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These Air Fryer Roasted Green Beans are so healthy and delicious! Roasted green beans in the air fryer is a quick and easy way to make a delicious vegetable-based side dish. You can make fresh green beans, frozen beans, or canned green beans with my recipe!
Simple to make Air Fryer Green Beans are the perfect vegetable side dish for any occasion, holiday dinner, or weeknight meal. Heck, I love them just to snack on them! Plus, it’s a great way to enjoy a healthy, yet tasty green beans recipe in no time!
Recipes like my Air Fryer Mozzarella Bites and Air Fryer Crispy Tortellini are great for when you want a family pleasing dish. I love the air fryer for fun and healthy foods, and this is one of my Air Fryer Recipes you’ll want in your recipe box!
We appreciate your support
Please let me know if you have any questions about this recipe. I read all the comments myself and I try to help as soon as I can. I have readers from all levels of comfort and experience in the kitchen on my site, and I’ve tried to answer some of your questions already in the post. But if I’ve missed anything, please feel free to leave a comment and ask.
Benefits of the air fryer
I recently had a reader ask me, “Why this is a better way to cook them compared to other techniques, like flavour, energy used, speed, cleanup issues, etc. Or is it just an excuse to use an air fryer?”
I think most vegetables are tastier when roasted rather than steamed or boiled. Roasting brings out the deep nutty flavors and the caramelization of the veggies. These green beans come out crispy and crunchy with lovely golden browned bits. The air fryer is a small powerful oven with lots of airflow. It takes less energy to preheat and run than a regular oven. Cooking time is also reduced in an air fryer. Air fryers have fewer hot spots and cold spots than a large oven as well so the food is more evenly cooked.
There are several things that I will always pull out the air fryer for, one of those is these beans. Tater tots, salmon (or fish in general), corn on the cob, and baked potatoes are all things that I think are vastly better when I make them in the air fryer.
Cooking in the air fryer requires a fraction of the oil necessary for sautéing or frying vegetables. Making the air fryer a healthier option than cooking them on the stove. And, unlike boiling, air frying will not leach the vegetables of their nutrients.
If you’re looking for an oven version of this, check out my oven roasted Easy Roasted Green Beans with Mushrooms and Onions recipe.
Cleanup of the air fryer is easy as well. Let it cool, and give it a scrub with some dish soap. I’ve also started using parchment paper liners in the air fryer to make clean up even easier.
How to make
Learn how to cook green beans in the air fryer, plus serving suggestions, storage, and ways to gussy up your veggies. I have all the ingredients, amounts, times in the recipe card below. I have other great tips and information in the post.
For me, I like to eat these easy roasted green beans as a snack while I’m cooking other things; it helps to keep me from snacking on less healthy things while I cook, and it tastes great.
You’ll want to clean the green beans, then trim the ends and any stems off. You can leave the beans whole or chop them into smaller pieces. You can even look at the grocery store for already prepped beans in a bag for convenience.
One pound of green beans is 16 ounces (in case your package is labeled differently). A little more or a little less isn’t going to make a huge difference.
Just be careful not to crowd the Air Fryer basket too much or the veggies will steam, and won’t get as browned and crispy. You want a single layer for tender-crisp roasted air fryer green beans.
If you have a small air fryer, you may need to cook the green beans in two batches.
How long to air fry green beans at 400?
Small thin green beans should cook in 6-8 minutes. If you’re using large thick green beans, they may need a little longer to cook, about 8-10 minutes.
Be sure to check them for the level of browning that you like on your green beans.
Frozen Green Beans
I’ve had several readers ask if this recipe can be made with frozen green beans. So, I thought I’d do some testing to see if it works.
The short answer, yes, this recipe works just as written if you want to use frozen or fresh green beans. I do think that fresh green beans have a better texture and flavor than frozen ones, but if you have a bag of frozen green beans, by all means, yes, this will absolutely work.
No need to defrost the green beans either. Just pop the green beans straight from the freezer in the air fryer frozen, and they will defrost as they cook.
To test, I cooked two batches, one at 350° F, and one at 400° F. I wasn’t sure if the frozen beans would need a lower temperature because they would be a little softer already from being frozen.
The ones cooked at 400° were browned, a little more crunchy, and had a better flavor. Also, I like the idea that you don’t have to fuss around with changing the temperature on the air fryer like in some recipes.
Canned green beans
I’ve had some of you asking if the Air Fryer will work on canned green beans. So, back to the testing. But I’m happy to say that, yes, the air fryer seems to work wonderfully on just about any veggie!
Prep the can
I recipe tested with just one 14.5 ounce can of cut green beans.
Drain the liquid out of the 14.5 ounce can of green beans. After I drained the liquid, I weighed the green beans and found that I got about 8.5 ounces of beans from my can. About 8 ounces per can would mean that you would want 2 cans of green beans to make a pound of green beans, to follow the recipe card below.
results of canned tests
I preheated my air fryer, and cooked the beans at 400° F for 4 minutes, shaking halfway through the cooking. They’re heated through and plump, so you could totally stop cooking them here and they’re great.
I popped them back in for a total of 10 minutes, just like I cook the fresh and frozen ones, because I wondered if I could get them crispier and browned.
They came out great at 10 minutes! Nicely cooked, a little browned, and great flavor.
So, it’s really up to you! Green Beans are great in the air fryer: fresh, frozen, canned, all work so well! Of, course, I’m still very partial to fresh green beans, I think they have the best flavor and texture.
Can these be made ahead?
Green beans are great for prepping ahead! You can clean and cut them ahead of time. Up to a couple of days in advance!
Just pop the cut veggies into a ziptop bag or airtight container and into the fridge. Then, when you want to cook them, it’s just into the air fryer they go!
How to reheat?
If you have leftovers, store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. To reheat, pop them back in the air fryer at 350° F for 2-3 minutes. They can also be reheated in to microwave, but won’t get that crispy texture. I also like them cold from the fridge in a salad, or just on their own.
nutrition
I’ve had lots of readers ask about the carbs in green beans. The short answer here is that green beans are low carb, and can be keto. However, always follow the advice of your doctor or nutritionist. They are not a high protein food, but are a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.
Are green beans keto or low carb?
You’ll see on the recipe card that green beans do indeed have carbohydrates in them. All beans do. For half pound, they have about 16 grams of total carbs.
Let’s take a quick look at what ½ pound means. In general, one pound of whole green beans will make about 3 cups of trimmed and chopped green beans. So, half a pound will be about 1.5 cups. Many websites will talk about a serving of green beans being anywhere from ½ cup to 1 cup. For simplicity, and because I like green beans, the serving size on my recipe card is ½ pound.
It may surprise you after reading the carb amounts that they are in fact, keto. Since green beans also have a good amount of fiber, the carbs calculate out to a low net carb total.
net carbs
Net carbs are roughly calculated by taking the total carbs and subtracting out the fiber (as well as sugar alcohols and allulose, however most people don’t have access to these last numbers). And the carb amounts will change if you’re talking about fresh, cooked, or canned green beans.
I’ve seen nutrition calculators estimating 1 cup of green beans as follows:
- raw green beans: 7 total grams and 4.3 net grams carbs
- cooked: 10.1 total and 6.2 net
- canned: 6.6 total and 3.7 net
Green beans are high in nutrients, including folate, vitamin A, vitamin K, magnesium, and calcium, making them great veggies to add to your keto or low carb diet plan.
Want to lower the calorie content?
If you want to lower the calorie content even more, you can use a light spray of non-stick cooking spray instead of oil to cook the beans. Personally, I like the flavor that the oil gives the green beans, and don’t mind the small calorie content that the oil has. But, again, it’s an option.
Serving suggestions
This easy to make roasted green beans air fryer side dish is perfect for holiday meals like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter.
Serve this green beans recipe as a simple and classic side dish. Or toss them in a salad. Add them to pasta dishes. Serve them with Air Fryer Halibut Cheeks or Air Fryer Cedar Plank Salmon for an easy and healthy dinner!
variations to the recipe
You can toss in some sliced red onions and mushrooms as well (like I did for my oven version), or leave it as just the one veggie.
Sprinkle some Parmesan on the beans about halfway through cooking, or when they are done cooking for a lovely Parmesan cheese green bean. To make Garlic Parmesan Cheese Green Beans, use ½ cup shredded Parmesan and 1 tablespoon garlic powder. Toss the green beans in with the oil, then toss with the garlic and Parmesan. Follow the recipe card as directed.
Add some crumbled bacon if you’d like. Sprinkle on some soy sauce. Top with bread crumbs or Panko. Add a pat of butter. Fresh herbs and spices like parsley, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, and cumin are all great with green beans.
Squeeze of fresh lemon juice to finish them off.
Some other side dishes
Looking for some other great and simple veggie side dishes? Try Roasted Sweet Potatoes, Foil Roasted Onions, and Honey Roasted Broccoli for some of my favorites!
I think of the air fryer as a powerful little oven that makes great roasted vegetables like Air Fryer Ranch Carrots and Air Fryer Snap Peas.
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Recipe
Air Fryer Roasted Green Beans
Equipment
Ingredients
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400° F.
- Place green beans in a bowl, and drizzle oil over the top, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to coat.1 pound green beans, 1 teaspoon olive oil, ¼ teaspoon salt, sprinkle fresh ground black pepper
- Once the air fryer is hot, place the green beans in the air fryer basket. Cook 6-10 minutes, shaking basket halfway through cooking time. Check for doneness again a few times towards the end of cooking, and shake the basket each time you check, so that they are done evenly, and the browning that you like.
- Remove the roasted green beans, and serve topped with extra salt and pepper if you like.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations, and should be considered estimates. Actual nutritional content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Kathleen Pope
These were amazingly delicious and so simple in the air fryer!! Such great color, snap and flavor!
Michele
I really enjoyed these… Id made them in the air fryer before, but always took the time to parboil them first which was such a time add on (not to mention the hot air) I can’t believe how perfect these came out just using oil and going with it! THANKS for the new way (and the only way I’m going to make them in the future!)
Mendy
Can you use frozen skinny green beans?
Debi
Mendy, I haven’t tried using frozen beans in the Air Fryer, but I suspect they will work just fine. For skinny ones, I’d suggest checking on them early so they don’t overcook.
Cherry658
Thank you for this recipe. I was wondering about the canned green beans? I think since I have a bunch of those, I want to give it a try.
Debi
Cherry, I think canned green beans will be fine as well. I personally feel that canned green beans don’t have a great texture, so I avoid them. I really prefer fresh ones. I would go with the same time and temperature as listed in the recipe card and I think they will turn out great. I’d love to hear back if you try them.
A.B.
My air fryer doesn’t have a basket it has wire racks -it will still work the same with (I am just checking because I don’t use the air fryer very much and don’t try many new things- sorry for the dumb question)
Debi
A.B., not a dumb question at all. Yes, this recipe will still work in a wire rack style air fryer. I have one of those as well. Place the green beans on a tray that they won’t fall through. Mine has a mesh wire rack that came with it – if you have one of those that would be my first choice. If you don’t have that, a solid metal rack will work as well. Happy eating!
Michelle
These were delicious but why was it 16 g carbohydrates?
Debi
Michelle,
Most beans are considered to be a higher starch/carbohydrate vegetable. Green beans are an inexpensive source of healthy carbohydrates, protein, fiber, and micro nutrients. Nutrition varies based on how they are prepared or processed, but in general, this legume is a healthy addition to your diet.
Green beans are a good source of complex carbs. Starch provides the body with quick energy.
Keep in mind that the recipe calls for 1 pound, and makes 2 servings according to the recipe card. Now, you can obviously make it serve more or less. Take a look at other nutrition analysis, keeping an eye on the serving size and the amount of green beans they are analyzing, and you will see roughly the same numbers.
Here are a couple of other sites you may want to use to check analysis: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076 , https://nutritiondata.self.com/ . Weight watchers may also have one, and I know there are paid versions you can use. You can also consult a healthcare professional for more detailed information.
The nutrition information provided is approximate. Detailed analysis will depend on the specific foods you use as well as cooking methods.
Luminita
Hey, sorry if this is a dumb question…The frozen ones must be first defrozen before cooking them in the air fryer?
Debi
Luminita,
Not a dumb question at all. No, you don’t need to defrost them. They will defrost as they cook. Just pop them in frozen. And I’ll update the recipe with that info. Thanks!
Mary Ellen DiBello
These came out great! I used lemon olive oil & Italian seasonings. Will definitely be doing this again. Thank you.
Tionne
Turned out great.
Tammy
Loved it!
Sandy
Really enjoyed these beans but was hoping they would be crunchier. Will just cook longer next time. I used frozen whole beans. The seasoning was perfect.
Megan
Delicious!
Tanny
These were easy to make and so good! Perfect seasonig and the texture was great! I used fresh green beans
Tee
Great recipe, they were delicious!
Debi
Sandy, keep in mind that if you want really crunchy crisp green beans, fresh ones will give you a better texture than frozen ones. That’s why I recommend fresh in the post.