This air fryer garlic green beans recipe features blistered green beans cooked with a bold and savory garlic sauce. It uses less than 5 ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to put together, so it’s a perfect quick side dish for your dinner. {Vegan, Gluten-Free Adaptable}
In the past I’ve shared quite a few Chinese green bean recipes, for example, Chinese Garlic Green Beans, Sichuan Dry Fried Green Beans, Vegan Green Bean Casseroles, and Stir Fried Green Beans with Ground Pork. Today I want to share my recent favorite green bean recipe – air fryer garlic green beans.
I love cooking green beans in the air fryer because it uses minimal oil and takes very little time to create perfectly cooked blistered green beans. In this recipe, I use high heat to blast the green beans to create a charred texture. Then I mix in garlic, soy sauce and chili oil to give the green beans a delicious bold taste. The flavor profile goes with many different types of cuisines in addition to Chinese, and I love serving it as a quick side dish for my dinner.
Ingredients
You only need a few ingredients to make air fryer green beans:
- Green beans
- Garlic
- Soy sauce
- Olive oil
- Chili Oil
- Salt
The chili oil is listed as optional, but I highly recommend adding it. My homemade chili oil and most store-bought bottled Chinese chili oils are not very spicy. But they add a very fragrant aroma that will boost the dish a lot.
Cooking process
After testing many roasting temperatures, I found that 400°F (200°C) is the most ideal. Using this temperature, you can make the green beans blister in a very short time span, 4 to 5 minutes or so. And once you add the liquid seasonings, the green beans will become tender very quickly without getting soggy.
You only need 5 minutes of prep to get everything ready. To cook the air fryer garlic green beans:
- Toss the green beans with oil and salt
- Air fry until blistered
- Toss with the garlic, soy sauce and chili oil
- Air fry a bit more until the garlic is cooked
The finished green beans will have a nice tender texture and blistered surface to soak up all the flavor. I can eat a giant plate of them by myself in one sitting!
One word about the type of air fryer you use
I use a Cuisinart Air Fryer Toaster Oven currently.
- It has more basket space so I can cook 1 lb of green beans in one batch. If you use another type of air fryer, you may need to cook the green beans in two batches for the best result.
- My air fryer / toaster oven temperature runs a bit high. Depending on the air fryer you use, you might need to increase the cooking time by a little. When you’re using an air fryer recipe, always check on your food a few times during cooking, and slightly adjust the cooking time as needed to get the best result.
- Make sure to place the green beans in the air fryer tray, instead of the basket. Because you will need to add the liquid seasonings later.
That’s all! I hope you enjoy this air fryer garlic green beans recipe. I like to cook this recipe very often and sometimes I cook a few extra batches so I can have leftovers. It’s addictively good!
Air Fryer Garlic Green Beans
Ingredients
- 1 lb (450 g) green beans , tough ends removed
- 1 tablespoons olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic , minced
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons homemade chili oil (Optional)
Instructions
- Thoroughly pat the green beans dry with paper towels. Preheat the air fryer to 400°F (200°C). Line the air fryer tray with parchment paper for easy cleanup (optional).
- Place the green beans in a big bowl, then add olive oil and salt. Toss to mix well. Spread the green beans onto the air fryer tray with as little overlap as possible. You might need to cook them in two batches. Air fry for 4 to 5 minutes, until the green beans are blistered but have not turned soft.
- Remove the air fryer tray. If you are cooking in two batches, add back the first batch of blistered green beans. Add the garlic, soy sauce and chili oil, if using. Toss a few times to mix well. Arrange the green beans so they’re spread out evenly with minimal overlap. Keep air frying for another 2 to 3 minutes, until the green beans have reached the desired doneness.
- Transfer everything to a serving plate and serve hot as a side dish.
this looks amazing.
I love a good recipe without having to boil beans in water, dump out, then pan fry with everything.
This streamlined the whole process!!
Love all your recipes.
My one question.. as a Muslim I can’t have alcohol, and yes even cooking alcohol 🙁
Are there any alcohol free replacements you’re aware of for some of the ingredients you use in other recipes? Like the Chinese wine and what not?
For most of the recipes, you can use chicken broth to replace the wine. The flavors will be a bit different but the dish should end up delicious.
For certain recipes such as “three cups chicken”, the wine is a main ingredient and should not be skipped. I don’t really have a great way to replace it (you need to do quite a lot of tweaking of the recipe).
But if you find the wine is used in recipes like 2 tablespoons etc, you can just use chicken broth.
Hi Maddie! If you try chicken broth for a recipe and don’t love it, I have found juice (apple, Grape, etc.) can add flavor without adding alcohol. If you can have vinegar then you can add a very tiny bit of vinegar to the juice to give it some more kick. It has worked well for making some of my recipes flavorful while still being nonalcoholic. I am not a chef, but it might be worth a try!
Delicious and so easy. Loved the green beans. Making it again tomorrow. My new fav lunch!!!