The air fryer is a wonderful tool for roasting vegetables quickly. One of my favorites to cook in there is green beans. They come out softened and lightly caramelized in just 8 minutes. Sooo good!
I like my green beans to be just lightly browned so 8 minutes is perfect. But, if you like them even browner, you can put them in for a bit longer. If you’ve been on the fence about getting an air fryer, don’t wait any longer. It will change your life. Here’s the one I have. Now let’s get going with those green beans!
Video: How To Air Fry Vegetables
Preheat The Air Fryer
Get the air fryer preheating to 400°F. It doesn’t take long to preheat, but note you’ll likely be ready to add your beans to the air fryer before it’s done preheating. That’s totally fine. Get those beans in there as quickly as you can so you can move onto something else.
What Kind Of Green Beans Should You Use?
I use the green beans that come already trimmed in a sealed bag. However, they are sometimes a bit brown at the edges so make sure you get a bag with a good date on it.
The alternative is to buy them loose at the store. Then you need to trim both ends off, or at least the stem end. I find that to be a tedious job but it’s not that bad.
Prepare The Green Beans
Put the beans into a bowl and toss them with 1-2 teaspoons of cooking oil, ¼ teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon of pepper.
Note that you could do this right in the air fryer basket instead of dirtying a bowl. However, I find that some of the oil and seasoning drops straight through the holes in the basket when I add it directly to the basket. Using a bowl ensures more of it adheres to the beans. But this is really not a huge deal. I’m just a perfectionist sometimes.
How To Cook Green Beans In The Air Fryer
Transfer the green beans to the basket of your air fryer. Toss them around a bit to get them into a single layer, or as much of a single layer as you can.
Slide the basket into the fryer. Cook for 5 minutes. No need to toss them or anything until then.
After 5 minutes the green beans will be fully cooked (use a fork to poke through one to make sure it’s soft all the way through). They’ll also be slightly browned, like in this picture:
If you want them browner and a bit crisp you can put them in for 3-4 minutes more. The sweet spot for me is 8 minutes, and then they look like this:
Transfer the green beans from the basket of the air fryer to a serving plate. Eat!
More Air Fryer Veggie Recipes
If you love these green beans, take them up a notch with Air Fryer Green Bean Fries. Or try one of these other veggie side dishes.
Air Fryer Green Beans Recipe
The air fryer is a wonderful tool for roasting vegetables quickly. One of my favorites to cook in there is green beans. They come out softened and lightly caramelized in just 8 minutes. Sooo good!
- Prep Time: 2 Minutes
- Cook Time: 8 Minutes
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4 Servings 1x
- Category: Side Dish
- Method: Air Fryer
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 12 ounces green beans, trimmed
- 1–2 tsp. cooking oil*
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the air fryer to 400°F.
- Put the green beans in a medium bowl. Add the oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat.
- Transfer beans to the basket of the air fryer, even if it isn’t done preheating.
- Shake to arrange in a single layer as much as possible. Some overlap is fine.
- Put air fryer basket into air fryer and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Test a green bean by poking a fork through it. It should enter easily. If so, they’re done. You can serve them or let them brown for another 2-4 minutes before serving.
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Notes
*They will taste and crisp up better with 2 teaspoons but will be great with 1 teaspoon. Up to you!