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Using the air fryer, turn fresh green beans into total comfort food! Crispy on the outside and tender and juicy on the inside, Air Fryer Green Beans make a quick and easy, crowd-pleasing side dish that is healthy too. Toss green beans in olive oil, lemon juice, and garlic powder and cook for 10 minutes or less, no blanching required.
Meggan’s notes
As a classically trained chef, I am always looking for a quick and easy way to create an exceptionally flavorful dish. If you’ve never made Air Fryer Green Beans before, I promise you will find success with this recipe.
Tossing the green beans with lemon and garlic builds so much flavor. The result is caramelized and roasted green beans—without having the fire up the oven! Ready in 10 minutes or less.
Serve these easy green beans on your busiest weeknights or at your holiday table. It’s the perfect side dish. No matter how you serve them, they are always packed with flavor and even the pickiest eaters will rejoice.
Table of Contents
Recipe ingredients
At a Glance: Here is a quick snapshot of what ingredients are in this recipe.
Please see the recipe card below for specific quantities.
Ingredient notes
- Green beans: Remove the stem ends and any tough strings that run along the length of the beans, if applicable. There’s no need to trim off the tails. Some love their green beans “frenched,” or sliced lengthwise down the middle.
- Lemon: The zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon) can be added with the lemon juice. Just zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze it.
Step-by-step instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add green beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper (I like at least ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Toss to combine. Be sure to coat the beans well with oil so they don’t scorch.
- Transfer the beans to the basket of an air fryer and arrange in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Leave enough space for air to circulate around the beans without overcrowding.
- Air fry at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until the beans are tender-crisp, but still green, with browned edges. Shake the basket halfway through to ensure even heating. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot or at room temperature.
Recipe tips and variations
- Yield: A pound of green beans will serve 4 as a side dish (½ cup per serving).
- Storage: Store leftover green beans in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Make ahead: This recipe cannot be made ahead.
- Freezer: I do not recommend freezing these, as they will not thaw well.
- Roasted Green Beans: Similar flavors as the air-fryer version, these beans are loaded with garlic and lemon and roasted to perfection.
- Green Beans and Bacon: Blanch fresh green beans ahead of time, then toss with cooked bacon and a touch of brown sugar. It’s sweet, salty, and totally satisfying.
- Green Bean Casserole: Classic oven-baked Green Bean Casserole is made with a homemade creamy mushroom sauce, plenty of fresh green beans, and crunchy topping made with both bread crumbs and canned fried onions.
- Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole: Slow Cooker Green Bean Casserole is a great mix of convenience and from-scratch cooking and won’t take up any oven space. Start with frozen beans but make your own creamy mushroom sauce, then top the whole thing with plenty of crunchy fried onions.
- Vegan Green Bean Casserole: Vegan Green Bean Casserole has everything you love about the classic holiday side dish: a creamy homemade mushroom sauce, lots of green beans, and crunchy onion topping. It’s plant-based comfort food at its best!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! This is one of my favorite ways to prepare veggies. Air frying vegetables results in caramelized, crispy veggies without having to use the oven.
Be careful not to overcrowd the air fryer basket. The green beans need space around and in between them to cook well.
Yes, coating the vegetables in oil thoroughly prevents scorching them.
Green beans have a savory and subtly sweet taste, which makes it easy to enhance their natural flavors with simple ingredients like lemon and garlic.
We like to cook vegetables in the air fryer at 375F.
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Air Fryer Green Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans trimmed (see note 1)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice (see note 2)
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, add green beans, olive oil, lemon juice, garlic powder, and salt and pepper (I like at least ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper). Toss to combine. Be sure to coat the beans well with oil so they don't scorch.
- Transfer the beans to the basket of an air fryer and arrange in a single layer (work in batches if necessary). Leave enough space for air to circulate around the beans without overcrowding.
- Air fry at 375 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until the beans are tender-crisp, but still green, with browned edges. Shake the basket halfway through to ensure even heating. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve hot or at room temperature.
Notes
- Green beans: Remove the stem ends and any tough strings that run along the length of the beans, if applicable. There’s no need to trim off the tails. Some love their green beans “frenched,” or sliced lengthwise down the middle.
- Lemon: The zest of one lemon (about 1 teaspoon) can be added with the lemon juice. Just zest the lemon before you cut it to squeeze it.
- Yield: A pound of green beans will serve 4 as a side dish (½ cup per serving).
- Storage: Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Meggan Hill is a classically-trained chef and professional writer. Her meticulously-tested recipes and detailed tutorials bring confidence and success to home cooks everywhere. Meggan has been featured on NPR, HuffPost, FoxNews, LA Times, and more.