Garlic Parmesan Canned Green Beans

4.29 from 63 votes

Garlic Parmesan Canned Green Beans

Canned green beans often get a bad rap as bland or boring, but these garlic Parmesan canned green beans are anything but. Ready in about 15 minutes and chock full of flavor, this simple side dish doctors up canned beans and transforms them into a 5 star side dish that's easy enough for busy weeknights but also worthy of a place of your special occasion dinner menus too.

Prep Time10

Cook Time10

Total Time20

Course: Dinner, Side, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 96kcal

Author: Meaghan @ 4 Sons R Us

Ingredients

2 14.5 oz cans green beans
1 tbsp butter
2 tsp olive oil
4-5 large cloves garlic thinly sliced
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
salt & pepper to taste

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Pour in the olive oil, stirring the two together.
1 tbsp butter, 2 tsp olive oil
Once hot, add the garlic to the skillet. Stirring frequently, let the garlic saute and brown lightly. This will only take a minute.
4-5 large cloves garlic
Add the drained beans to the skillet. Season them with salt & pepper. Toss the beans a couple times while they cook.
2 14.5 oz cans green beans, salt & pepper
Cook the beans until tender & infused with flavor, tossing regularly- roughly 6-8 minutes.
Remove the beans from heat.
Serve the still hot beans on waiting plates, topped with Parmesan cheese.
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Notes

When we say the garlic cloves need to be thinly sliced, the emphasis is on thinly. This helps disperse the flavor and without it being overpowering in any single serving. Think of the prison scene in Good Fellas for reference!
If you prefer fresh green beans to canned, you can absolutely use them. I'd suggest steaming them for 5 minutes, so they're tender but not mushy and then proceeding with the recipe as written.
To take this side dish over the top, add a quarter cup of chopped white onion to the butter mixture. Sauté the onion just until it's begun to caramelize, then proceed with the rest of the recipe as written.
Need more of a topping than a sprinkle of cheese? Also top it with some crisp crumbled bacon to really set it off.
Like a little crunch, or just a heartier side dish? Stir in a quarter cup of lightly toasted pine nuts to this dish.

Nutrition