These easy Green Beans with Prosciutto and Pistachios are a fantastic side dish for your holiday meal! So much flavor with so few ingredients and little effort!
Somehow these green beans with prosciutto steal my heart every single Thanksgiving. I'll happily pile my plate with herb roasted turkey, my dad's stuffing, rosemary mashed potatoes, gravy (the best!) and homemade cranberry sauce, but this green bean recipe has earned a permanent place on our holiday table.
The magic is all in the technique. The green beans are blanched until tender-crisp (just the right amount of bite), then they mingle with salty prosciutto and buttery pistachios in the pan. All finished off with fresh herbs. Fresh and delicious!
My best recipe tips
- Don't overcook the green beans! I used haricot verts, which literally means "green beans" in French, but actually refers to the skinny, shorter green beans often found in cellophane packages at your grocery store. Because the haricot verts are so skinny, it takes very little time to cook them to tender crisp. One to one and half minutes in boiling, salted water should do the trick. Two minutes is almost too long.
- Immediately after draining the green beans, plunge them into a bowl of ice water to stop the tender veggies from cooking further. Because the cooking happens so quickly, I suggest preparing a bowl of ice water ahead of time.
- All that's left to do is to cook the prosciutto and shallots, toast the nuts and toss it altogether with the green beans and a good dose of fresh herbs. Easy, fresh and beautiful!
How to make greens beans with prosciutto
** The complete instructions are in the recipe card below. **
- Prepare the ice water: Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- Blanch the green beans: Briefly cook the green beans in salted boiling water just until tender-crisp. Drain and immediately plunge into the ice water to stop the green beans from cooking any further.
- Crisp the prosciutto: Cook the prosciutto in a skillet until crisp. Drain.
- Combine: Sauté the shallot, then combine all of the ingredients in the skillet to warm. Serve it up!
Make-ahead and storage
These green beans are best when served right after cooking. However, there are a couple make-ahead steps you can take to free up some time on feast day.
- Trim the green beans, and chop the shallots and prosciutto up to 2 days ahead. Store in the refrigerator.
- Toast the pistachios up to one day ahead. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container. If you enclose the toasted nuts in a container before the cool, they will steam and soften.
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Easy Greens Beans with Prosciutto & Pistachios
Ingredients
- 1 pounds green beans haricot vert, trimmed (See Note below)
- 2 ounces prosciutto roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons olive oil divided
- 1 shallot minced
- ¼ cup pistachio halves toasted in a dry skillet
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
Instructions
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans and cook until tender-crisp, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain and immediately transfer the beans to a bowl of ice water until cool. Drain the beans again and set aside.
- Place the prosciutto in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Cook until the prosciutto is starting to crisp, stirring occasionally, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a piece of paper towel.
- Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in the skillet, then add the shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallot is browned and tender, 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the green beans, remaining 1 teaspoon olive oil, pistachios, parsley, thyme and pepper to the shallots. Cook for about 1 minute to heat the green beans. Toss with the prosciutto. Serve.
Notes
Nutrition
This post was originally published on November 16, 2017 and updated on November 7, 2025.
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Janet
I was a little worried about this recipe because I didn't know how the prosciutto and pistachios ---would work not for me but for husband. Well!!! I not only loved it but so did the husband (and he doesn't like anything except s&p and butter.)
Good job. I didn't put in the spice, didn't have fresh, maybe next time Great job, thanks so much.