5-Ingredient Lemon Almond Green Beans

Today's guest post is a simple yet delicious side dish from the very talented Elviira, the author of Low-carb, So Simple. Elviira's blog is unlike any other low-carb blog you may have come across. Apart from stunning photography, you'll find amazing, easy to prepare recipes with no more than 5 ingredients. This is a real lifesaver for all of us with busy lifestyles!

Green beans are naturally low in carbs and contain an ample amount of vital nutrients. As they are quick to prepare and you can vary them endlessly, they can easily become a staple in your healthy lifestyle.

In this side dish green beans get some flavor and tang from lemon juice. Olive oil provides good fats and mild taste. Sliced almonds — which are cooked in olive oil to maximize the toasty, nutty flavor — give texture and crunch. Gently fried garlic complements the flavors with a savory touch.

Step-by-step

1. Let’s take a look how to make this simple but scrumptious side dish. Use trimmed, fresh green beans and steam them until crisp-tender. In case you cannot get fresh beans, use frozen, defrosted green beans (you might have to cook them quickly, just follow the instructions in the package).

2. When you have steamed the beans and they are still warm, take a large bowl. In the bowl, place the steamed green beans.

   

3. Add lemon juice.

   

4. Season with salt.

   

5. Toss well and set aside.

   

6. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place the olive oil in the skillet.

   

7. Add the almonds to the hot olive oil.

   

8. Cook and mix until the almonds have got some color.

   

9. Add the garlic for the rest of the 30 seconds.

   

10. Continue cooking until the garlic is golden brown. Don't add the garlic too early, as it easily turns too brown and gets burned flavor if fried too long. It also loses much of its nutrients if cooked more than 60 seconds.

    

11. Add the garlic and almond mixture in the bean salad.

    

12. Toss well.

    

13. Serve immediately. To store, let it cool down and refrigerate for up to 4 dayse. Reheat before serving.

    

Recipe

5-Ingredient Lemon Almond Green Beans

★★★★☆4.4 (17 ratings)

These green beans are a simple low-carb side made with five common ingredients in just 15 minutes.

Hands on

15m

Overall

15m

Servings

4

6.5 g

Net carbs

3.5 g

Protein

9.8 g

Fat

132

kcal

1 serving2 servings3 servings4 servings5 servings6 servings7 servings8 servings9 servings10 servings11 servings12 servings16 servings

US + metricMetricUS

PrintPinRate

Ingredients makes 4 servings

• 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed (450 g)
• 1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed juice from organic lemon (36 g/ 1.3 oz)
• ¹/₂ tsp sea salt, or to taste
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (30 ml)
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and thinly sliced
• ¹/₃ cup flaked or slivered almonds (20 g/ 0.7 oz)

Instructions

1. Let’s take a look how to make this simple but scrumptious side dish. Use trimmed, fresh green beans and steam them until crisp-tender. In case you cannot get fresh beans, use frozen, defrosted green beans (you might have to cook them quickly, just follow the instructions in the package).

2. When you have steamed the beans and they are still warm, take a large bowl. In the bowl, place the steamed green beans.

3. Add lemon juice.

4. Season with salt.

5. Toss well and set aside.

6. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Place the olive oil in the skillet.

7. Add the almonds to the hot olive oil.

8. Cook and mix until the almonds have got some color.

9. Add the garlic for the rest of the 30 seconds.

10. Continue cooking until the garlic is golden brown. Don't add the garlic too early, as it easily turns too brown and gets burned flavor if fried too long. It also loses much of its nutrients if cooked more than 60 seconds.

11. Add the garlic and almond mixture in the bean salad.

12. Toss well.

13. Serve immediately. To store, let it cool down and refrigerate for up to 4 dayse. Reheat before serving.

Nutrition per serving, about 1 cup

Carbs 20%Protein 11%Fat 69% of calories

Net carbs

6.5 g

Total carbs

10.2 g

Fiber

3.7 g

Sugars

4 g

Protein

3.5 g

Fat

9.8 g

Saturated fat

1.2 g

Calories

132 kcal

Sodium

298 mg · 13% RDA

Magnesium

43 mg · 10.7% RDA

Potassium

291 mg · 14.5% EMR

Nutrition by ingredient

Per about 1 cup	Net carbs	Protein	Fat	kcal
Green beans, fresh	4.8 g	2.1 g	0.2 g	35
Lemon (juice), fresh	0.4 g	0 g	0 g	1
Salt, sea salt	0 g	0 g	0 g	0
Olive oil, extra virgin	0 g	0 g	6.8 g	60
Garlic, fresh	0.9 g	0.2 g	0 g	4
Almonds, nuts (flaked)	0.4 g	1.3 g	2.8 g	32
Total	6.5 g	3.5 g	9.8 g	132

Serving size about 1 cup

• Gluten free
• Dairy free
• Egg free
• Nightshade free
• Pork free
• Avocado free
• Coconut free
• Fish free
• Shellfish free
• Beef free
• Vegetarian
• Vegan