Vegan Pesto Green Beans with Almonds {Paleo}

 A delicious 4 ingredient side dish that comes together in under 30 minutes. These vegan pesto green beans with almonds are crispy and flavorful made with just a handful of ingredients either in the oven or in the skillet! Perfect spring, fall or Thanksgiving side dish. Paleo and Whole30 friendly too! 

Green beans are one of my favorite fall veggies. They make for the best fall side dish, especially at the Thanksgiving table. Since I love pesto and find the need to add it to all savory recipes I knew that pesto would absolutely be making an appearance in this green beans with almonds recipe.

I mean it’s only pretty much the best sauce/spread/you name it out there and instantly elevates any ingredient it comes near. Not that green beans aren’t already delicious on their own. I’m not saying that. Just pointing out that everything become better with a dollop of pesto.

Are you with me?

Why these pesto green beans with almonds are the best:

• only 4 key ingredients (green beans, garlic, almonds, pesto)
• can be made in the oven or on the stove top
• easy side dish ready in no time
• packed full of crunchy and fresh flavors
• Vegan, Paleo and Whole30 friendly recipe
• Fresh crisp flavors

How to make my pesto greens beans with almonds recipe:

In the past I used to make this recipe in the oven, but this time around I wanted to test out a skillet version as well. The oven recipe turns out excellently, but for those who prefer to use the stove top instead, I can confidently say that these green beans with almonds are quite delicious prepared that way as well.

The trick to get your green beans to cook quickly without having to blanch them in a separate pot is to add them to a skillet with just a bit of water – less than enough to cover them. Turn the heat up to high and cook them until the water has evaporated and they have softened just a bit.

At this point you add a bit of olive oil and the minced garlic. Pan fry the green beans until lightly browned then add the pesto.

Mix everything up and your green beans with almonds are ready to be served with a generous sprinkling of toasted sliced almonds.

This is a trick that my mom taught me that allows to avoid having to go through the process of blanching green beans, and allows you to go straight to cooking fresh green beans without the additional recipe steps.

Instead of sliced almonds, you can also use slivered almonds, or whole blanched almonds, roughly chopped. They key here is just to toast the almonds in a dry skillet to give them more depth of flavor and a nicer crunch.

Make sure to watch those nuts though. They go from toasted in burnt in less than a second and I for one have the bad habit of multi tasking to the extreme in the kitchen and doing way too many things at once and can easily forgot to keep an eye on those nuts. So do not make that mistake. Nothing worse than having to throw out an entire pan of burnt to a crisp nuts. There’s no coming back from that.

If you prefer to bake the green beans with almonds just toss the green beans with pesto and minced garlic directly on the baking tray (no need to dirty a separate bowl) and bake for 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven. Serve topped with almonds.

Recipe Tips/Variations:

• Instead of green beans you can use haricot verts too -which are thin French green beans. These are a bit more delicate than regular green beans and differ in taste a little bit.
• Dry toast the almonds to get even more flavor out of them
• If you don’t have almonds you can use pine nuts here too.
• If you do not want to make homemade pesto, store bought will work here too

For your new favorite side dish or light appetizer I highly recommend making these pesto green beans with almonds. Just a handful of ingredients and less than 30 minutes for a yummy and healthy dish. Simply a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving table or any fall main dish.

If you’re looking for other Thanksgiving or fall side dish recipes be sure to check out:

• Vegan, Keto & Paleo Cauliflower Mash
• Vegan Whipped Sweet Potatoes
• Vegan Spaghetti Squash Soup
• Vegan Pumpkin Soup
• Vegan Pumpkin Pasta

Let me know what you think of this recipe in the comments below! What’s your favorite way to cook green beans? Do you family have their own green bean recipes for Thanksgiving?

4.34 from 6 votes

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Vegan Pesto Green Beans with Almonds

Prep Time

5 mins

Cook Time

15 mins

Total Time

20 mins

 

A delicious 4 ingredient side dish that comes together in under 30 minutes. These vegan pesto green beans with almonds are crispy and flavorful made with just a handful of ingredients either in the oven or in the skillet! Perfect fall or Thanksgiving side dish. 

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Healthy, Vegan

Servings: 4

Calories: 102 kcal

Author: Vicky

Ingredients

• 8 ounces green beans washed trimmed dried8 ounces green beans, washed trimmed dried
• 1 clove garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons vegan basil pesto
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice optional
• 1/4 cup blanched almonds chopped
• 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. 

2. In a large bowl combine green beans with garlic, vegan basil pesto, oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste. Bake green beans on aluminum foil lined baking sheet in a single layer for 12-15 minutes. 

3. Heat pan over medium heat and add almonds. Cook for a few minutes until almonds are toasted and lightly browned. Serve green beans sprinkled with toasted almonds.

Recipe Notes

To prepare the green beans with almonds in a pan:

Heat skillet over high heat and add green beans and enough water to almost cover them. Cook for a few minutes until water has evaporated and green beans have softened a bit. 

Add oil the pan and garlic. Cook for 2-3 minutes. 

Add pesto and mix. 

Serve topped with toasted almonds. 

Nutrition Facts

Vegan Pesto Green Beans with Almonds

Amount Per Serving

Calories 102 Calories from Fat 72

% Daily Value*

Fat 8g12%

Sodium 75mg3%

Potassium 171mg5%

Carbohydrates 6g2%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 2g2%

Protein 3g6%

Vitamin A 540IU11%

Vitamin C 7.7mg9%

Calcium 52mg5%

Iron 0.8mg4%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.