Sautéed green beans and mushrooms are quick and easy to make. Serve them as a fresh holiday side dish or with a weeknight meal. A light, vegan side dish that everyone will love!
This Sautéed Green Beans and Mushrooms side dish is, hands down, one of the easiest holiday-worthy recipes. The flavors are simple and hit all the right notes with the addition of shallots and fresh herbs.
Between this recipe, my Apple Pecan Salad and Shredded Brussels Sprouts, it's looking as though the healthy holiday side dishes might even overshadow the more traditional sides. Well, except for the Sausage Stuffing. That always takes the starring role around here!
These green beans with mushrooms are made entirely on the stovetop, freeing up the oven for the Roast Turkey and Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole.
What's to love about this green bean and mushroom recipe
- Easy side dish: Serve up this easy side dish with a weeknight dinner or save it for a holiday meal. It's a great alternative to green bean casserole!
- Healthy & plant-based: There's so much to love about this side dish, especially if you're looking for a healthy option. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free, low in calories, high in fiber…and did I mention delicious
- Make-ahead steps: While these greens beans with mushrooms are best served right away, there are several make-ahead prep you can take (more on that in the Make-Ahead and Storage section below), which makes them an ideal contender for a holiday meal.
Ingredients and substitutions
- Green beans: Either regular green beans or slender French green beans (otherwise known as haricot verts) can be used. See the Frequently Asked Questions section below for more information on how to adjust cooking times.
- Mushrooms: The recipe calls for crimini (baby bella) mushrooms. White button mushrooms or shiitake mushrooms can be used instead.
- Shallot: Peel and mince one large shallot. If you don't have a shallot, use a combination of white or yellow onion and garlic.
- Olive oil: Use a couple of teaspoons of olive oil for sautéing the shallots and mushrooms.
- Thyme & parsley: Fresh thyme adds wonderful flavor. Strip off the leaves and give them a good chop. Use flat-leaf parsley (sometimes labeled as Italian parsley).
- Other seasoning: Kosher salt and pepper, to taste.
See recipe card below for full ingredients list & recipe directions.
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How to make green beans with mushrooms
- First things first…prepare a large bowl of ice water. Plunging the greens beans into cold water after cooking stops them from cooking further.
- Start by blanching the fresh green beans. Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil over high heat. Be sure to salt the water! The is your opportunity to infuse the green beans with some seasoning.
- Cook the green beans until just tender-crisp. The green beans will cook further when sautéed with the mushrooms, so don't overdo it in this step. Use a fork to test them.
- Drain into a colander or sieve, then immediately plunge the green beans into the ice water. Once cool, drain them and set aside.
- While the green beans cool, get to work on the mushrooms. Start by heating some olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and sliced mushrooms. Cook, giving them a stir occasionally, until the mushrooms are tender.
- Add the drained green beans to the pan and cook for a minute or two.
- Stir in the garlic, thyme, parsley, salt and black pepper. All done!
Make-ahead and storage
Sautéed green beans and mushrooms are best when served right after cooking. However, there are a couple of steps you can take to prep ahead of time:
- Trim the green beans, blanch in salted water, then drain and plunge into a bowl of ice water. Once the green bean are cool, drain again and transfer to an airtight container. Store them in the refrigerator until ready to sauté, up to to 2 days.
- Slice the mushrooms and mince the parsley, thyme and shallot. Transfer to airtight containers and store in the fridge.
Frequently Asked Questions
Either regular green beans (the thick kind) or slender French green beans, also known as haricot verts, can be used. However, the cooking time will need to be adjusted slightly.
The thinner the green beans, the shorter the cooking time. If using haricot verts, blanch them for 1 to 2 minutes. I suggest scooping one out with a slotted spoon and testing its doneness with a fork after cooking for 1 minute.
Whatever type of beans you use, they should be just crisp-tender after blanching them in a pot of boiling water. They will cook further when sautéed with the mushrooms, so take care not to overcook in the blanching step.
Shocking the greens beans after cooking by plunging them into a bowl of cold serves two purposes:
▪️ The cold water stops the green beans from cooking further. It's an easy way to stop them from overcooking the green beans in the blanching step.
▪️ Shocking blanched vegetables (green beans, broccoli, etc.) heightens the color of the veggies. Blanched and shocked greens beans have a really pretty bright green color.
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Sautéed Green Beans and Mushrooms
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans trimmed & cut into 1 ½-inch pieces
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 1 large shallot minced
- 12 ounces crimini mushrooms thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons minced flat-leaf parsley
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt or to taste
- ¼ teaspoons ground pepper or to taste
Instructions
- Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
- Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the beans and cook until tender-crisp, about 2 minutes (depending on the thickness of the beans). Drain into a colander and immediately transfer the beans to the bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking further.
- Drain the beans again and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, 3 to 4 minutes.
- Add the green beans and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the parsley, thyme, salt and pepper, and stir for combine. Cook for an additional minute.
- Serve hot or at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This post was first published on November 12, 2021 and updated on November 21, 2024.
Disclosure: I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Barbara
Loved this! I did a cheat and bought the Trader Joe’s fresh green beans that are microwaveable. I partially microwaved and then put in pan. Great flavor combination. Thanks Dara
Priya
I love green beans and mushrooms both but I have never tried them together. This recipe sounds so delicious and easy. I am gonna try this for sure.
Laurel
In the instructions it looks like 6 & 7 are listed twice, or are we supposed to add the herbs and seasoning in batches? Thanks.
Dara
Hi Laurel, thanks for catching that. It was only supposed to be listed once. Fixed now!