This air fryer green beans recipe transforms frozen green beans into a spicy, flavorful side dish in about 20 minutes. If you need a simple and healthy side dish for chicken or other proteins, add this recipe to the queue.
Making Air Fryer Green Beans from Frozen
One of my favorite things about my air fryer is that I can just throw frozen veggies straight in. You can see in the photos below what the green beans look like before and after air frying.
For these spicy sesame green beans, you’ll need to fry once straight from the freezer then remove and toss in the sesame mixture before air frying one final time.
Splitting the frying up like this maximizes the amount of flavor absorbed by the green beans and prevents the sesame seeds from burning. I use a similar technique for most things—including my air fryer potato chips and nacho fries recipes.
Ingredient Notes for Air Fryer Green Beans
I tried a few different ingredient combos during testing, and I think it’s hard to go wrong as long as you use the oil, soy sauce, sesame seeds, and ginger.
The final combo I decided on adds honey and Swerve Brown—a zero calorie, non-glycemic brown sugar substitute—but you could get by without them.
One important note: if you’re sensitive to spice, you might want substitute half (or all) the chili oil for another source. If you’ve never tried it, you’re in for a kick.
Pairing Ideas for Your Green Beans
Final Recipe Notes
I used my Simple Living Products 5.8qt Air Fryer for this recipe. If you’re using a smaller air fryer, you may need to fry the green beans in batches or give them a shake a few times during cooking.
And I think that’s about it. Get to fryin’!
Be sure to let me know how your spicy sesame green beans turn out! Tag me on Instagram @mason_woodruff or join my free Facebook group and share it with the Proton Party.
Spicy Sesame Air Fryer Green Beans
Transform frozen green beans into a flavorful side dish in 20 minutes.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Frozen Green Beans
- 1 Tbsp (16mL) Chili Oil
- 1 Tbsp (15mL) Soy Sauce
- 1 Tbsp (12g) Swerve Brown, or a brown sugar substitute
- 2 Tbsp Sesame Seeds, I used half black sesame seeds
- 1/2 Tbsp (11g) Honey
- 1 tsp Ground Ginger
Instructions
- Air fry the frozen green beans at 400 for 10 minutes.
- While the green beans cook, mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl.
- Add the green beans to the bowl and toss until evenly coated.
- Transfer the green beans back to the air fryer basket at fry for another 10 minutes at 400.
Notes
Each serving has 2 Smart Points.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Servings Serving Size: 50 gAmount Per Serving: Calories: 100Total Fat: 6gCarbohydrates: 13gProtein: 2g
More Air Fryer Recipes You Might Like
My spicy popcorn chicken is a reader favorite and opens up a world of recipe possibilities like my low carb copycat KFC Famous Bowls.
And if you need a one-pan, quick and easy dinner, check out my loaded air fried chicken and potatoes.
Skip to Recipe
Jessica
Wednesday 15th of April 2020
Love the char on these green beans! They would also be delicious with other flavor combinations. One of my favorites is garlic and herb seasoning from Weber with olive oil.
Samantha Pender
Monday 25th of November 2019
Made these air fryer green beans for my friedsgiving and they were an absolute hit! Super easy to prep and barely any cleanup! I used coconut aminos instead of soy sauce and still delicious
Stephanie K
Sunday 24th of November 2019
This was the very first Mason recipe I ever made and also the very first time I used an air fryer. The first time I made it I followed the recipe as written and I think I overcooked the beans a bit and the chili oil was a tad too much for me, I honestly had never cooked with that ingredient before so I wasn’t prepared for the spice level. I’ve made this several more times since then and I’ve perfected it for my taste buds- no chili oil and add 1 TBSP of minced garlic. I’ve cooked this for other people and they assume it’s so complicated because it taste so darn good but it’s easy and one I make fairly often.
Mandy W
Friday 31st of May 2019
I don't have an air fryer. Can I still make these in the oven?
Mason Woodruff
Saturday 1st of June 2019
Sure thing! This recipe isn't intended to make extra crispy green bean fries so the oven will do just fine. Let me know how it goes.