How to Cook Fresh Green Beans in the Air Fryer

Can you air fry fresh green beans?

I love to use my air fryer to make quick and easy side dishes. Air fryer green beans are a simple, tasty, and healthy side dish that you can make in minutes thanks to your air fryer. This green bean recipe is the perfect side for any dinner, but especially for an Easter, Christmas, or Thanksgiving dinner!

Keep reading to learn about the best way to make green beans in the air fryer! Then learn a few variations of this tasty recipe.

This recipe is so simple. You can have green beans from the air fryer ready in less than half an hour. Just be sure to follow these quick and easy air fryer steps.

Ingredients and Supplies for Air Fryer Fresh Green Bean

Ingredients:

• Fresh green beans
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Oil

Supplies: 

• Oil sprayer
• Air fryer

How to cook a lot of French green beans?

If you are worried that you may be overloading the air fryer to where you cannot cook the beans in a single layer then you will need to cook them in batches.

When the basket gets too crowded you may end up with more of a crunchy texture than you might enjoy.

Seasonings to use for air-fried green beans:

Pick and choose which you’d like to sprinkle on and save the rest for another time.

1. Lemon juice
2. Lemon pepper seasoning
3. Salt
4. Pepper
5. Chili powder (use this for a bit of a kick!)
6. Himalayan pink salt, black pepper, and garlic (a favorite)

How to cook Air Fryer Fresh Green Beans

Step1: Cut, wash, and soak the green beans

Place the green beans on a cutting board and cut of the ends or any other gross parts of the green beans. Wash the green beans with water. Then soak the green beans for several minutes in water.

Step 2: Dry the green beans in the air fryer basket

I love to use my air fryer to dry the green beans. Drain the green beans and place the green beans in the air fryer basket and cook for about 5 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. This will dry the green beans and do a little pre-cooking so that the green beans will be nice and tender when you are all done.

Step 3: Spray the green beans with oil

When I make green beans or any vegetable for that matter I like to spray the vegetables with a little oil. This helps cook it to tender and crispy.

Spray the dried green beans with a little oil and season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Step 4: Cook the green beans

Cook the green beans in the air fryer for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit or 175 degrees Celsius. Cook the green beans until they are tender to your liking.

Bonus tip: get more crispy green beans

If you want your cooked green beans to be more crispy, spritz them with an additional bit of oil and cook for a minute or two at 400˚F or 204˚C, or until they reach your desired crispiness.

What type of oil should I use?

I love to use avocado oil in my Mistifi oil sprayer. However, you can use any oil that has a smoke point. For example, you can also use olive oil (extra virgin olive oil or light olive oil), sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, almond oil, corn oil, or canola oil.

Of course the oil you choose may change the flavor profile of your beans. That is why I normally like to use avocado oil because it doesn’t have a strong flavor. But when I want something a little more richer, then I might use olive oil.

Can I make air fryer green beans without oil?

Even though oil helps make the green beans crispy, you can make this recipe without oil. Follow this recipe, omitting the oil, and cook until they reach your desired tenderness.

Air fryer green bean variation recipes

Check out these fun recipes and variations that you can do with green beans and your air fryer!

Parmesan green beans

Wash and prepare your green beans like normal. Dip and cover the green beans in an egg wash. Then, cover the green beans in a mixture of 1/4-1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese (grated or shredded), 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder, 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper (each). Then cook the green beans in the air fryer for 5 minutes or until done at 380˚F/193˚C. (Recipe adapted from DomesticSuperHero.com)

Green Bean Casserole

I usually make this recipe with a can of green beans. But you could also use fresh green beans. Either steam them before adding the casserole ingredients. Or cook them in the air fryer until just tender. To make a green bean casserole, you will need:

• 1 can of cream of mushroom soup
• 1/4 cup of milk
• 1 teaspoon soy sauce
• 2 cans of greens beans (or 4 cups/1.5 pounds fresh green beans)
• 2/3 cup French fried onions plus 1-2 cups more for topping

To make this recipe, whisk together the soup, milk, and soy sauce until combined in a bowl. Then add the green beans and the onions until combined. Place the casserole in an air fryer safe dish and cook at 350˚F/176˚C for 10 minutes. During the last 2 minutes, cover the casserole with a cup or so of French fried onions and finish cooking. (Watch me make this recipe in this YouTube video).

Final Thoughts

I love how quick and easy this recipe is! It is the perfect side to just about any meal, but we love to serve this one during Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. It is one thing my kids look forward to every year. Share with us in the comments below how you like to serve green beans!

More air fryer side dish recipes

• the Best Air Fryer Peppers and Onions
• Air Fryer Eggplant Parmesan Bites
• Crispy Sweet Potato Fries in the Air Fryer
• Air Fryer Garlic Rolls
• Air Fryer Zucchini Fries are Healthy and Fast

Air fryer tips and tricks

• Air Fryer 101
• Learn these common Air Fryer Mistakes!
• All about the Best and Worst Air Fryer Accessories
• How to Clean Your Air Fryer
• How to Cook Any Recipe in the Air Fryer

The Best Crispy Air Fryer Green Beans

Fresh green beans are one of the best vegetables to cook in the air fryer. Follow these air fryer green beans recipes for the best tips.

4.50 / 5 ( 4 Reviews )

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 10 minutes minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes minutes

Serves: 4

Adjust Servings: 4

US CustomaryMetric

Equipment

• Air Fryer
• Oil sprayer

Ingredients

• 1 pound fresh green beans
• avocado oil to taste
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

• Chop off the ends of the green beans.
• Wash the green beans with water. Then let the green beans soak in water for a couple of minutes.
• Dry the green beans in the air fryer basket for about 5 minutes at 350 °F.
• Spray with avocado oil and toss the green beans in the air fryer basket. Salt and pepper to taste.
• Cook for 5-10 minutes more at 350 °F, until tender and crispy to your liking.

Recipe Notes

If you want your green beans to be more crispy, spritz them with an additional bit of oil and cook for a minute or two at 400˚F/204˚C, or until they reach your desired crispiness.  

Nutrition

Calories: 35kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 7mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 4g

Keep up to date on our newest air fryer recipes!

Follow Fabulessly Frugal on Instagram | Facebook | Pinterest | YouTube