Air Fryer Green Beans

Air fryer green beans are the ideal side dish when you need something fast and simple—and you don't have a ton of space in the oven or on the stovetop. Use the air fryer to turn fresh green beans into a delicious crisp-tender veggie side.

Whether for dinner on a busy weeknight or as a way to shake up the sides option at Thanksgiving, these air fryer green beans, given a dollop of flavor from ingredients like garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and hint of spice, are sure to be a new family favorite.

Learn how to make air fryer green beans. This method doesn't create the need for valuable stovetop real estate, and the flavorful results are hot and ready in just about 10 minutes.

How To Prep Green Beans

When creating this recipe, I used frozen green beans that had been already trimmed and cleaned. It made my job so much easier. If you're working with fresh green beans, begin by trimming off the ends and tossing those strings. Usually I just snap them right off with my fingers. It saves time and is rather cathartic, but otherwise, it’s easy to do with a knife or small pair of scissors.

Do I Need To Soak My Green Beans?

This is probably something your grandma told you as a kid, but it’s not actually true, and not necessary at all. You’ll just want to rinse freshly picked beans to get rid of any dirt. If cooking from frozen, you can skip that step entirely.

After rinsing the green beans, you’ll want to gently pat them dry—not so aggressively as to break the beans, of course, but just to make sure excess water doesn’t get in the way of that luscious marinade you are about to enjoy.

Ingredients for Air Fryer Green Beans

The bulk of the ingredient list for these green beans is in the marinade. Besides those things, you just need green beans. Here's what to gather:

• Green beans: You can make these with fresh or frozen green beans.
• Sesame oil: This helps keep the green beans hydrated during the air frying process, but it also lends a delicate nutty flavor.
• Soy sauce: A quick hit of salt and umami.
• Chili crunch or sriracha: A little heat is a great way to jazz up basic green beans. If anyone at the table is sensitive, you can leave this out.
• Garlic: Or garlic powder, whichever you prefer. It adds great savory flavor.
• Freshly grated ginger: Frozen ginger cubes are great in a pinch.
• Brown sugar: Balances the tangy, sour flavors of the rest of the marinade.
• Cornstarch: Helps thicken the marinade so it will adhere to the green beans.
• Sesame seeds: For garnish, but you can skip these if you want.

Tips for the Best Air Fryer Green Beans

You’re going to want to make sure the green beans go in the air fryer in a single layer. This is essential for even cooking.

I did try this recipe both straight in the basket in a layer in the air fryer and also in a small aluminum pan place in the air fryer—I was curious to see if cooking results and time would be the same. They were, but the pan offered additional benefits: less of that marinade dripping below the basket and way faster cleanup.

Variations for Air Fryer Green Beans

This recipe is very similar to the marinade recipe you may use if making an Asian stir-fry; calls for soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sesame oil, a bit of cornstarch and brown sugar and a touch of spice. I tried this recipe with both chili crunch and sriracha, and both imparted a great hit of heat.

This is a fun recipe in that you can adapt to whatever you prefer. Perhaps you like a different form of spice, such as sambal or gochujang, which could give the green beans another flavor element, but you can also hit it with lime for citrus and acid or a hoisin sauce rather than soy for added dimension of sweetness. This is really something you can have fun with.

Ways To Eat Air Fryer Green Beans

You’re going to want to cook these green beans and serve immediately. That’s when they will be at their hottest and most crisp. They’ll never taste better than that.

Serve them with meals like a turkey breast, roast chicken, or perhaps pork chops or steaks. They add a pop of color and freshness to all those meat-heavy meals.

How To Store Leftover Air Fryer Green Beans

Once the air fryer green beans have been enjoyed and have cooled, the leftovers can be stored for another day. Just put them in an airtight container in the refrigerator, and they’ll be good for at least two days. If you want to buy a little more time, they can also be frozen in a freezer-safe bag or container.

When you are ready to reheat, you can toss them back in the air fryer for a few minutes. You don’t want to overcook them and end up burning them, but the air fryer is a great way to maintain (and return!) some of that that tender-crisp texture.