green beans are no exception. Put them right onto a towel and roll them around a bit until they’re nice and dry. Then you can get to roasting.
Preheat the oven to 425°F. The oven needs to be nice and hot before you put the beans in.
Mix the beans with the olive oil, salt and pepper, and dried basil. Spread them evenly on a rimmed sheet pan. Give them plenty of room.
Roast them for ten minutes, give them a stir, and roast for five more minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the beans with the cheese. Serve immediately.
While you have the oven on, bake Parmesan and almond crusted salmon to go with the green beans. It’s so, so good and you can roast them both at the same time.
These roasted green beans with Parmesan are almost as good as French fries. Okay, no, nothing like French fries. But good on their own merits! Totally different than French fries but just as good. Where was I going with this?
FAQs
According to Healthline, you shouldn’t eat them raw because they contain lectins which can be harmful to your digestive system.
When beans are boiled, they may lose important nutrients in the water which is drained off and discarded. Steaming or roasting is the best cooking method.
While it’s important to snip the stem end off because it can be tough, there’s no need to snip the opposite end off (the dark green pointed end). It is tender and looks kind of cool.
Make It Your Own
- If basil and Parmesan aren’t for you, make sure to try the green beans with lemon and feta. I prefer those, my mom prefers these. Try them both!
- Don’t want to turn your oven on? Try green beans almondine or green beans with bacon. We just love this Mediterranean green bean salad with sun-dried tomatoes.
- Or if you’re in the mood for something a bit richer, try my homemade green bean casserole – no canned soup in this version!
- Not crazy about green beans? Try roasted broccoli and add basil and Parmesan cheese to that.
Storage Tips
Leftover green beans can be stored in the fridge for at least a couple of days. Reheat in the microwave or give them a quick blast in your air fryer.
More Roasted Vegetables
I compiled all my roasted vegetables into one giant list! You’ll find the basics there, but you’ll also find jazzed up versions, sheet pan dinners, and a few things that are roasted but aren’t vegetables. One of my favorites are these cumin roasted carrots. If you love these roasted green beans, I know you’re going to love this list!
Did you make this? Be sure to leave a review below and tag me @rachelcooksblog on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest!
Ingredients
- 1 pound fresh green beans (trimmed, stem end snipped off)
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon dried basil (see note)
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper (more or less to taste)
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F.
- Dry green beans well and spread on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with olive oil (use your hands), so that all the beans are coated. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, basil. Toss again to coat.
- Roast for 10 minutes, toss, and continue to roast for 5 more minutes. Immediately sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.
Notes
- If you prefer, use fresh basil instead of dried. Add finely minced basil leaves after the beans are roasted.
- Other types of oil can be substituted for the olive oil.
- Yellow wax beans are great, too. A mixture of green beans and yellow beans is really attractive.
Nutrition Information
This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.
Just Cooking says
Great recipe. Added some garlic (~1 TSP) for good measure
Rachel Gurk says
Garlic is always a good decision! Glad you liked it!
EVE says
Good afternoon,
I have a dumb question – do I need to boil the green beans first? or can it be right out of the fridge?
Rachel Gurk says
No need to pre-cook the beans!
Jennifer says
Oh my gosh these were the best veggie I’ve ever roasted. So delicious! I didn’t have dried basil so used fresh, and didn’t have the grated parm but had a wedge so grated some. So delicious. I made a 20 oz batch and I think I might have eaten half of it all by myself. And it was so easy. Thank you!!
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so glad you liked them! I bet the fresh basil and parm was delicious! Thank you for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Alan M says
Thought this sounded good.but they came out soggy.
I may have used too much oil. I did thoroughly dry them, but let them sit out if the fridge most of the day before cooking and I think that also Impacted the crispness or lack there off
Rachel Gurk says
I’m sorry to hear that these were soggy for you! Did you use more oil than the recipe indicated?
Jacki says
I made this for dinner this evening and my 5 year old and 3 year both loved it. Delicious!
Rachel Gurk says
Oh I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Ann graves says
Made them and loved them! Will be making them again for sure.
Rachel Gurk says
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Angie Herrin says
Thank you so much for this recipe, Rachel. This is going to be a definite try. Can’t wait!
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks Angie! I hope you love these beans as much as we do!
Angie Herrin says
Haven’t made this recipe yet, but it is a definite try. Will keep in touch. Thank you so much for this delicious sounding recipe.
Rachel Gurk says
Thanks Angie! Let me know how you like them!
Kristin says
I have never roasted green beans before, and they were great! My kids liked them too. Thanks for the great recipe!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
jeni says
These would be so great for snacking! Thanks for sharing!
Rachel Gurk says
Definitely! Enjoy!
Kim says
What if fresh green beans are not available?
Rachel Gurk says
You can try using frozen green beans, but fresh is really best in this recipe since the water content in frozen is much higher.
Rebecca Scherff says
I was looking for some healthy side dishes and found this one the other day. I made the green beans last night and thought they were delicious! My 9yr old daughter refused to try one but after I persisted, she took one bite and ate the rest on her plate. This was a huge win and a recipe I will use often. Thank you.
Rachel Gurk says
That is most definitely a win — wow!!! Your comment brought a smile to my face; I have a picky eater and I know how much of a victory that would be! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Crystal says
I made these tonight and they were divine. I used a full 1/4th teaspoon of pepper and it gave them quite the kick. I might cut that down to half next time. The flavor combination is amazing. They didn’t come out with much (if any) crunch, but that might be due to the fact that I didn’t have any olive oil on hand and had to substitute with vegetable oil. Even so, I found that I ate the entire batch (which isn’t bad at all for me since I’m on a keto diet)!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear you liked these! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave your feedback – it means the world to me!
Stefany says
Loved these! So did my husband and daughter! DELICIOUS!!!
Rachel Gurk says
So happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave feedback!
SunshineDaly says
Nope. Did nothing for me. Not worth doing twice. Not bad…not great.
Rachel Gurk says
Sorry to hear you didn’t love these as much as we do!