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Make these spicy green beans crunchy and delicious with this quick one-skillet recipe that hits the spot any night of the week.

Perfect Spicy Green Beans
The beauty of spicy veggies as a side dish is that they pair with the simplest of main foods like plain-old chicken breasts. These spicy green beans are crunchy, delicious, and flavorful. Talk about the perfect trio!
This recipe, IMO, has the perfect amount of heat that's a great "happy-go-lucky" for anyone to try. If you like them spicier, you can easily adjust, but even with my family, I serve them as is!

Ingredients
You’ll find the ingredient amounts in the printable recipe card, but first, check what you need to turn green beans into a spicy side everyone will devour:
- Fresh green beans: buy these fresh from the store, or pick them from your garden during the summer months.
- Butter: you can use salted or unsalted butter.
- Cloves of garlic: minced garlic adds great flavor.
- Red pepper flakes or Sriracha: either is fine, so pick your favorite.
- Salt and pepper: to taste.
- Water: to steam the green beans.
Sriracha Green Beans
Since Sriracha is a liquid, it's a simple coating that will melt and cover the green beans well, coating all of them so that they all have that delicious spicy flavor throughout and not just when you find a red pepper flake.
A little bit goes a long way in terms of spice, and you can always add a little more if needed; just remember you can't take away the heat.
How to Spice Up Green Beans
All you need to do is gather up the ingredients listed above, grab your skillet, and start cooking. It couldn’t be easier! Here are the simple steps:
- Heat the skillet
Heat up a large skillet, melt the butter, and sauté the garlic until fragrant. - Add veggies and seasonings
Add the green beans to the pan, red pepper flakes or Sriracha, salt, and pepper. Add the water and cover the pan immediately. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally. - Serve
Now that the spicy green beans are ready, it’s time to eat!
What Goes Well with Spicy Green Beans
You can easily pair up any main dish with these spicy green beans. Some of my favorites are Creamy Garlic Chicken Pasta and Pork Carnitas Tacos in the Slow Cooker.
If you love anything between two slices of bread, you’re going to love to serve this side with this Sausage and Pepper Sandwich or these Healthy Turkey Burgers. Want to keep it simple? Fry up some eggs and serve them over rice with these green beans. They go great with everything!
Simple Spicy Green Beans

Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes , or 2 teaspoons Sriracha
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- ¼ cup water
Instructions
- Heat up a large skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, melt the butter. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds, until fragrant.
- Add the green beans to the pan, red pepper flakes or Sriracha, salt, and pepper. Stir to distribute. Add the water to the pan and cover it immediately. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, opening up the cover to stir occasionally.
- Once the green beans are ready, remove the lid, and serve immediately.







Ned says
The spiciness of the red pepper flakes were so on point with these beans. Perfect flavor! I will be making these again for family dinner. Thank you!
Gianne says
The heat from the red pepper flakes was just right and the garlic added a nice depth of flavor. Definitely a new favorite side dish!
kushi says
These spicy green beans are simple and easy to make. Thanks for sharing.
DK says
My whole family loves these spicy green beans! We used a mix of sriracha and chili oil to make it even spicier!
suja md says
Very healthy recipe, Thank you for this