Air Fryer Green Beans (Extra Fine)

These Air Fryer Green Beans are an incredibly easy side dish ready in less than 10 minutes. These tasty extra fine green beans are the perfect accompaniment to so many different meals.

Why air fry green beans?

Green beans can sometimes be a little overlooked and more often than not just steamed or boiled. Although there is nothing wrong with that, these air fryer green beans are a nice little change.

I think air frying green beans is even easier than boiling them because you don’t have to wait for the water to come up to the boil. You then also don’t have to drain and dry the beans. Air frying green beans couldn’t be more simple!

I like my air fried green beans to be just cooked but not too soft and at the same time just starting to crisp without changing colour and charring.

which green beans to use

Green beans are also referred to as string beans, French beans or snap beans depending on where you are from.

I like to use extra fine green beans because I sometimes find the thicker version can taste a bit chalky and be a bit tough. But that is personal preference and you can of course use standard green beans and just cook them for a couple of minutes more.

Although I do like frozen extra fine green beans I wouldn’t recommend them for air frying. The extra moisture they have wouldn’t work well for this cooking method.

Adding additional flavour to the green beans

As with a lot of my air fryer vegetable recipes I have kept these green beans very simple in flavour with just a bit of sea salt.

This is great because they can then be added to a whole variety of different meals. However you can absolutely add additional flavours.

You could add some garlic granules as well as the salt for an extra burst of flavour. A squeeze of lemon juice before they cook and then a fine grating of lemon zest as you serve them adds a lovely freshness.

You could add some grated parmesan 1-2 minutes before they are cooked, but you might want to reduce the salt slightly as parmesan adds a delicious salty flavour.

For texture you could add some toasted almonds or pine nuts when you serve the beans.

do you need to preheat an air fryer?

That depends on your air fryer, some require preheating whilst others don’t. I have a Ninja Foodi 7-in-1 multicooker and a Ninja Foodi Flexdrawer and I have never preheated either.

If your air fryer does require preheating, check the green beans two minutes sooner than the recipe states. If your air fryer is warm, food is likely to cook a few minutes faster.

can you use an air fryer liner?

Air fryer liners are a great time saving addition because they are usually easier to wash than the basket of your air fryer.

Most reusable air fryer liners are silicone and although they are handy to have, I wouldn’t recommend using them for all recipes. For green beans you should be fine to use a liner, but they might take a little longer to cook.

I’ve written a whole post on whether you should use an air fryer liner, check it out for more information.

How to serve Air fryer Green beans

There are so many different ways you can serve these green beans, the options are nearly endless!

A classic way to serve them is as part of a roast dinner. They would make a fantastic addition to any roast including the following recipes:

• Air Fryer Roast Beef
• Air Fryer Gammon Joint
• Simple Air Fryer Whole Roast Chicken
• Air Fryer Sausage Meat Stuffing
• Simple Roast Potatoes
• Air Fryer Pigs in Blankets
• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Roasted Air Fryer Parsnips

I also like to serve them with comforting dishes like my slow cooker chicken casserole, beef & ale stew and pork & mustard stew.

storing & Reheating air fryer green beans

Once cooked these green beans will keep in an airtight container for up to three days in the fridge.

I don’t tend to make extra green beans to reheat later because they are so quick and easy to cook. However these green beans reheat really well, just reheat them for two minutes in the air fryer until piping hot again.

other recipes you might like

• Air Fryer Parmesan Tenderstem Broccoli
• Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts with Bacon
• Creamed Savoy Cabbage
• Air Fryer Roasted Vegetables
• Roasted Air Fryer Parsnips

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