Green Beans Almondine with Pomegranate Seeds
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Green Beans Almondine is a traditional French dish of green beans served with a buttery almond topping that makes a perfect holiday side dish. Pomegranate seeds take it over the top!
When it comes to holiday meals, the turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes get all the love. But having a bright green side on the the table next to all the shades of off-white and brown brings it all together.
It’s like that pop of color that takes your outfit of classy neutrals from blah to wow. For years, this Green Beans Almondine dish has been one of my contributions to our family gatherings, and now we wouldn't celebrate without it.
Why Make This Recipe
- This dish is delicious while still being one of the healthier items on the holiday table! Serve it as part of your spread, and you’ll feel better about that second helping of mashers.
- Served on a platter, Green Beans Almondine is appealing on its own, but adding pomegranate seeds make this stunning!
- Easy to make-ahead and just assemble when it's time to eat. See below for how!
🥗 Ingredients
- Green Beans: I'm using regular green beans in this recipe, but you can also use French-style green beans. These beans are usually much skinnier and sometimes shorter than traditional green beans. You can often find them prepackaged in the produce section of the grocery store, often pre-trimmed as well. They are beautiful in this dish, though they need only 1-2 minutes of cooking time in boiling water.
- Pomegranate Seeds: These seeds provide a brilliant pop of color, texture, and flavor to the dish, but you can leave them out if you can't find them. Also, prepacked pomegranate seeds are expensive! See my tip below for de-seeding a pomegranate yourself. Much more cost-effective (and fresh!) that way.
🥣 Instructions
First, set a large pot of salted water to boil on the stove. Trim the stems of 1 pound (450g) of green beans. I like to leave the tails intact, though some people prefer to cut those off as well.
When water comes to a boil, add the green beans and boil for 5-6 minutes, until they are bright green and just barely crisp-tender. Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
Make sure the green beans are well drained (pat dry with a clean kitchen towel if they are not), and transfer to a large bowl. Toss with olive oil, salt, and pepper.
Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet and add ½ cup slivered or sliced almonds and minced garlic. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until almonds and garlic are toasted golden brown (2-4 minutes).
Add to bowl with green beans and toss. Garnish with ⅓ cup of pomegranate seeds to serve.
🧐 FAQs
Yes. Green Beans Almondine (or Amandine, in proper French) is a classic French dish in which green beans are served with almonds. Amandine refers to the almond topping, which can consist of toasted whole, sliced, or slivered almonds. Truite Amandine (Trout with Almonds) is another classic French Amandine dish.
Yes! I often make these beans in advance of a holiday meal. Boil the green beans, but have a bowl of ice water ready. When the beans are done, drain them, and then pop them into the bowl of ice water.
This will stop the cooking process immediately and cool the beans off. When the beans are cold, drain again, and then put into the refrigerator. (This can be done 24 hours in advance.)
You can also make the almond/garlic topping in advance, place in a small bowl, and cover. I would make this a few hours in advance and leave on the counter until you’re ready.
To assemble the dish, warm up the almond topping in the microwave, and toss with the green beans, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garnish with pomegranate seeds as above.
👩🍳 Expert Tips
The Best Way to Trim Green Beans
The fastest way to trim fresh green beans is to stack a large handful of them together, with the stem ends all next to each other on a cutting board. Then use your knife to cut all of them off at once.
If you cut a little more or a little less off of each bean, so be it. You'll find this cuts (pun intended!) your prep time down considerably. I usually leave the tail ends on because I think they look pretty on the plate.
If you prefer to cut them off, just turn the beans the other way, line up the tail ends, and chop.
The Best Way to De-Seed a Pomegranate
De-seeding a pomegranate can be difficult (and messy!). The best way I have found is to fill a large bowl with water and put it in the sink. Then cut the pomegranate in half and put both halves into the bowl.
Using your fingers, break apart each pomegranate half and delicately separate the seeds from the whitish membrane. The pieces of membrane will float so you can skim those off the water while the seeds float to the bottom.
When you’re done, discard the pomegranate rind and pieces of membrane. Drain the seeds, and there you go!
How to Keep Green Beans Green after Cooking
The key to keeping green beans green is not overcooking them. Also, not dressing them in advance, especially if you are using something acidic in your dressing, like lemon juice.
To make green beans in advance, see my notes above—stopping the cooking process with an ice bath is key. If you’re making your green bean recipe “à la minute” or just in time for dinner, you won’t need to worry about your green beans turning brown if you have not overcooked them and not dressed them before serving.
Other Delicious Holiday Sides
If you enjoyed this Green Bean Almondine recipe, you might be looking for some other holiday side dish recipes to go with it. Try this Crockpot Stuffing with cranberries and pecans. You might also like this Roasted Cauliflower with Tahini Yogurt Sauce or these Balsamic Roasted Carrots and Beets. Or check out some of my other favorite holiday side dish recipes:
More Holiday Menu Ideas
To start the meal, might I recommend Baked Brie with Fig Jam, alongside one of the appetizers in this What to Serve with Baked Brie post?
And of course you need a cocktail to go with it. Try this Cranberry Mimosa?
These Pan-Seared Filet Mignon Steaks with Red Wine Sauce, Maryland Crab Cakes, or French Shepherd's Pie would make a delicious main course. You could also use some extra pomegranate seeds to make this Pomegranate Salmon.
And how about some Chocolate Bark with Almonds and Pumpkin Seeds or a Biscoff Cheesecake for dessert? Or, try this Butternut Squash Pie that tastes amazingly like pumpkin pie (and maybe even better)! This streusel-topped sweet potato pie is also on my holiday must-make list.
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a comment below—I read them all, and your feedback is invaluable to me.
And please follow along on Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook or subscribe to my newsletter. I'd love to inspire you with more delicious, healthy, and seasonal recipes!
📖 Recipe
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Green Beans Almondine with Pomegranate Seeds
Ingredients
- 1 pound green beans
- 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter
- ½ cup sliced or slivered almonds
- 1 clove garlic minced
- ⅓ cup pomegranate seeds
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
- Trim the stems of the green beans, leaving the tails intact.
- When water comes to a boil, add the green beans and boil for 5-6 minutes, until they are bright green and just barely crisp-tender.
- Drain and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process.
- Make sure the green beans are well drained (pat dry with a clean dish towel if they are not), and transfer to a large bowl.
- Toss with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper.
- Meanwhile, melt butter in a small skillet and add the almonds and garlic.
- Cook over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, until almonds and garlic are toasted golden brown, about 2-3 minutes.
- Add to bowl with green beans and toss.
- Garnish with pomegranate seeds to serve.
Notes
- To make this dish in advance: Boil the green beans, but have a bowl of ice water ready. When the beans are done, drain them, and then pop them into the bowl of ice water. This will stop the cooking process immediately and cool the beans off. When the beans are cold, drain again, and then put into the refrigerator. Now, make the almond/garlic topping, place in a small bowl, and cover. To assemble the dish, warm up the almond topping in the microwave, and toss with the green beans, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Garnish with pomegranate seeds as above.
- Leftovers of this dish will last in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, though the almond slices do tend to lose their crunch after refrigeration.
- Cooking tip: Pay attention to the size of your green beans. If you have very thin French green beans, they will only need 1-2 minutes in the boiling water.
Nutrition
Instagram Users: Now that you've made this recipe, tag me @vanillabeancuisine or #vanillabeancuisine because I'd love to see your results!
More About Molly
Cooking healthy(ish) meals with seasonal ingredients is my passion. Trained as a French pastry chef, I spent over 10 years as a personal chef. Here you'll find well-tested recipes that you and your family will love!
I added alittle bacon and toasted some sesame seeds with the almonds and garlic and added them no left overs every body wanted the recipe very good. hubby even asks me to make it from time to time and he is picky
Thanks so much for letting me know! Love your additions of bacon and sesame seeds!
I made this dish for Thanksgiving. I bought already trimmed beans in a 2 pound bag. I was going to blanch them and was ready to fill a big pot with water, when I read the directions on the bag. It said Pierce with a fork and microwave for seven minutes. So I did that. And when I opened the bag, they were crunchy and white green and I didn’t have to fill a big pot with water and make a mess. I seated my own pomegranate just as you had suggested, and it was very easy and quite fun to do! I am waiting to take this dish to my family dinner and hope to get many compliments on it. It looks delicious and it tastes delicious.
Lovely! Yes, even easier with those steam-in-bag green beans!
So glad to have found this recipe! I made it for my family gathering and it was a hit. It was a simple and elegant side dish, and healthy! This is a keeper recipe that I will make again and again. Thank you!
This is a family favorite for us too! So glad you enjoyed it.
Not only were these beans tasty, they were so pretty, too! A real table pleaser!
I've always wanted to make this dish - so glad I found your recipe to follow! Simple, straightforward, and spot on for this traditional French dish. Loved it!
Yes, surprisingly easy and so delicious!
This is such a great flavor combo. We loved it!
This recipe is really amazing! Perfect for any occasion! Thanks a bunch for this very tasty recipe! Will surely have this again! Highly recommended!
These pomegranate green beans are delicious. I made this last Sunday alongside a roast and dinner was fantastic.
Yes, these elevate almost any meal! Glad you enjoyed.
Surprisingly, I saw pomegranates at my store yesterday! They don’t often bring anything in that is “exotic,” so I should have grabbed a couple. I’ll be going back soon enough. Green beans usually take place on Thanksgiving, and your presentation is beautiful.
Thanks! Definitely pick up those pomegranates next time! I love the seeds on a dish like this.
I definitely always need a dish of greens on my table, and this looks divine - so festive! I love pomegranate seeds - they're so beautiful!
Me too! Pomegranate seeds are so festive!