Creamy lemon green beans

Creamy lemon green beans

1
2
3
4
5
4.6
14 Ratings
Not enough ratings
Green beans, meet lemon and cream. Ahh, we knew this combo would be perfect together. Pair this workhouse of an almost-keto side with all of your meat and fish faves!
February 2 2017 by , photo by , nutritional review by in Recipes, Side dish

Creamy lemon green beans

1
2
3
4
5
4.6
14 Ratings
Not enough ratings
Green beans, meet lemon and cream. Ahh, we knew this combo would be perfect together. Pair this workhouse of an almost-keto side with all of your meat and fish faves!
USMetric
4 servingservings

Ingredients

  • 10 oz. 280 g fresh green beans
  • 3 oz. 85 g butter or olive oil
  • ½ tsp ½ tsp sea salt
  • ¼ tsp ¼ tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 cup 240 ml heavy whipping cream
  • ½ ½ lemon, the zestlemons, the zest
  • ½ cup (¼ oz.) 120 ml (8 g) fresh parsley (optional)
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Instructions

Instructions are for 4 servings. Please modify as needed.

  1. Trim and rinse the green beans.
  2. Heat butter or oil in a frying pan.
  3. Sauté the beans for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat until they begin to brown. Lower the heat towards the end. Salt and pepper to taste.
  4. Add heavy cream and let simmer for 1-2 minutes. Grate the lemon zest finely and sprinkle on top of the green beans before serving. (Or, you can use a knife to cut very thin strips of zest—yellow part only—and add to the dish.)
  5. Add finely chopped parsley before serving.

Tip!

This dish is great with fresh, thin green beans, but you can also use frozen. Just make sure they are properly thawed, or the frying pan will cool down and they will taste more boiled than fried. You can also use yellow beans. Or wax beans. Delicious!

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19 comments

  1. 1
    Sandra
    March 15 2017
    This recipe says "Heat the oil in a frying pan" but the ingredients list only contains butter. Could this please be corrected? Thanks!
    Reply: #6
  2. 2
    Jess
    May 16 2018
    Why is this only 'almost keto' and yellow when it only has 5g net carbs? Could someone explain this traffic light system!
    Reply: #4
  3. 3
    Jess
    May 16 2018
    especially given that the zucchini fries etc have 8g and are supposedly keto?
  4. 4
    Reply to comment #2 by Jess
    Josh
    May 16 2018
    I came to the comments checking for answers but all I found was more confusion.

    This recipe is definitely keto in my books however do note that green beans are a bit sweeter than zucchini.

  5. 5
    kristie
    April 16 2019
    when it says heavy whipping cream do you mean like a redi whip..or the pasteurized heavy cream?
    Reply: #7
  6. 6
    Reply to comment #1 by Sandra
    kristie
    April 16 2019
    its states butter or oil.. in ingredients and instructions.
  7. 7
    Reply to comment #5 by kristie
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    April 18 2019

    when it says heavy whipping cream do you mean like a redi whip..or the pasteurized heavy cream?

    The still liquid heavy cream/heavy whipping cream.

  8. 8
    Kayte
    May 22 2019
    I'm also wondering why this is almost keto?
  9. 9
    Michele
    May 25 2019
    This recipe came out good. Not sure what all the confusion is about. The recipe says olive oil or butter. Heavy whipping cream is whipping cream, not whipped cream or cool whip.
  10. 10
    Rebecca S Congdon
    August 18 2019
    Is the lemon zest alone enough to impart a lemon flavor?
    Reply: #11
  11. 11
    Reply to comment #10 by Rebecca S Congdon
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    August 20 2019

    Is the lemon zest alone enough to impart a lemon flavor?

    If you find that it's not enough lemon flavor for your tastes, you can always squeeze from fresh lemon juice from the lemon you just zested.

  12. 12
    Jane R
    September 13 2019
    Please can you explain where the yellow colour comes from in the photograph? It looks as if cheese has been added. When I cooked this it came out nothing like your photo.
    Also, cooking for three or four minutes left the (thin) beans virtually raw. Is this what was intended? I usually love your recipes but a couple of the ‘sides’ (eg butter-roasted cauliflower) have been so undercooked I doubled the cooking time.
    Reply: #13
  13. 13
    Reply to comment #12 by Jane R
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    September 13 2019

    Please can you explain where the yellow colour comes from in the photograph? It looks as if cheese has been added. When I cooked this it came out nothing like your photo.
    Also, cooking for three or four minutes left the (thin) beans virtually raw. Is this what was intended? I usually love your recipes but a couple of the ‘sides’ (eg butter-roasted cauliflower) have been so undercooked I doubled the cooking time.

    The yellow comes from the lemon zest.

    In order for a recipe or meal to get the green keto circle, it needs to be very low carb, moderate protein and high fat. This recipe has very little protein, so it's not keto on its own. Add a steak or pork chop and you'll have a well rounded keto meal.

  14. 14
    Isobel
    September 12 2020
    Can I use frozen green beans?
    Reply: #15
  15. 15
    Reply to comment #14 by Isobel
    Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor
    September 12 2020

    Can I use frozen green beans?

    Sure!

  16. 16
    Katrin
    November 16 2020
    Made it this weekend. It came out like on the the photo and was really delicious. Will also try it with other veggies...
    Reply: #17
  17. 17
    Reply to comment #16 by Katrin
    Kristin Parker Team Diet Doctor
    November 16 2020

    Made it this weekend. It came out like on the the photo and was really delicious. Will also try it with other veggies...

    I'm glad you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for taking the time to let us know.

  18. 18
    Reeny
    January 11 2023
    The cream curdled when I added it despite being on low medium head, disaster it had to all be binned. Horrible.
    Reply: #19
  19. 19
    Reply to comment #18 by Reeny
    Kerry Merritt Team Diet Doctor
    January 11 2023

    The cream curdled when I added it despite being on low medium head, disaster it had to all be binned. Horrible.

    So sorry it didn't work well for you, Reeny! A lower heat should work better if you decide to try again.

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Ratings

5
71%
4
21%
3
0%
2
7%
1
0%
4.6
1
2
3
4
5
14 Ratings

Ratings

5
71%
4
21%
3
0%
2
7%
1
0%
4.6
1
2
3
4
5
14 Ratings