Charred Green Beans and Lemony Yogurt

Name: Charred Green Beans and Lemony Yogurt
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 4 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound green beans, trimmed; 1 tablespoon olive oil; Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 1/2 cups plain Greek yogurt; 1 lemon; 1/4 teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or more to taste; 1/2 cup fresh mint leaves

By Yossy Arefi

Updated Oct. 11, 2023

Charred Green Beans and Lemony Yogurt — Kerri Brewer for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Simon Andrews.

Total Time: 15 minutes
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Rating: 4(200)
Notes: Read community notes

Everyone needs a simple summer side dish formula and this one is very adaptable. Broil or grill a pile of bright, snappy green beans until just charred but still crisp-tender, then set over a bed of well-seasoned lemony yogurt. Top with a flurry of herbs plus a squeeze of lemon juice and you have the foundation for endless summer lunches and dinners. This recipe is equally delicious with broccoli florets, small peppers, sliced eggplant or halved carrots. You can char the green beans under your broiler or on a grill, but make sure to use a basket if you are grilling, otherwise the beans may fall through the grates. Serve the veggies and yogurt with a quickly grilled protein, like chicken, tofu, or shrimp, or simply with bread.

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

1pound green beans, trimmed
1tablespoon olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1½cups plain Greek yogurt
1lemon
¼teaspoon red-pepper flakes, or more to taste
½cup fresh mint leaves

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

Step 1
Heat your broiler with a rack set 6 inches below the heat source.
Step 2
On a large rimmed baking sheet, toss the green beans with the oil; season with salt and pepper.
Step 3
Broil the green beans until bright green and charred in spots, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly while you prepare the yogurt. (Alternately, you can grill the beans over medium-high in a grill basket until lightly charred, about 5 minutes.)
Step 4
While the beans are cooling, add the yogurt to a medium bowl. Zest the lemon into the yogurt, then juice half the lemon over the top. Cut the remaining lemon half into 4 wedges; set aside. Add the red-pepper flakes to the yogurt, season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine.
Step 5
Spoon the yogurt onto a large platter, then top with the green beans and mint. Season with more salt and pepper, if necessary, and serve with the lemon wedges.

Ratings

4 out of 5

200 user ratings

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Cooking Notes

Ossie1 year ago

Instead of topping with the mint leaves, I add them to the yogurt sauce: Pulse the mint leaves with a few tablespoons of the yogurt in a mini food processor until the mint is completely ground. Then blend it into the yogurt sauce.

Susie1 year ago

Have made these twice in the last two weeks because the fam requested them. The only thing I changed was I added a little minced garlic to the yogurt on accident the first time, and we liked it so much I kept it the second time. Teenager said “I could eat these for supper every day.” Super easy and tasty. Win-win

D Paterson11 months ago

I found a recipe (Downshiftology) and it worked really well! Toss in oil (and garlic if you like), grate lemon when serving. There's a recipe on NYT as well.

Elea Feit1 week ago

Amazingly good!

Lianne3 months ago

Easy, delicious. No notes. Had it as a side with chicken and 40 cloves of garlic. A light meal that felt absolutely decadent.

Edna4 months ago

I made this last night after weeks of hesitancy. I am so glad I did. What a delicious combination of flavors. I may add some garlic to the yogurt next time as a commenter suggested. I thought some Tunisian spices may be nice to add to the beans along with the salt and pepper. Try this recipe!

Michele9 months ago

We had no mint leaves but I did have dried mint. Mixed up the yogurt with dried mint, chopped scallion greens, lemon zest and Aleppo pepper, and let it sit for a good half hour. Hit the broiled beans with a bit of lemon juice instead of putting it in the sauce. Tasty.

Yum10 months ago

Simple and yummy. I added some sun dried tomatoes for a little color.

Mairzi10 months ago

Easy and delicious. And makes a beautiful presentation. A perfect side dish for my birthday meal. I grilled the green beans.

Jessica11 months ago

This dish is exquisite. Couldn't stop eating it. Will make forever.

Libby11 months ago

We made this recipe as directed except for the mint (didn’t have any in hand). Delicious! Loved the charred green beans perfectly balanced by the yogurt sauce, going into regular rotation

GinaB11 months ago

Loved this green bean recipe. Nice to have something different. Will try it with other veggies next time just for fun - we loved it with the green beans. And so easy! Served with cheese omelets for dinner.

Kris H1 year ago

This is a nice way to mix it up with the green and yellow beans we get in our CSA box. I added most of my chopped mint to the yogurt and then sprinkled the remainder on the beans.

Ossie1 year ago

Susie1 year ago

susan1 year ago

A fun and novel way to eat green beans. The broiler was fast and easy. I want to try the grill too. We love anything with a tasty yogurt sauce. I had both basil and mint in the garden

Jean1 year ago

What kind of mint is preferred?

dane1 year ago

Subbed mint for fresh basil

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