I make these Air Fryer Green Beans every week. They’re one of those fallback side dishes that turns 3 simple everyday ingredients into a crowd-pleasing eat in under 15 minutes. I love using fresh green beans when from the refrigerator, before they start looking a little questionable. And if frozen is all I have? That works too.
These tender crispy green beans, taste like french fries without the oil, are a huge hit with the family and a great alternative to boiling or steaming them. No blanching needed. Great for lunchtime and as an after-school snack with a easy dill pickle dip.
Why Make Fresh Green Beans in the Air Fryer
- Budget-friendly side dish made with simple everyday ingredients.
- They cook really fast aka toss everything together, a quick toss, and air fry.
- Easy to customise and double or triple this recipe to feed a crowd.
- Leftovers are great for meal planning and adding to salads, fried rice and more.
- Great for busy weeknights and as a bbq side, potluck dish. These are a lighter alternative to green bean casserole for Thanksgiving, Easter, and Sunday lunch.
- Oh and if you want to eat your veggies (and fruit) and you might like these air fryer zucchini Fries and the perfect air fryer asparagus.
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Key Ingredients You’ll Need
The ingredient list is super short.
- Green beans: I prefer to start with topped and tailed fresh green beans. Grab some from the supermarket or your garden in the summer. Or head on over to this air fryer frozen vegetables post the cook frozen green beans. I use French green beans (haricots verts) or standard green beans (snap/string beans).
- Oil: I prefer to use olive oil, but have used canola oil, avocado oil or chili oil. I use cooking spray to reduce calories. Just a little oil helps the seasonings stick and gives the beans those golden roasted spots. Excess oil leads to soft soggy beans.
- Salt: I simply season with salt, or stone house seasoning. But feel free to add other spice blends like lemon zest, Cajun seasoning, Ranch seasoning, Italian seasoning. You can top with some grated parmesan cheese after cooking.
Handy Tip: Use Good Kitchen Tools!
For the best tools to help make your recipe even easier and more successful, check out my collection of the Best Air Fryer Tools on Amazon.
How To Air Fry Green Beans
Full recipe measurements and instructions in the recipe card below.
- Washing and trimming your green beans. Make sure to pat them fully dry and top and tail them with a sharp knife.
- Season the beans. Toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
- Air fry them. Preheat air fryer to 375 degrees F. / 190 degrees C. Place coated green beans in a single layer the air fryer basket and cook for 8-10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway and at least once more during cooking so that they cook evenly. The beans should be tender and slightly crispy.
- Season and serve. Serve immediately topped with some extra salt, red pepper flakes, lemon wedges and chopped herbs etc to your taste.
Air fryer temperatures will vary depending on the make and model, so use the cook time as a guide only and adjust as needed.
Recipe Tips To Make These Even Better
- Dry the beans: Make sure the beans are dry before coating in oil otherwise the will steam rather than crisp. Pat dry with some kitchen paper or a kitchen towel.
- Discard: Discard any with dry / woody stems.
- Easy top and tail: For ease simply line the tips of all the green beans on a chopping board and cut, then reline the other end and cut that too. Use pre-cut beans to save time.
- Cook in a single layer: Avoid overcrowding the air fryer when cooking, so hot air circulates and they crisp up. While you can easily double the recipe, you will need to air fry in batches, as if too crowded they will steam rather than crisp up.
- Serve hot for crispness: Eat whilst hot (but not burning hot) and crispy, as they will loose crispness as they cool. Best cooked just before serving.
- Extra crispness: Dip them in egg and Panko breadcrumbs before air frying them. For a low carb crispy version use a light coating with seasoned almond flour.
- Learn how to preheat an air fryer and how to oil your air fryer.
Storage
- Store: Refrigerate cooled cooked beans in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
- Reheat: for a 2-3 minutes in a preheated air fryer at 350F. You can also use a microwave but they will not be crispy.
Serving Suggestions
Pair up a portion of Air Fryer beans with these delicious air fryer recipes:
More Great Air Fryer Vegetable Recipes
Love vegetables? Then you might want to check these ones out.
More Green Bean Recipes
FAQs
Finer green beans as I use here need 8-10 minutes.
If you are using larger beans then you may need 9-11 minutes.
If you have a small air fryer, then cook beans in 2 batches.
Luckily the answer is no. Top and tail them, wash, pat dry, season them, toss in the air fryer and cook away.
Yes there is. French green beans are longer, thinner and have smaller seeds that green beans. You are able to air fryer both, just keep an eye on the cook time.
Totally. They’ll cook up much softer though.
Not exactly. Since they have extra moisture so they will cook up a bit softer. They will taste awesome and are still super easy to make.
Green beans are also called as French beans or string beans.
There are more than 130 varieties of green beans around today (in case you ever get asked this in a quiz).
Weight Watchers Points
A serving of these contains 0 (that’s right, zero!) Blue Plan SmartPoints.
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Easy Air Fryer Green Beans
Easy Air Fryer Green Beans
Servings: 4
Calories: 35kcal
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Preheat the Air Fryer to 375 degrees F. / 190 degrees C
-
Wash and pat dry the green beans, top and tail them with a sharp knife. Add to a mixing bowl and toss beans with olive oil, the best salt ever, and pepper. You can also use your hands or tongs to mix.
-
Place the coated green beans in a single layer the air fryer basket and cook for 8-10 minutes, shaking the basket halfway and at least once more during cooking so that they cook evenly. The beans should be tender and slightly crispy.
-
Remove and serve immediately topped with some extra salt, red pepper flakes, lemon wedges and chopped herbs etc to your taste.
- Dry the beans: Make sure the beans are dry before coating in oil otherwise the will steam rather than crisp. Pat dry with some kitchen paper or a kitchen towel.
- Discard: Discard any with dry / woody stems.
- Easy top and tail: For ease simply line the tips of all the green beans on a chopping board and cut, then reline the other end and cut that too. Use pre-cut beans to save time.
- Cook in a single layer: Avoid overcrowding the air fryer when cooking, so hot air circulates and they crisp up. While you can easily double the recipe, you will need to air fry in batches, as if too crowded they will steam rather than crisp up.
- Serve hot for crispness: Eat whilst hot (but not burning hot) and crispy, as they will loose crispness as they cool. Best cooked just before serving.
- Extra crispness: Dip them in egg and Panko breadcrumbs before air frying them. For a low carb crispy version use a light coating with seasoned almond flour.
- Storage – keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for 3 days.
- There are 0 WW Blue Plan SmartPoints in one serving of this.
Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 2g | Sodium: 6mg | Potassium: 239mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 785IU | Vitamin C: 13.9mg | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 1.2mg
