Lemon Green Beans

By Steven Smith 11/14/2025

Lemon Green Beans have lemon juice and lemon zest, and these flavorful beans are a favorite green bean recipe that I’ve made many times. And the tasty green beans with lots of lemon flavor are a quick and easy low-carb side dish that’s delicious enough for a special meal!

PIN Lemon Green Beans to try them later!

Lemon Green Beans shown on serving plate, with salt and pepper in back.

I highly recommend you try this recipe for Lemon Green Beans, especially if you’re someone who likes those lovely thin green beans you can get almost all year at Costco! And this is a recipe for green beans that literally takes minutes to get on the table, and it’s special enough to make for a holiday meal!

Please trust me when I say this recipe is ridiculously easy but so, so good! In fact, the first time I made the Lemon Green Beans, I ended up eating a whole pound of green beans myself and calling it lunch! And through the years I’ve made these beans often when I need a special side dish for guests, and I think they would be perfect for Thanksgiving too.

Beloved recipes like this one that I’ve made over and over are the ones I love to spotlight for my Friday Favorites posts, so today I’m reminding you about this favorite way to cook green beans and urging you to make some Lemon Green Beans soon!

What ingredients do you need?

(This is only a list of ingredients; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe with ingredient amounts.)

Can you make the Lemon Green Beans with thicker green beans?

If you have green beans that seem a lot thicker than the ones in my photos, I’d just increase the cooking time for about a minute.

Can you make Lemon Green Beans without a lemon zester or squeezer?

Using a fresh lemon is one thing that makes this recipe so good! But if you don’t have a lemon zester (affiliate link) or a lemon juice squeezer (affiliate link) like you see in my pictures, you can zest the lemon with the fine side of a cheese grater and just squeeze the lemon by hand.

How low in carbs are the green beans with lemon?

The delightfully lemon flavored green beans have only 5.2 net carbs per serving!

Lemony Green Beans process shots collage

How to Make Lemon Green Beans:

(This is only a summary of the steps for the recipe; please scroll down for complete printable recipe. Or if you use the JUMP TO RECIPE link at the top of the page, it will take you directly to the complete recipe.)

Make it for a low-carb meal:

Even though I think these green beans are great for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, I would make this for a special meal any time of year. Here are some low-carb main dishes that would be great with the beans:

Lemon Green Beans on serving plate, with lemon zest.

Want more low-carb vegetable side dishes ideas for special dinners?

You can use Green Beans to find more recipes like this one. Or check out Keto Vegetable Recipes for Thanksgiving or Thanksgiving Side Dish Recipes (Low-Carb and Gluten-Free) for lots more tasty ideas with Green Beans. 

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Lemon Green Beans shown on serving plate, with salt and pepper in back.

Yield: 4 servings

Lemon Green Beans

Prep Time
15 minutes
Cook Time
6 minutes
Total Time
21 minutes

Lemon Green Beans have lemon juice and lemon zest, and this is a great low-carb side dish to serve guests.

Ingredients

Instructions

Notes

Recipe adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Simple Suppers.

Nutrition Information

Yield

Serving Size

Nutrition information is automatically calculated by the Recipe Plug-In I am using. I am not a nutritionist and cannot guarantee 100% accuracy, since many variables affect those calculations.

Did you make this recipe?

Did you make this recipe? Please leave a star rating (under the PRINT button in the recipe) or share a photo of your results on Instagram! THANKS!

Low-Carb Diet / Low-Glycemic Diet / South Beach Diet Suggestions:
These Lemon Green Beans are a perfect side dish for low-carb or Keto eating plans, and the recipe is also suitable for any phase of the original South Beach diet. And it’s vegan and gluten-free!

Find More Recipes Like This One:
Use Green Beans to find more recipes like this one. Use the Diet Type Index to find recipes suitable for a specific eating plan. You might also like to follow Kalyn’s Kitchen on Pinterest, on Facebook, on Instagram, on TikTok, or on YouTube to see all the good recipes I’m sharing there.

Historical Notes for this Recipe:
This recipe for green beans with lemon juice and lemon zest was first posted in 2012, and I’ve made it so many times for dinner guests since then. It was last updated with more information and better photos in 2025.

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