15-Minute Thai Green Beans: Tangy, Savory Perfection

These quick-and-easy Thai green beans take 15 minutes to make and are the perfect side dish to enjoy with pretty much any Southeast Asian main dish.

Shallots and garlic are stir-fried with fragrant Thai basil and green beans and then coated in a tangy, zingy, savory sauce of soy, lime, and ginger. It’s all topped with roasted and crushed peanuts for an extra flavorful crunch.

What you get is a lot of umami, subtle sweetness and a pleasant bit of tangy sour. It’s a delicious side dish that pairs well with even the heaviest main meals.

Why Make these Thai Green Beans?

So quick and easy. Thai green beans are a side dish. A delicious one, but a side kick all the same. So you don’t want to spend ages laboring over a stove. This recipe comes together in 15 minutes – max – from start to finish.

Counterbalance. I love serving this with mainly protein dishes – chicken, steak, etc. – because the crunchy crispness provides the perfect counterbalance to most meat dishes.

Good enough to eat alone. These Thai green beans are full of bold savory, sour, sweet flavor all on their own. So while they make a great side dish, serve them over rice and they make a light vegetarian meal as well.

Ingredients for Thai Green beans

Green beans. Frozen is fine but skip canned green beans – you just won’t get the same level of crunch or flavor. Pre-trimmed is okay as well if you want to save time. But going for fresh green beans and trimming it yourself before sauteing is the way for the freshest, crunchiest, brightest green beans.

Shallots. You can substitute with onions but shallots are preferable as they’ve got the taste of onions but are milder and more sweet. They’re ideal for this recipe.

Garlic. Because garlic goes so well in everything. You can use minced or grated but I prefer to slice them because they’re less likely to burn and the little slivers of garlic make for enjoyable bursts of flavor while eating.

Ginger. The combination of garlic and ginger is superb, which is why it’s so common in Asian cooking.

Lime. Just the juice of one lime gives these green beans a bright zesty, tangy kick that you don’t normally find on green beans. It’s the ingredient that makes these green beans so addictive.

Sugar. This recipe uses the tiniest bit of sugar – it is totally optional but I like the little dash of sweetness. I’m using demerara sugar but feel free to use whatever sugar you have.

Dark soy sauce. It’s thicker and more concentrated than regular soy sauce but if you don’t have it, use regular soy sauce instead.

Peanuts. Roasted and crushed salted peanuts add so much crunchy savoriness to these green beans. We’re using them to top off the finished dish.

Thai basil. These are go great to cook with since they don’t wilt as quick as regular (Italian) basil and instead just make everything more flavorful. If you can’t get Thai basil, though, just skip this ingredients. You can substitute with a combination of regular basil and mint but it’s just not the same.

Chili pepper. If you want to give these Thai green beans a spicy kick, use a chili pepper or two. Thai chili is a great, spicy option but you can definitely substitute with a milder chili as well. I don’t personally use chili peppers in this recipe so that my 5-year-old can enjoy it as well. Instead, I add Thai chili powder on my portion at the end.

How to Make Thai Green Beans

1. Prep

Slice shallots and garlic. Wash and cut the ends off the green beans. Roughly chop Thai basil.

Make the sauce by combining ginger paste, sugar, lime juice, and dark soy sauce in a bowl.

2. Saute aromatics

Heat a skillet over medium heat, add oil followed by the shallots, garlic, and Thai basil. Saute for around 5 minutes and then pour in the sauce. Stir to combine.

Add in the green beans and stir to combine. Stir fry until the green beans are cooked to your liking. Here’s a rough guide of how long you should cook for:

• Cooked but crisp: Just 5 to 6 minutes is perfect.

• Very tender: Go for a whole 10 minutes.

I usually find that 6 to 7 minutes is perfect for me, a great combination of crunchy and tender.

2. Top with peanuts

Plate the cooked green beans and top with crushed peanuts. Serve warm!

What to Serve with Thai Green Beans?

These go so well with a variety of Southeast Asian flavors. Here are some great main dishes to serve with these green beans:

Leftovers & Storage

Once cooled to room temperature, store the green beans in an airtight container and place in the fridge for up to 3 to 5 days.

You can also freeze these green beans for up to 6 months.

Just keep in mind that time in the fridge – and especially the freezer – impacts the crispy crunchiness of the green beans. They’re more likely to be soft and mushy.

Which is why I’d recommend simply making them fresh each time. Considering it only takes 15 minutes, it’s definitely worth it over eating mushy green beans.