These tender and blistered Chinese-style garlic green beans are paleo, Whole30, gluten free, and low carb! Simply stir fry green beans in a hot pan and toss with a garlicky sauce for a quick and easy side dish!

A closeup shot of paleo, Whole30, and gluten free Chinese garlic green beans in a skillet.

The perfect side dish!
Tips for the best Chinese green beans
Ingredients
How to make Chinese garlic green beans
What do you serve with it?
How do you save leftovers?
More Asian vegetable side dishes
Chinese Garlic Green Beans Recipe

The perfect side dish!

Are you a green bean fiend like me? Green beans are one of my favorite vegetables to cook with because they’re versatile, nutritious, and easy to prepare. But sometimes, I get bored of the same old steamed or roasted green beans. That’s why I love this Chinese green beans recipe, which is inspired by the garlicky green beans dish at Din Tai Fung. It’s a simple and flavorful way to transform green beans into a fabulous side dish that goes well with any protein!

An overhead shot of a enameled cast iron skillet filled with Chinese garlic green beans.

You just need a few ingredients and a hot skillet to make these green beans that are blistered, tender, and coated with a savory garlic sauce. The sauce is made with a ton of minced garlic, a splash of broth, coconut aminos, and one of my spice blends that adds a kick of umami. Plus, it takes less than 20 minutes to make this easy garlic green beans recipe!

Tips for the best Chinese green beans

Blot the green beans well with a clean kitchen towel after you wash and drain them. This step will reduce any splatter when you stir fry the pods.
For quick prep, just trim the stem ends from the green beans with a pair of kitchen shears or a sharp knife.
No need to boil or blanch the green beans first! Just stir fry the raw green beans in the hot oil, tossing frequently, until they’re blistered and tender.
No deep frying necessary! These blistered green beans don’t need to be cooked in a bunch of oil!
Make sure the minced garlic doesn’t burn! Turn down the heat as soon as you add the minced garlic to the pan and add some broth as soon as the garlic is fragrant.
You can turn this side dish into a main dish by adding protein (e.g. ground pork, ground chicken, ground turkey, etc.) to the garlic!

Patting washed raw green beans dry with a clean kitchen towel before cooking them.

Ingredients

Avocado oil: This is my favorite high smoke point vegetable oil for all of my Asian-inspired dishes. Use just enough neutral oil to coat the bottom of the skillet!
Fresh green beans: You can use regular green beans or French green beans (haricots verts)—just make sure they’re all about the same size so they cook evenly.
Garlic: Grab 6 to 7 large garlic cloves and mince them well. You should end up with ¼ cup minced garlic.
Chicken broth: Adding a splash of broth to the sautéed minced garlic keeps it from burning and helps create the base for a flavorful sauce. You can use vegetable broth if you want to keep this dish vegan, but I prefer chicken bone broth for flavor.
Coconut aminos: It adds a kick of sweetness and umami to the sauce without adding any oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, or regular soy sauce to the dish. You can leave out the coconut aminos if you don’t have it!
Umami Stir-Fry Powder, Spicy Sichuan Powder, or Diamond Crystal kosher salt: Both of my Asian-inspired spice blends are perfect for adding salt and extra oomph (e.g., dried ginger, white pepper, red pepper flakes, or Sichuan peppercorns) to the green beans! If you like your dishes a little spicy and tingly choose, Spicy Sichuan Powder! Yes, you can use just salt, but it won’t taste as good!

How to make Chinese garlic green beans

Heat a large skillet or wok on medium high heat for 3 to 5 minutes. When the pan is hot, swirl in the avocado oil…

Pouring avocado oil into a large enameled cast iron skillet.

…and add the green beans.

Adding trimmed green beans to an enamel cast iron skillet with hot oil.

Cook, stirring frequently, for 3 to 5 minutes or until the green beans are blistered and tender.

A close-up of the blistered stir-fried green beans in an enameled cast iron skillet.

Transfer the green beans to a platter, leaving the oil in the skillet.

Transferring blistered green beans onto a blue and white platter.

Turn down the heat to medium and add the minced garlic to the empty pan. Cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is fragrant but doesn’t burn. Pour in the broth and scrape up the browned bits.

Four sequential shots that show someone adding minced garlic into an empty pan and then pouring in chicken broth and stirring it around with a red spatula.

Next, add the coconut aminos, and Umami Stir-Fry Powder, Spicy Sichuan Powder, or Diamond Crystal kosher salt and stir up any browned bits. Taste and adjust the sauce for seasoning.

Four sequential shots that show someone adding coconut aminos and Umami Stir-Fry Powder to a pan with minced garlic and chicken broth.

Add the blistered green beans back in the pan…

Adding the blistered green beans back into the skillet with the garlic sauce.

…and toss well to coat the beans with the garlic sauce. Plate and serve!

Tossing blistered green beans in a pan with a Chinese garlic sauce.

What do you serve with it?

You can serve this veggie side dish with a tasty main dish like Asian Chicken Thighs, Air Fryer Cracklin’ Chicken, Instant Pot Chinese Beef Stew, Paleo Char Siu, or Char Siu Chicken. It also tastes great with Golden Cauliflower Fried Rice, Chicken Cauliflower Fried Rice, or plain steamed white rice.

How do you save leftovers?

Leftover garlic green beans can be stored in a sealed airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

More Asian vegetable side dishes

Looking for more recipe ideas? Head on over to my Recipe Index. You’ll also find exclusive recipes in my cookbooks, Nom Nom Paleo: Food for Humans (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2013), Ready or Not! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2017), and Nom Nom Paleo: Let’s Go! (Andrews McMeel Publishing 2022).