Roasted green beans with Parmesan and basil are crispy and so flavorful. Turn a few ordinary ingredients into an extra special side dish.
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This is such a yummy way to make green beans! A little effort yields a big reward.
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 LOVES these beans.
She couldn’t stop eating them! She actually was snacking on them before I reheated them.
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.
Why you’ll Love these Roasted green Beans
- They’re easy to make: Guys. I’m talking green can Parmesan and dried basil. There are times for freshly grated cheese and leafy green fresh basil, but in this case, it’s not. necessary.
- They’re salty and crunchy: If you’re a person that loves french fries, you’ll love these too. Of course they’re not exactly the same, but they satisfy the same cravings.
- They honor the green bean: That might sound weird, but the fresh beans are still crisp and flavorful. We’re not boiling them to death, we’re highlighting and enhancing their flavor in a hot oven, until they’re perfectly tender but still crisp.
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. Snip off the stem end and leave the tail end on.
- 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 or coarse kosher 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.
Can you Roast Canned or Frozen Green Beans?
While you technically could, I don’t recommend it for this particular recipe. They have a higher water content and they just won’t turn out the same.
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 good 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 the beans 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 (and potatoes, too) at the same time. We also love baked chicken cordon bleu, which sounds fancy but is easy to make. Crockpot ham with maple Dijon sauce is easy and goes great with green beans.
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?
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.
The answer to this question varies a bit. Roasted green beans aren’t going to have the same texture or taste as steamed or boiled beans. Steamed/boiled beans should be bright green and tender, with an almost buttery flavor. If they are still “squeaky” when you bite into them, they probably could use a couple more minutes of cooking. If they are olive green and limp, they are overcooked.
Roasted green beans won’t be as tender as boiled/steamed beans. They’ll have a chewy texture but should taste cooked, not grassy or raw.
Make It Your Own
- Love garlic? Add minced or pressed garlic (2-4 cloves) to the beans after they’ve roasted 10 minutes. When you stir the beans, stir in the garlic.
- Have something else in the oven at a lower temperature (350°F)? No problem, the beans will be fine at a lower temperature but will take up to 20 minutes to cook. They won’t be quite as browned and crisp.
- If basil and Parmesan aren’t for you, try 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 or roasted cauliflower, and add basil and Parmesan cheese.
Leftover green beans can be stored in the fridge for three to four days. Reheat in the microwave or give them a quick blast in your air fryer.
Have some roasted green beans left over? Chop them up a bit and add them to a salad with fresh greens, and tomatoes for a quick lunch tomorrow. They are particularly good on a gazpacho salad or panzanella salad.
Roasted Vegetables
Roasted Green Beans with Parmesan and Basil
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.
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
Great recipe. Added some garlic (~1 TSP) for good measure
Garlic is always a good decision! Glad you liked it!
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?
No need to pre-cook the beans!
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!!
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!
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
I’m sorry to hear that these were soggy for you! Did you use more oil than the recipe indicated?
I made this for dinner this evening and my 5 year old and 3 year both loved it. Delicious!
Oh I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment!
Made them and loved them! Will be making them again for sure.
I’m so happy to hear that! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
Thank you so much for this recipe, Rachel. This is going to be a definite try. Can’t wait!
Thanks Angie! I hope you love these beans as much as we do!
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.
Thanks Angie! Let me know how you like them!
I have never roasted green beans before, and they were great! My kids liked them too. Thanks for the great recipe!
So happy to hear you liked this recipe! Thanks for taking the time to come back and leave a comment!
These would be so great for snacking! Thanks for sharing!
Definitely! Enjoy!