Charred Green Beans with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Say hello to my favorite way to cook green beans! Say hello to your new favorite way to cook green beans. Perfect for summer nights, and those of us who love the flavor of roasted vegetables, but hate turning on the oven at this time of year.
I declare ‘charred’ the new ‘roasted’. Let’s see if this catches on, shall we? These charred green beans with cilantro-lime vinaigrette have quickly become one of my favorite vegetable side dishes (aside from this one, of course). Green beans are one of my go-to summer vegetables, as they so accessible and perfect at this time of year.
This dish can be prepared in less than 20 minutes, requires only a handful of ingredients, and can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold straight out of the fridge. Really, I promise. If you’re doing a summer potluck, cook-out, or going over to a friend’s house and offering to bring a dish, bring these green beans.
People will like you (just make sure these are the same kinds of people that like cilantro, because yeah, that might not go over so well).
The vinaigrette is very simple: freshly squeezed lime juice, olive oil, fresh cilantro, salt and pepper. It is nearly identical to the salad vinaigrette used for my guacamole greens salad (another favorite!), if you’re curious.
So how exactly do you char green beans?
You use a piping hot (and I mean, PIPING HOT) grill pan! This is awesome for several reasons:
1) It’s crazy fast and will take just 15 minutes of cook-time to prepare this dish, 2) it will produce that smoky, char-grilled flavor that can’t be achieve through roasting alone, 3) allows those of us without access to an outdoor grill (aka. me) to eat things that taste like they were cooked on an outdoor grill.
In order to avoid over-crowding the grill pan (not something you want to do when charring vegetables), I like to cook the green beans in smaller batches. This recipe uses about 1 lb of fresh green beans, and I cooked them in three batches, ensuring that they all charred and cooked evenly.
Obviously, this recipe could just as easily be prepared on an outdoor grill pan. However, since green beans are relatively small and fall through the grates, you would probably need one of these grill griddles or another similar device.
For those of us preparing this dish with a grill pan (on a regular indoor stove), I have a word of advice! Turn on your kitchen fan. Like now. Don’t wait until your kitchen gets all smoky and you inevitably set off your fire alarm, and have to go grab a pillow and wave it like an idiot all over your apartment.
I almost did this myself because I use my stove fan about as often I use that pot I bought for canning and preserving (ie. never).
Charred Green Beans with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette
Ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
- 1/4 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves, plus more for garnishing
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed
- olive oil
- finishing salt (I like to use Maldon!)
Directions:
- Prepare vinaigrette: Combine the 2 tablespoons of olive oil, lime juice, cilantro, salt and pepper in a blender, or small food processor bowl. Puree or pulse ingredients together, until mixture just begins to come together, and cilantro is still finely chopped. Set aside in a small container. Shake before using.
- In a medium bowl, toss the trimmed green beans lightly with olive oil (roughly 1 tablespoon or so) and season lightly with salt. Heat a large grill pan over very high heat. The pan should be piping hot–advice: turn on your kitchen fan, as it will get smoky.
- Add about a third of the green beans directly to the hot grill pan, spreading them out evenly. Grill the greens beans for roughly 4 to 5 minutes, tossing them every few minutes, until they are evenly charred and beginning to soften slightly. Transfer the charred green beans to a serving platter or separate mixing bowl. Repeat with the remaining green beans.
- Allow the charred green beans to cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then toss with the cilantro-lime vinaigrette. Sprinkle with fresh cilantro leaves and finishing salt. Dish can be served hot, at room temperature, or cold straight from the fridge.
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I am such a fan of roasted vegetables too, but this cilantro lime vinaigrette is a game changer! Sounds awesome! 🙂
This is one of those recipes that I can tell will become a fave! Side dishes like this are the best!
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!
I love the char on these! Amazing flavor!
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!
These look awesome. I would just eat them like French fries. Charring veggies is totally the way to go! Gorgeous pics, Laura!
I need these for dinner!
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!
Green beans have NEVER looked so good!!
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!
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!
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. 🙂
Yessss! Finally someone understands that beans can be grilled / charred. This looks right up my alley.
I love it! Thanks so much Martyna!
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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 : )
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.