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Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans

Please say hello to my new favorite way of making green beans! Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans is everything you can ever hope for in green beans.

Slightly charred green beans with sweet and flavorful caramelized onions, along with fresh garlic, a little bit of butter and sea salt, and topped with shaved almonds.

I also call this green beans, the sophisticated way…

Side view of a plate of Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans
This post was originally published on Dec 2018. Photographs and recipe was updated and revised on July 2021.

Because caramelized onions green beans has that classy look, and taste, to it. And yes I realized I am talking about green beans here.

Green Beans and Onions

Green beans, like a lot of veggies, are way underrated. It is often misunderstood. Never really a kid favorite. And quite frankly, isn’t cooked very well most of the time.

But I believe in green beans. I also believe green beans don’t have to be smothered in cream to be yummy.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like them smothered in cream (and cheese, and condensed mushroom soup), so don’t deprive me of creamy yummy green beans, please….

But what I’m saying is, green beans has so much more potential than that. Way more than a smothered-in-cream kinda veggie.

And here’s my secret: green beans and onions. Or more specifically, caramelized onions where onions are sautéed in butter until it is soft and sweet, then we add a pinch of salt to it to open up the flavors.

If you haven’t had green beans with caramelized onions, get ready to be blown away.

Side with of a plate of Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans

This caramelized onions green beans bring about a fresh new way to prepare green beans. When I finished photographing this, I stood on my kitchen counter munching away these green beans coated with caramelized onions, and I could not stop.

Could not STOP. Eating green beans. Oh, you better believe it.

That’s how I know it’s legit.

And if you want other equally legit vegetable recipes, also check out my Asian Style Green Beans and Honey Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon…and prepare to look at vegetables a whole new way!

With the holiday season around the corner, caramelized onions green beans is the perfect side for your holiday dinner table. But it is not limited to the holidays.

We will also eat this any day, multiple times a day. It is a great side to serve with any protein main dish.

Sautéing Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans in non-stick skillet

Caramelized Onions

This is truly the secret ingredient to this dish. One of my favorite things about onions is that when cooked, it transforms from being pungent and spicy to sweet and flavorful.

Also, have you sautéed onions and smell the lovely aroma of caramelized onions on a skillet?

Omg. I love the way my kitchen smells whenever I make caramelized onions. I live for my kitchen smelling like caramelized onions…

No words. No words to describe the gorgeous flavors and textures these caramelized onions bring to the green beans.

All you need to do is sauté the sliced onions in butter under medium to medium high heat. Once it turns soft and slightly brown, sprinkle some salt, and viola – caramelized onions!

Check out the before and after pics. Notice that after the onions are caramelized, it will turn brown, shrink, and become crazy delicious.

Raw white onions in a skillet
Before
Making caramelized onions for Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans
After

The process will take at least 5 minutes (or maybe more), so be patient!

It’s worth it I promise.

Tips and Tricks

The truth is, It is such a simple recipe, but one that produces so much great flavors, and definitely not simplistic. Here are some tips!

  • Use a large skillet (the largest one you have!) that retains heat really well.
  • At the beginning, We are sautéing the onions and green beans separately because both cook at different rate and we want to make sure we cook them before bringing them together. This also prevents the skillet from being overcrowded and subsequently cooking the ingredients unevenly.
  • If you are feeding a lot of people and want to double or triple the recipe, make sure you are not crowding the skillet when you sauté the green beans. Sauté green beans in batches if necessary!
  • I like my green beans slightly charred (see pictures for the beautiful char-ness), but if you don’t like the slight char, simply lower the heat, cook the green beans slower, and remove them promptly once they look done.
Charred green beans

If eating veggies has been a chore for you, make eating veggies fun again (or for the first time) with these fabulous Green Beans with Caramelized Onions.

If there is any dish that can accomplish that, I suspect this is it… 

DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍

Other veggie dishes

Enjoy! Hope you are having fun prepping for the holidays!

Top down of a plate of Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans

DID YOU ENJOY THIS RECIPE? Please comment below and give us a 5-star rating! This will help others find this recipe on Google and Pinterest. We very much appreciate your help! 🤍

A plate of charred green beans topped with Caramelized Onions

Caramelized Onions Sautéed Green Beans

A delicious veggie side! Sweet caramelized onions sautéed with crunchy green beans, toss with garlic, butter, sea salt, then topped with shaved almonds. 
5 from 14 votes
Print Pin
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 126kcal
Author: MinShien

Ingredients

  • 1 white onion or yellow onion
  • 2 tbsp salted butter
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil or more
  • 16 oz fresh green beans
  • 1-2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1/8 cup almonds

Instructions

  • Slice onions into thin slices and chop garlic. Wash green beans and if desire, remove ends.
  • Heat 2 tbsp of salted butter in a large skillet under medium heat. Once skillet is heated and butter is melted (not browned or burned), add sliced onions
  • Cook onions under medium heat for a few minutes (it takes a while!) or until it is soft and slightly brown on the edges. Stir continuously. Add 1/2 tsp salt, stir for a few seconds to mix well, then remove onions and set aside.
  • Add vegetable oil to skillet. Once oil is heated, add green beans. Saute under medium high heat for a few minutes until green beans are cooked and turn darker green. If you want to char your green beans, cook under high heat and add more vegetable oil. Add more butter or other forms of oil if needed at any point to fully cook the green beans. Cover if necessary.
  • Add garlic and caramelized onions to skillet, and stir to combine. Add the other 1/2 tsp of salt (or more to taste). Mix well.
  • Remove from heat once green beans is fully cooked. Garnish with almonds. 
  • Serve and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 126kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 23mg | Sodium: 371mg | Potassium: 171mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 657IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg
Did you make this recipe?Take a pic and tag me at @joyous.apron, or hashtag #joyousapron on Instagram!

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Recipe Rating




28 Comments

  1. When do you recommend adding the garlic? As you caramelize the onions or when you cook the beans?

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Add them when you cook the green beans. I just added it to the instructions – thanks for reaching out and asking! 🙂 Let me know how it goes!

  2. Kathleen Pope says:

    5 stars
    You had me at caramelized onions, I am with your husband, not a huge fan, strange as that is, but these look so delicious!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Haha! You gotta try it! Seriously caramelized onions make EVERYTHING better!

  3. 5 stars
    These green beans made such a delicious side dish and the caramelized onions were the perfect addition! I love how easy these are to make! Thank you so much for sharing!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      I’m so glad you love the caramelized onions! It’s a game changer!

  4. Amanda Mason says:

    5 stars
    Loved these green beans! So good! The butter added a nice and savory flavor! Great recipe. Will make again.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Yay! So happy to hear that, Amanda! I love it too!

  5. veenaazmanov says:

    5 stars
    Simple but yet a perfect veg dish. Love the caramelised anion and garlic flavor and the almond toppings too.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      I ADORE how simple yet delicious this is as well! Cannot get enough of it – still make it all the time today!

  6. 5 stars
    I served these tasty green beans with grilled pork chops. The bit of smokiness and the crunch of the almonds was perfect.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      What a delicious pairing! So glad you enjoyed it, Amy.

  7. 5 stars
    I paired this with fish. It was so yummy. Easy to follow recipe and delicious!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      That sounds delicious, Maggie!

  8. 5 stars
    You’re right! This is pretty much the best way to have green beans, lol! The flavor of the caramelized onions is a great match for the fresh beans. A new favorite weeknight side dish in my house for sure 😉

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Thank you so much! So happy it’s a part of your family’s dinner menu 🙂

  9. 5 stars
    I love making green beans, but this just elevated my plain green beans to a new level!! Thank you so much for this recipe, it’s a new favourite 🙂

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      That’s great, Cathleen! I love hearing that from my readers! 🙂

  10. 5 stars
    THIS! Yes, I love everything about this green bean recipe! Adding onions is the perfect way to bring out the best in your green beans!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Yay! So glad to hear!

  11. 5 stars
    Loved these green beans! The caramelized onions add such a nice richness, and I love the little crunch from the almonds.

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Yay! Caramelized onions are the best! 🙂 So glad you love them!

  12. 5 stars
    Caramelizing the green beans in this dish adds so much flavor to the beans and onions. A side dish winner!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      I have to agree! 🙂 So glad you liked the combo!

  13. 5 stars
    Such an epic combo! We had this today with a little bacon too and it was sooooo good!

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      Oh yum!! Bacon sounds AMAZING in this!

  14. Have you ever made this in advance and frozen them in a ziploc?

    1. Joyous Apron says:

      I have not. The texture of the green beans may change a bit (less crunchy, more soggy) – other than that I think it should be fine!