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Home » Recipes » Side Dishes

Sautéed green beans and tomatoes

By: Kathryn Doherty | Last Updated: Mar 10, 2025 | Published: Sep 21, 2016
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Sautéed green beans and tomatoes require just 4 ingredients and make for an easy, healthy and flavorful dinner side dish!A wooden spoon resting in a skillet with a mix of sautéed green beans with canned tomatoes.

My grandmother, who we called Jamma, had gorgeous hands, I always thought.

They were wrinkly, old lady hands, to be sure, but she had long, slender fingers and a plethora of rings and bracelets that made her hands jingle and dance when she used them.

And she used them a lot. She was always keeping busy - or at least talking and gesturing.

I can picture her hands in a mixing bowl, or cleaning some raw chicken or turkey, or stirring a pot. If it wasn’t food, she always had a book, a sewing project, a drink if it was that time of day. (She was a bourbon drinker like me.)

A white serving bowl full of cooked green beans with tomatoes and onions.

And one task I could help with, even when I was young, was snapping beans.

We’d sit side by side at a table with a bowl between us for the beans and a discard bowl for the ends.

I would fumble and fiddle with my beans, trying to snap off the ends and snap the long ones in half.

She worked effortlessly, efficiently, snapping and chatting and never missing a beat.

Crisp fresh green beans in a white bowl.

I feel like we ate a lot of green beans. Green beans are kind-of a Southern staple. Mostly, we cook them to death.

I remember when I was older and I first asked my mom, over the phone probably, how long to cook green beans and she said with a sort-of shrug, “25 minutes. Or 30 or more. However long you let them go…"

It's not a precise kind of thing, cooking green beans to death.

Some people can only do the really cooked, tender, super soft green beans. Others prefer them with some crispness. I can honestly go both ways.

These green beans and tomatoes though are one of the cook-the-fool-out-of-the-beans recipes so that they are melt-in-your-mouth tender.

And combined with the tomatoes, it’s a great, easy recipe with just a few ingredients but tons of flavor.

Sautéed chopped onion and green beans in a large skillet. A large dark skillet with a sautéed mixture of green beans, canned tomatoes and onion.

Recipe Notes:

  • I used a regular can of diced tomatoes, but you could substitute stewed tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, petit diced tomatoes or another flavor if you want to change this recipe up a bit.
  • You can let the green beans simmer for as long as you need on low, if you’re working on the rest of dinner. Or doing homework with the kids. Or got distracted by Facebook.
  • You could top these green beans with Parmesan cheese or crumbled bacon - or both.

I served these green beans and tomatoes with my balsamic pork tenderloin with thyme and microwaved 10-minute baked potatoes.

These also would be great with my crunchy baked Parmesan chicken.

Sautéed green beans and tomatoes served alongside a baked potato and sliced pork tenderloin on a white dinner plate.

Here’s to precious family food memories and to hoping I love my old lady hands when I have them as much as I loved my grandmothers.

Enjoy!

XO,

Kathryn

Sautéed green beans and tomatoes require just 4 ingredients and make for an easy, healthy and flavorful dinner side dish!
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4.62 from 52 votes

Sautéed green beans and tomatoes

Sautéed green beans and tomatoes are an easy, healthy and flavorful side dish!
Prep Time5 minutes mins
Cook Time30 minutes mins
Total Time35 minutes mins
Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • ½ small onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 cups fresh green beans, trimmed (about ¾ pound)
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes (undrained)
  • ⅓ teaspoon kosher salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper

Instructions

  • Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
  • Add onion and saute for 3-4 minutes.
  • Add garlic and green beans and saute 3-4 minutes more minutes.
  • Add undrained tomatoes, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Cover and reduce heat to medium low. Let simmer for at least 20 minutes and up to 30 or 40 minutes, until green beans are tender. Stir occasionally.
  • Taste and adjust seasonings and serve hot.

Notes

I used a regular can of diced tomatoes, but you could substitute stewed tomatoes, fire-roasted diced tomatoes, petit diced tomatoes or another flavor if you want to change this recipe up a bit.
You could top these green beans with grated Parmesan cheese or crumbled, cooked bacon - or both.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 49kcal | Carbohydrates: 6g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Sodium: 233mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g
Tried this recipe?Leave a comment below or follow me on Instagram @familyfoodonthetable and tag me in your photo!

A collage of photos for making a cooked green bean and tomato side dish.

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. rachel @ atheltic avocado

    September 21, 2016 at 7:51 am

    What an easy and delicious side dish! Pinned 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 21, 2016 at 4:29 pm

      Thanks Rachel!

      Reply
  2. Dawn @ Girl Heart Food

    September 21, 2016 at 8:10 am

    That's so sweet!! I can just picture your grandmother now. Funny how certain things just stick with us. I love green beans....they are definitely at the top of my veggie list. I usually like them nice and crispy, barely cooked, but I know what you mean about cooking them to death. I know my grandmother (aka nan), cooks brussels sprouts until they are almost mush. But they are still good 😉 I've never had green beans with tomatoes before, but it sounds and looks healthy and delicious. Pinned! Hope your week is going good! xoxo

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 21, 2016 at 4:30 pm

      Thanks Dawn! This is one of my favorite ways to eat green beans! XO

      Reply
  3. Jodi @ The Average RD

    September 21, 2016 at 10:36 am

    I have green beans and tomatoes from the garden sitting on the counter waiting to be used. I will be making these tonight! Thanks for sharing your story 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 21, 2016 at 4:31 pm

      Thanks Jodi! I hope you love it!

      Reply
  4. Brynn at The Domestic Dietitian

    September 21, 2016 at 12:25 pm

    What a sweet memory! I love grandma's that drink bourbon! I also literally laughed at loud at your mom's response to how long to cook the beans "however long you let them go"...so funny!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 21, 2016 at 4:32 pm

      Bourbon-drinking grandma's are the best! I look forward to being one myself (a long time from now) 😉

      Reply
  5. anne

    September 21, 2016 at 2:26 pm

    These look delicious! My mother used to make something similar with zucchini rather than green beans - I like this better!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 21, 2016 at 4:33 pm

      Thanks Anne! I hope you try it!

      Reply
  6. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary

    September 21, 2016 at 3:07 pm

    My grandmother had lovely hands too! I wonder if that's a requirement for grandmothers? 😉 Anyways, love that you have fond memories with her in the kitchen!! And I LOVE green beans with tomatoes!! That used to be my all time favorite side growing up! Like, I requested them whenever my mom allowed me to give my two cents for dinner. Yours look perfect, Kathryn! I could eat the entire dang pan of these, plus another pan, in about 3 seconds flat. SO GOOD! Can't wait to make this, chicka! Cheers!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 24, 2016 at 6:38 pm

      It must be a requirement! Aww, glad this brings back good memories for you too 😉 XO

      Reply
  7. Adina

    September 23, 2016 at 3:01 am

    I think the only difference between your grandma's green beans and the Romanian green beans my grandma used to make is that my grandma used sunflower oil (quite a lot of it) instead of olive oil... I didn't like them as a kid but I make them now all the time and eat them with mashed potatoes... so good! And I vividly remember my grandma's hands as well, it is the only thing I got from her, we are completely different types but have exactly the same hands... 🙂

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 24, 2016 at 6:39 pm

      Aww, that's so sweet! Love the idea of serving these with mashed potatoes too - yum!

      Reply
  8. Courtney

    September 24, 2016 at 7:32 pm

    Such a simple but lovely side dish-- I love green beans and I love tomatoes, so this looks perfect to me!

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      September 26, 2016 at 6:38 am

      Thanks so much Courtney!

      Reply
  9. Dolores

    July 21, 2019 at 10:25 pm

    Hi! I'm new here. This sounds delicious. My very good friend used to make green beans like this but with fresh tomatoes and then she stirred in sour cream at the end. They were so good. Have you ever heard of this before? I wonder if it was a family thing. Her Mama was a great cook.

    Reply
    • Kathryn

      July 22, 2019 at 3:23 pm

      Hi and welcome Dolores! So happy to have you! I have not heard of that sour cream trick but it sounds delicious! Would add a great creaminess and tang to the dish. 🙂

      Reply
  10. Melissa

    October 26, 2019 at 9:46 am

    I’m having my annual Halloween party for kids and grandchildren. This recipe will be “the bomb” if they still say that lol

    Reply
    • Kathryn Doherty

      October 30, 2019 at 7:07 am

      Yay, I hope everyone loves them Melissa!

      Reply
4.62 from 52 votes (52 ratings without comment)

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Hi there! I’m Kathryn Doherty, a cookbook author, mom of two, and devoted food and home cooking nut. I’ve got lots of easy recipes to help you get delicious food on the table for your family!

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