Charred Green Beans with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Perfect for summer evenings, these charred green beans have an irresistible smokey and vibrant flavor that make for a quick and delectable side dish.
This recipe is ideal for those of us who love the flavor of roasted vegetables, such as this crowd favorite Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini and Best Roasted Broccoli, but want to avoid using the oven in the summer heat.
They make a fantastic dish to bring to a potluck or barbecue since they can easily be made ahead. I find that they are equally delicious served warm or at room temperature, and even slightly chilled from the fridge.
Why You’ll Love These Charred Green Beans
- Quick: Prepared in less than 15 minutes from start to finish, this dish delivers big flavor with little effort.
- Great for Sharing: An ideal side for a summer potluck or cook out, these flavorful green beans will win over even the pickiest of eaters.
- Flavor: The smokey char combined with the zesty, herbaceous vinaigrette tastes like summer.
- Seasonal: Green beans are one of my go-to summer vegetables since they are abundantly accessible at local farmers markets or grocery stores.
- Versatile: Served hot, at room temperature, or cold straight from the fridge – there’s no wrong way to enjoy these green beans.
Tips for Success:
- If your grill grates are spaced apart by more than ½-inch, I recommend setting a high-quality metal rack – without a non-stick coating – over them to ensure the beans do not fall through during cooking. This is an easy method for cooking smaller or chopped vegetables on an outdoor grill!
- If you are preparing this dish with a grill pan on an indoor stovetop, turn on your kitchen exhaust fan. Trust me on this one.
An outdoor grill allows you to throw this dish together in less than 15 minutes! The goal is to char and blacken the green beans, achieving that signature smokey, char-grilled flavor. It makes them absolutely irresistible!
If you don’t have a grill, you can achieve a similar effect by using a grill pan or roasting the green beans (spread evenly on a half sheet pan) in the oven at a high temperature.
How to Grill Green Beans:
Step One: Prepare the cilantro vinaigrette in a small capacity food processor and set aside.
Step Two: In a mixing bowl, toss the trimmed green beans lightly with olive oil and season with salt. Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat.
Step Three: Distribute the green beans over the hot grill, perpendicular to the grates or on top of the preheated metal rack. Cook the beans for roughly 3 to 4 minutes, tossing with tongs every few minutes, or until evenly charred and beginning to soften. Transfer to a large platter.
Step Four: Spoon the cilantro lime vinaigrette over the charred green beans, tossing lightly if desired. Before serving, sprinkle with flaky salt.
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette Ingredients:
Once grilled, the green beans are tossed with a simple, vibrant vinaigrette made with freshly squeezed lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, fresh cilantro, garlic, salt and pepper. It is similar to the dressing in one of my all-time favorite Guacamole Greens salad.
While the dressing can be prepared in advance, the herbs will oxidize and lose some of their color as it sits. If prepping ahead, be sure to shake it well just using.
How to Serve Charred Green Beans:
These green beans make a fantastic side dish to serve alongside grilled marinated chicken, beef, seafood, and vegetarian mains, particularly black bean bowls. This southwest quinoa salad would be a wonderful accompaniment too.
Looking for a more traditional preparation? You’ll love these green beans almondine!
Charred Green Beans with Cilantro Vinaigrette
Ingredients
Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette:
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons (30 mL) fresh lime juice
- ¼ cup packed cilantro leaves plus more for garnishing
- 1 small garlic clove finely grated with a microplane
- ¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
Charred Green Beans:
- 1 lb (16 oz) fresh green beans trimmed
- extra virgin olive oil
- flaky salt such as Maldon, for finishing
Instructions
- Prepare Vinaigrette: Combine the extra olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, grated garlic, salt and pepper in small capacity food processor bowl. Puree or pulse the ingredients together until well emulsified and the cilantro is finely chopped throughout. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice as needed. Set aside while you prepare the green beans. Stir just before using.
- Prepare the Green Beans: In a mixing bowl, toss the trimmed green beans lightly with olive oil, roughly 1 tablespoon or so, and season with salt. Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat. Important Note: If your grates are spaced apart by more than ½-inch, I recommend setting a metal rack – without a non-stick coating – over the grates to ensure the beans do not fall through during cooking. Alternatively, you can char the green beans in batches on a piping hot grill pan inside on your stovetop stovetop. If grilling inside, be sure to turn on your kitchen exhaust fan as it will get smoky.
- Distribute the green beans over the hot grill, perpendicular to the grates or on top of the metal rack. Depending on the size of your grill, you may need to cook the beans in batches to avoid over-crowding. Cook the beans for roughly 3 to 4 minutes, tossing with tongs every few minutes, until evenly charred and beginning to soften. Transfer to a large platter.
- Serve: Spoon the cilantro lime vinaigrette over the charred green beans, tossing lightly if desired. Before serving, sprinkle with flaky salt. Serve hot, at room temperature, or cold from the fridge.
Tips for Success:
- If you don’t have a grill, you can achieve a similar effect by using a grill pan or roasting the green beans (spread evenly on a half sheet pan) in the oven at a high (450°F) temperature.
19 Comments on “Charred Green Beans with Cilantro Vinaigrette”
I made this tonight and it was exactly what I needed to go with some taco meat tortilla cups. I love how bright it is even with the nice char flavor!
So glad you enjoyed it!
We just made this dish to go with a Latin night dinner and it was excellent. We cooked them in a wok and could do 1.5 lbs at once. Other than that, we follow the directions and it worked well. A great change from our standard styles of cooking green beans!
We grilled 5 lbs of beans for a Thanksgiving crowd following this recipe, except that we grilled outdoors over high flame. They were a huge hit with unexpected smoky and bright flavors. Only needed 3x the dressing. Definitely a keeper for potlucks, too.
i made these in a cast iron skillet and they charred beautifully (for those of us without grill pans)! turned it up to high heat, tossed the green beans in olive oil and (kosher) salt, then threw the beans in the hot pan for a few, leaving them alone for a minute or two, then turning them.
These were so good, and simple. I have an over- abundance of beans this year from my garden, so needed something different. My three-year-old loved them, too.
We really enjoyed these green beans — have to admit that I’ve never prepared them this way before, but they are really delicious this way. We love cilantro and it was a great addition to the beans. Nancy : )
Yessss! Finally someone understands that beans can be grilled / charred. This looks right up my alley.
Hooray for green beans! I could eat this all day, especially with such an intensely flavored vinaigrette. I am clearly in the pro-cilantro camp. 🙂
These are SCREAMING to be made – there are so many times I just steam veggies because I don’t feel like doing anything else. This though? YES!
Oh I love green beans any way they are prepared, but this looks truly extraordinary! I used to hate cilantro but luckily I’ve come around, haha! Charring vegetables in my grill pan always turns out awesome, I can’t believe I haven’t tried it with green beans yet!
Green beans have NEVER looked so good!!
I love roasted veg so I’m sure I’ll adore this! I especially love the light cilantro lime vinaigrette which I’m sure would be delicious on top of grain bowls too!
These look awesome. I would just eat them like French fries. Charring veggies is totally the way to go! Gorgeous pics, Laura!
Yes!! I love green beans for their natural flavor and don’t like to do a lot to them or add a lot to them when cooking. Charring sounds awesome. And that vinaigrette? I’d probably have a glass of that on the side!
I love the char on these! Amazing flavor!
That cilantro-lime vinaigrette looks fantastic! I always find myself lacking ideas for veggie sides, so this looks like a great recipe to have on hand. And thanks for the heads up about the kitchen fan!
This is one of those recipes that I can tell will become a fave! Side dishes like this are the best!
I am such a fan of roasted vegetables too, but this cilantro lime vinaigrette is a game changer! Sounds awesome! 🙂