Grilled Green Beans

Here’s how to make the best grilled green beans! Each bite is tender with a burst of salty, charred flavor: they’re simply irresistible.

When it comes to grilling vegetables, we’ve tried them all. (Almost.) And this vegetable surprised us: grilled green beans! Turns out, the grill is the ideal way to cook this green summer vegetable. Take a bite and it’s tender, with a burst of sweet, tangy, salty and charred flavor. Honestly, they’re just as addicting as French fries! We plowed quickly through a platter and then wondered: why don’t we make grilled green beans more often? They’re now a part of our repertoire: and we hope you’ll add them to yours, too.

Ingredients for grilled green beans

The grill is such a fantastic way to cook green beans, you need only a handful of ingredients to make them taste stellar. Here’s what you’ll need:

• Fresh green beans
• Olive oil
• Salt
• Lemon

A quick way to trim green beans

The only hard part about making green beans is trimming them! For some reason, it’s one of the prep steps I find most unexciting (not sure why). But, Alex and I have developed a quick way for trimming green beans that makes it bearable: so you don’t have to spend hours snapping off the tops and bottoms. Here’s the fast way to trim green beans:

1. Grab about 15 to 20 beans, then place them on the cutting board. Working quickly, make a uniform pile with them all lined up lengthwise. They don’t all need to be facing the same way!
2. Line up all the ends against your knife edge. Then grab them in one hand, and cut off the ends with a knife.
3. Quickly flip the beans the other way, and then push them towards your knife blade so that the other ends line up. Then grab the pile and slice off the other ends.

Tips for how to grill green beans

A nice thing about grilled green beans: you can place them directly on the oven grates! There’s no need for a grill basket. If you do have a grill basket, you can also use it: it just results in less charred green beans. Our preferred method is the grates: we love the char marks! Here are the basic steps (or jump to the recipe below):

• Preheat a grill to medium high heat. That’s 375 to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Trim the green beans as discussed above, then mix with olive oil, salt and pepper.
• Grill on the grates 5 minutes per side. Flip with a spatula and grill until tender and charred! Spritz with fresh lemon juice and enjoy.

Make it a meal!

Green beans work with almost anything: they can fit into many cuisines! Here are a few recipes we’d pair them with to make a grilled meal (and drinks…for fun!):

• Fish: Try Perfect Grilled Salmon or Grilled Ahi Tuna with these beans, grilled potatoes, and an Aperol spritz.
• Scallops: Try Grilled Scallops, green beans, rice, and frosé.
• Veggie Burger: Try this Grilled Veggie Burger or Portobello Burger with these beans, grilled corn, and Moscow mules.

More with green beans

Love green beans? Us too. Here are some of our favorite other ways to cook them:

• Green Beans Almondine or Garlic Green Beans The perfect simple sides.
• Lemony Steamed Green Beans Quick and easy! Make them on the stovetop.
• Best Green Bean Casserole Everyone’s favorite way to eat green beans! This spin uses fresh green beans instead of canned.
• Nicoise Salad Green bean recipes aren’t just for side dishes! This classic French main dish salad wouldn’t be the same without crisp tender blanched green beans.

This grilled green beans recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, and gluten-free.

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More grilled vegetables

Here’s how to make just about any grilled vegetable you could think of!

• Perfect Corn, Corn in Foil, Corn in Husk, or Elote The best ways to cook this seasonal treat. Or turn it into Grilled Corn Salad.
• Portobellos or Mushroom Skewers Full of meaty, smoky flavor.
• Cauliflower or Broccoli Charred florets of goodness.
• Onions, Peppers, Tomatoes, Eggplant, Zucchini and Squash Perfect for summer.
• Potatoes in Foil, Sweet Potatoes, Grilled Baked Potato, or Carrots Classic!
• Asparagus, Avocado, Bok Choy, Beets, Okra, or Brussels Sprouts Unique, tasty and easy.
• Romaine, Cabbage, or Kale These leafy greens are fantastic grilled.
• Pineapple or Grilled Bananas Not a veggie, but grilled desserts make a nice sweet ending!