These easy grilled green beans combine the perfect smoky char flavor with a tender bite . Tossed in a simple garlic soy sauce, they make a great side dish to almost any summer meal. Serves a family of 4 and ready in just about 15 minutes!

Grilled green beans with lemon on a plate.
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Fully grilled meals are like the sheet pan dinners of summer.

Aka – the absolute best.

Clean up is a breeze, the kitchen stays practically unused and everything takes on a subtle smoky undertone from the grill.

It’s summer epitomized.

As no stranger to grilling vegetables (love me some grilled artichokes or grilled baby bok choy), grilled green beans needed to be documented here.

They’re the perfect summer side dish to an all-grilled meal.

Freshly washed and trimmed green beans on a kitchen towel.

Green beans bring back vivid summer memories as a kid.

We’d pick them from the garden, throw them in a colander and bring them inside to then be tasked with snapping off the ends.

A food prep chore I much preferred to shucking corn.

They’re basically the bean of summer.

And while my mom never grilled them, instead parboiling then sautéing with some olive oil, lemon and finishing with fresh parsley (a method I do still enjoy), it’s become my preferred way to enjoy summer green beans.

If you’ve roasted green beans in the oven before and love how they sort of crisp up and almost become like a green bean fry, I think you’ll really enjoy grilled green beans as well.

Grilling results in a tender cooked bite with a whisper of smoky flavor and of course, a few char marks on each bean.

The tamari sauce used to season caramelizes as it cooks on the grill to provide just a touch of salty sweetness and the fresh lemon slices for serving brighten everything up, reawakening the freshness of the bean.

Grilled green beans become a vegetable that can complement almost any dish and their ease of preparation couldn’t be simpler.

You can also make this exact recipe with wax beans instead of green beans. They’re the yellow looking green bean which are essentially the same thing (minus the color) and also in season during mid to late summer.

Green beans with garlic powder, salt and pepper in a metal bowl with tongs.

INGREDIENTS FOR GRILLED GREEN BEANS

Seasoning options are practically endless for vegetables so feel free to go in whichever direction you like with these.

I do however love this easy tamari garlic approach as they’re ingredients I always have on hand and pair incredibly well together.

  • 1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
  • avocado oil
  • tamari sauce
  • garlic powder
  • Kosher salt
  • black pepper

The avocado oil can be substituted with another high smoke point oil if preferred.

While I love using extra virgin olive oil when sautéing or finishing a dish, I never use it on anything going on the grill.

Tamari is gluten-free soy sauce. If you prefer soy sauce, it can be used in its place.

Coconut aminos are basically a soy-free alternative that tastes almost identical to soy sauce or tamari and can be swapped out as well.

Green beans with avocado oil, tamari, garlic powder, salt and pepper in a metal bowl.

HOW TO COOK GREEN BEANS ON THE GRILL

PREP THE BEANS:

For fresh garden beans, this will mean trimming the edges by either snapping them off with your hands or aligning the beans on a cutting board and chopping off the ends.

If purchasing store bought green beans, many times they’re already washed and trimmed so you can skip this step.

SEASONING:

Place the washed and trimmed beans in a large bowl.

Drizzle the avocado oil and tamari sauce on top then season with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Toss until all the green beans are well coated in the seasoning mixture.

GRILLING THE BEANS

Preheat an outdoor grill to medium heat, about 375-400°F.

There are two options for grilling the beans:

  • using grill mats (like I do)
  • grilling directly on the grates.

While grilling directly on the grates will get better looking grill marks, I find it to be quite tedious to ensure the beans don’t fall through the grates when cooking.

Grill mats are honestly the best grilling accessory ever created in my opinion. They allow for such an easy grilling experience and I use them for almost every single vegetable I grill.

Recipes I’ve created on the grill thanks to grill mats include these grilled bay scallops with summer vegetables and these grilled pork chops with grapes and fennel.

I highly recommend getting a few mats if you don’t have some already!

If using the grill mats, place them on top of the grates then spread the seasoned green beans out in a single layer.

If braving the direct grate method, carefully arrange the beans on the grill in a perpendicular direction to the grates.

Grill the beans for 10-12 minutes, tossing them often so they cook and char evenly on all sides.

The beans should be cooked through and tender but still retain a bit of bite when finished grilling.

Appearance wise, they’ll look a bit more wrinkly than if sautéed but less wrinkly than if roasted.

Grilling green beans is like the goldilocks of cooking methods, it’s just right.

Garlic soy grilled green beans in a bowl with metal tongs.

HOW TO SERVE GREEN BEANS ON THE GRILL

Serve the beans fresh off the grill when hot.

A fresh lemon wedge and some coarse salt are the perfect accompaniments.

These garlic soy flavored beans will go with almost anything you choose to serve them with.

Smoky grilled lamb kebabs, grilled Hawaiian chicken or a harissa rubbed grilled pork chops all make excellent main course options but the choices are truly endless.

I personally love them with these air fryer chicken leg quarters. The simplicity of both dishes makes a wonderful combination.

Green beans are such a versatile vegetable side dish, they pair well with any meat, seafood or even vegetarian protein like crispy air fryer tofu or marinated baked tempeh.

Grilled green beans with garlic and soy sauce on a plate with serving spoon, salt on the side and lemon for serving.

OTHER WAYS TO GRILL GREEN BEANS

If you don’t have a grill mat and don’t want to risk losing half your green beans to the grates, there are a couple other options for grilling the beans.

Aluminum foil – a great option that almost everyone has on hand. Simply use foil like you would the grill mats and place a couple sheets directly on the grates of the grill.

Spread the beans out onto the foil and grill using the directions above.

I personally don’t cook with foil any more for health concerns and prefer unbleached parchment paper or silicone baking mats when using my oven and grill mats when grilling but it’s an easy choice in a pinch.

Grill basket – there are many vegetable grilling baskets out there but any simple one will do.

The holes in the basket provide ventilation that something like a cast iron skillet wouldn’t and allow the heat and smoke from the grill to reach the vegetables while cooking.

A grill basket will usually take a little bit longer than grilling directly on the grill or via grill mats since the vegetables aren’t spread out in a single layer.

You’ll want to toss the green beans quite frequently if using this method to ensure even grilling.

Grilled green bean side dish for easy summer meals.

OTHER SEASONING COMBINATIONS FOR GRILLED GREEN BEANS

Green beans are really a blank canvas for flavors. Anything including a simple oil, salt and pepper base seasoning can make them shine.

Here are a few other flavor combinations to consider for your grilled green beans:

Lemon, garlic and parmesan cheese – use oil, lemon, garlic, salt and pepper to season before grilling then finish with fresh parmesan and some herbs before serving.

Cajun or taco seasoning – using a pre-made cajun or taco seasoning is an easy way to get a smoky and spicy vibe to grilled beans.

Old Bay when pairing grilled green beans with seafood this is a great seasoning idea to tie everything together.

Rosemary and garlic – a classic combination that never fails!

Balsamic garlic – balsamic is a great substitute for the tamari in this recipe. It caramelizes as the green beans grill just like the tamari and adds a savory sweetness that coats the beans deliciously.

Besides seasoning variations, you can also add other vegetables to the green beans as they grill.

Cherry or grape tomatoes, onions and mushrooms are all good choices that go well together with the beans and would build out a more robust side dish.

Recipe for how to grill green beans on an outdoor grill.

When I think of it, green beans are probably my favorite go-to vegetable side dish.

Pretty much everyone loves them (as opposed to more polarizing veggies like Brussels sprouts or asparagus), they’re easily available all year round and the prep work is minimal no matter which way they’re cooked.

At the holidays, my green beans with cranberries, bacon and goat cheese is a staple.

For an everyday dinner in the colder months, we love to simply roast them.

And now, grilled green beans have become the official side dish of summer!

MORE GREEN BEAN RECIPES TO TRY:

Sweet and salty green bean cherry salad
Mung bean soup with vegetables
Instant Pot lentil vegetable soup
Sheet pan peri peri chicken and green beans

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4.99 from 53 votes

Grilled Green Beans

Servings: 4 servings
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 12 minutes
Total: 17 minutes
grilled green beans
Enjoy the perfect smoky char on these easy grilled green beans tossed in a garlic soy sauce with your next summer meal!

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound fresh green beans, washed and trimmed
  • 1 tablespoon avocado oil
  • 1 tablespoons tamari, or substitute coconut aminos for soy free
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Instructions 

  • Preheat outdoor grill to medium heat (about 375-400°F).
  • Place prepared green beans in a large bowl. Drizzle with avocado oil and tamari then season with garlic, salt and pepper. Toss until beans are well coated.
  • Once hot, add green beans to the grill either directly on the grates or on grill mats. Grill for about 10-12 minutes until softened but not mushy tossing beans often to evenly char on all sides.
  • Remove the green beans from the grill and serve with fresh lemon slices to serve.

Nutrition

Serving: 1SERVINGCalories: 70kcalCarbohydrates: 8gProtein: 3gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0.5gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gSodium: 549mgPotassium: 253mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 782IUVitamin C: 14mgCalcium: 43mgIron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Side Dishes
Cuisine: American
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Founder and Writer at Running to the Kitchen | About

Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.

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25 Comments

  1. These green beans are so delicious! I love how they’re not overly sauced and the tamari gives them just the right amount of flavor.

  2. My family loved these. We had a huge batch we received from our CSA and have been trying to work through them, but grilling them gave them such a deeper and more delicious flavor than roasting or sauteeing. We had them with grilled chicken and some crusty bread.

  3. I made these last weekend for a grillout with friends (we had extra green beans from our garden). They turned out great! Served with some burgers and other skewered veggies too.

  4. 5 stars
    These green beans turned out perfect and I love the addition of the coconut aminos, which I used because I’m on Keto. I will be making these again and again!