Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko Recipe (2024)

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Tender roasted green beans are tossed with fresh lemon juice, then topped with toasted panko, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan cheese. Perfect for your holiday menu!

Photos by Rikki Snyder

For the first summer in a long time, I'm not growing a vegetable garden. Sad! We've been wanting to move, and I didn't want to put all the effort into growing vegetables just for someone else to eat if we ended up selling the house — I'm selfish like that.

Of all the veggies I grew over the past few summers, I'm going to miss the freaky long green beans the most.

Long beans were reliable! They were the only vegetable that I could count on getting a lot of. Maybe because each bean is enough to feed a family of four. (Okay, I'm exaggerating. But just a little.)

When you grow regular beans, you need to grow a whole lot of plants to get a decent amount, but just 4 long bean plants in one square foot was more than enough for us and by the end of the summer, we'd be sick of beans.

Why don't more people grow long beans? Grow long beans! Your neighbors will be impressed.

Although our long beans looked kind of funny, they tasted like regular green beans, and harvesting so many of them throughout the summer months, I came up with lots of easy recipe ideas for them.

We had variations on this Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko recipe many evenings last summer, but it wasn't something I had written down until now.

I like to roast my green beans, but if you're one of those people who are morally opposed to turning on the oven during summertime, steaming or grilling works just fine too — the main objective here is just to get your beans cooked.

Once they're cooked, you toss them in fresh lemon juice, and top with with garlicky toasted panko, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan cheese.

Oh, and about the cheese! Whenever we do a recipe that uses Parmesan this comes up: in the US, it is possible to get vegetarian Parmesan cheese — I usually buy the Whole Foods 365 brand or Organic Valley.

Avoid using imported Parmesan because it's almost never vegetarian. And if you live in Europe, you'll want to substitute the Parmesan with vegetarian hard cheese.

And while I particularly enjoy these green beans in the summertime while they're in season, these panko green beans also make a fantastic holiday side dish for Thanksgiving or Christmas!

More Tasty Recipes

If you love these green beans with panko bread crumbs, be sure to check out these other delicious ideas.

  • Green Beans with Lemon Almond Pesto
  • Sweet and Sour Chickpeas and Green Beans
  • Green Bean Summer Salad

If you're here planning your holiday menu, don't miss our new Vegan Christmas and Vegan Thanksgiving cookbooks. They're packed with all my favorite holiday-worthy recipes for a plant-based feast.

Recipe

Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko Recipe (4)

Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko

Tender roasted green beans are tossed with fresh lemon juice, then topped with toasted panko, lemon zest, and grated Parmesan cheese.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American

Diet: Vegetarian

Keyword: green beans recipe, green beans side dish, Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko

Servings: 6 -8 servings

Calories: 116kcal

Author: Oh My Veggies

Ingredients

  • 2 pounds green beans trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons light olive oil or any other high smoke point cooking oil, divided
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 large garlic clove minced
  • ¾ cup panko breadcrumbs
  • Zest from 1 lemon
  • ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 400ºF. Put a rimmed baking sheet in the oven while it preheats.

  • In a large bowl, toss the green beans with a tablespoon of oil and a few pinches of salt and pepper. Once the oven has finished heating up, remove the baking sheet from the oven and carefully transfer the beans onto it. Roast for about 15 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking time, until the beans are tender, but still crisp.

  • While the beans are cooking, heat the remaining 2 teaspoons of oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, until fragrant. Stir in the panko and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until it's toasted and golden brown in color. Transfer to a small bowl and let it cool slightly, then toss the panko with the parmesan cheese and lemon zest; season with salt and pepper to taste.

  • Transfer the green beans to a serving platter and drizzle them with fresh lemon juice. Top the beans with the panko mixture and serve immediately.

Nutrition

Calories: 116kcalCarbohydrates: 16gProtein: 5gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 128mgPotassium: 344mgFiber: 4gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 1080IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 117mgIron: 2mg

Craving more veg-friendly recipes? Shop our collection of vegetarian and vegan cookbooks, including our new Vegan Thanksgiving and Vegan Christmas cookbooks!

Green Beans with Lemon Parmesan Panko Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How long does it take to cook green beans? ›

The key to the best beans is to master how long to boil green beans. Cook the green beans, covered, in a small amount of boiling salted water until crisp-tender: 10 to 15 minutes for whole or cut green beans. 5 to 10 minutes for french-cut green beans.

Can you prepare green beans the night before? ›

Drain and rinse under cold water 1 to 2 minutes to stop cooking process. Drain well. Refrigerate green beans between layers of paper towels in an airtight container or resealable food storage bag for up to 1 day. To serve, melt 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat in large skillet.

What is the difference between Italian green beans and regular green beans? ›

Libby's Cut Italian Green Beans start as fresh plump, firm pods – that are flatter and wider than traditional green beans – and then are cut into bite-sized lengths for a classic look and deliciously mild, subtly nutty-sweet flavor and crisp-tender texture.

Is it better to steam or boil fresh green beans? ›

Steaming is a simple way to cook vegetables, and it leaves the flavor and much of the nutrients intact. It's slightly healthier than boiling since fewer nutrients end up in the water. Plus, steaming requires little time and attention. A steamer basket is a great kitchen tool to have on hand.

How do you know when green beans are done cooking? ›

Cook covered until the beans are bright green and crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve.

How many minutes to cook beans? ›

Place soaked beans in a large pot; cover with fresh water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer gently until beans are tender but firm. Most beans will cook in 45 minutes to 2 hours depending on the variety. Periodically, try a taste test or mash a bean against the side of the pot with a fork or spoon.

How many green beans per person? ›

A serving of green beans is one cup. This is about 20 medium green beans.

Do green beans need to be covered in the fridge? ›

Store unwashed fresh bean pods in a plastic bag kept in the refrigerator crisper. Whole beans stored this way should keep for about seven days,” she says. If you plan to use them in an upcoming meal, wash them under running water.

What happens if you cook beans without soaking them overnight? ›

Modern cooking websites often say it doesn't matter. In a way, they're both right. Soaking beans can help improve the texture of the final product once the beans are cooked and reduce the gas produced when the food is being digested. But it isn't necessary to soak them.

Which brand of green beans are best? ›

If your recipe happens to call for Italian green beans, these are the best canned green beans. Del Monte is the brand that makes the most appearances on this list, but if you're looking for French style green beans, go for Great Value. They're less salty and more substantial than Del Monte.

Which green beans are best? ›

Best Garden Bush Bean Varieties
  • Roma II ~ The original Roma is a delicious Italian classic pole bean. ...
  • Maxibel ~ If you only get one bush bean variety, make it Maxibel. ...
  • Royal Burgundy ~ Plant Royal Burgundy in the garden if you want to give people something to talk about.

What makes green beans taste better? ›

A little butter, minced garlic, and lemon-pepper seasoning are all you need to bring the best out of fresh green beans.

Why are my steamed green beans tough? ›

It is usually a problem with beans that have been stored for a long time, or which have not been stored in ideal conditions (too hot, etc.), most often because of their age, so most simply call it 'old beans.

Why do green beans turn brown when steamed? ›

As the veggies hit the boiling water, volatile acids are released into the water and are carried away in the steam. When the pot is covered, the steam and the acids it contains are forced back into the water. Once there, the acids react with the chlorophyll in the vegetables, turning them an unsightly shade of brown.

Is it better to boil or microwave green beans? ›

For the best-tasting and nutrient-rich green beans, we recommend steaming the beans in the microwave. That way, flavor and nutrients stay packed into the beans, instead of leaching out into the cooking water. Boiling is a fine method to cook green beans, but dilutes flavor and takes up more space on the stovetop.

Why are my green beans tough after cooking? ›

It is usually a problem with beans that have been stored for a long time, or which have not been stored in ideal conditions (too hot, etc.), most often because of their age, so most simply call it 'old beans. ' See this document for more information.

Do I take the stems off green beans before boiling? ›

Before cooking, snap off the stem end of the vegetable. Some green beans come with this end already detached. If yours still have it, just snap off the very end of the stem of each bean—a great task for any helping hands in the kitchen.

How long to boil green beans before shocking? ›

To the pot of boiling water, add the green beans and boil until tender-crisp but still bright green, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer to the ice bath to stop the cooking. Once the beans are completely cool, drain well and pat dry.

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