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Home » Recipes » Appetizers

Indonesian Grilled Green Beans with lemon aioli dipping sauce

July 3, 2019 Updated April 27, 2022 by Lisa Goldfinger 20 Comments This post may contain affiliate links

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grilled green beans in a white bowl with lemon aioli dipping sauce in a small bowl

It's easy to transform simple fresh green beans into the BEST summer side dish or appetizer - toss them with Indonesia's favorite spice mix and grill them!! Grilled green beans is one of my favorite vegetable dishes of the barbecue season - perfect for summer parties and backyard BBQs. Whenever I make these, everyone crowds around the bowl and they disappear quickly!

Spicy, flavorful, grilled green beans are an addictive healthy appetizer. Fresh green beans are tossed with homemade Indonesian satay spice mix and grilled. Serve with lemony, garlicky aioli to dip.

Here's what I love about this recipe

It's a cinch to make. 

Fresh, healthy green beans are transformed into an addictive, sumptuous treat.

I love when vegetables take center stage.

photo shows how to trim green beans.

The inspiration for this dish comes from my research into Indonesian cuisine, where Satay - also know as Sate - is perhaps the most famous spice mixture, and where grilling is among the most popular cooking techniques.

Traditional Satay is a dish consisting of skewered and grilled meat or poultry. The spice mix varies from chef to chef, but its signature yellow color comes from ground turmeric root.

HOW TO MAKE SATE SPICE MIX

All you need for this mix is five common spices.

  • Turmeric
  • Brown sugar
  • Chili powder
  • Salt
  • Coriander

Measure the spices out into a small bowl, stir them together, and you've got a tasty homemade Indonesian sate spice mix.

photo shows how to make Indonesian sate spice mix with give different spices in a bowl and measuring spoons.

Indonesian Sate - though designed for beef, pork, fish, lamb, and chicken -  is absolutely fantastic on green beans!

While the grill is heating up, toss the beans with vegetable oil and spices, to coat. Grill and enjoy!

fresh green beans in a glass bowl with tongs, tossing the beans with Indonesian satay spices

HOW TO GRILL GREEN BEANS

Green beans can take up to fifteen minutes to cook through on the grill, depending on how large they are and how many you're making at once. 

I've tried putting the beans directly on the grill and I don't recommend it. The beans require some flipping and tossing to brown evenly, and Inevitably you will lose some beans through the grates, no matter how careful you are.

  • Use a vegetable grill rack.
  • Preheat the grill on high, with the rack in place.
  • Carefully add the beans to the pre-heated grill rack
  • Close the grill and let the beans cook, undisturbed for 6 minutes
  • Open the grill and give the beans a good toss.
  • Close and cook for 5 minutes longer.
  • Open and toss again, checking for doneness.
  • Close the grill and continue to grill for another 5 minutes, or until the beans are done to your liking.

How to grill green beans, showing how to cook green beans on the grill with a grill rack

The lemon aioli is easy to throw together. It's a mix of mayo, yogurt, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Stir in some fresh herbs, if you like. Creamy and brightly flavored, this is the perfect compliment to the richly spiced grilled green beans.

I adore recipes like this, where healthy vegetables become crave-worthy delicacies. Here are two more of my favorites:

  • Grilled Artichokes with Lemon Aioli
  • Roasted Tomatoes and Mushrooms with Grilled Bread.

close up of grilled green beans and lemon aioli in a white bowl

Here's the recipe for Grilled Green Beans with Lemon Aioli Dipping Sauce. If you make this, I hope you'll come back to leave a star rating and a comment. I'd love to know what you think!

Print
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Spicy, flavorful, grilled green beans are an addictive healthy appetizer. Fresh green beans are tossed with homemade Indonesian satay spice mix and grilled. Serve with lemony, garlicky aioli to dip.

Indonesian Grilled Green Beans with lemon aioli dipping sauce


★★★★★

5 from 3 reviews

  • Author: Lisa
  • Total Time: 31 mins
  • Yield: 4-6 1x
Print Recipe

Description

Spicy, flavorful, Grilled Greens Beans with lemony aioli - a perfect summer side dish or appetizer.


Ingredients

Units Scale
  • Lemon aioli
  • ⅓ cup mayonnaise (I like Hellmans best)
  • ⅓ cup lowfat greek yogurt
  • 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon finely minced garlic or 1 garlic clove, pressed
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons of slivered basil or mint (optional)
  • Indonesian spice mix
  • 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon chili powder
  • 1 teaspoon kosher salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground coriander
  • Beans
  • 2 pounds green beans, washed, root ends trimmed off
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Instructions

  1. Mix the lemon aioli ingredients in a small bowl. Cover and store in the fridge for up to 3 days.
  2. Mix all the spices in a small bowl, set aside
  3. Heat the grill on high. If using a vegetable grill rack, place it on the grill to preheat it. Toss the green beans with oil, to coat. Sprinkle the spice mix over the beans and toss to coat evenly. When the grill is hot, put the beans into the grill rack. (Alternatively, if you don't have a grill rack, you can cook the beans directly on the grill by carefully placing them perpendicular to the grates and using care when flipping them so they don't fall through.) Close the grill and cook the beans for 6 minutes, undisturbed. Open the grill and toss the beans. Cover and cook for another 5 minutes. Toss again. Close and cook for a final 5 minutes. Remove beans and mound them onto a platter or serving bowl.
  4. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon aioli dipping sauce on the side.

Notes

[This post first appeared on Panning The Globe in September 2013.  It was updated in July 2019 with added nutritional information and more details added to the written post]

  • Prep Time: 15 mins
  • Cook Time: 16 mins
  • Category: Appetizer, side dish
  • Method: barbecue
  • Cuisine: Indonesian

Keywords: grilled green beans, grilled string beans, Indonesian spiced grilled green beans,

Did you make this recipe?

If you make this recipe, please let me know how it turns out for you! Leave a comment below and share a picture on instagram with the hashtag #panningtheglobe

 

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Filed Under: All Recipes, Appetizers, Asia, Barbecue, Quick and Easy, Side Dish, Vegetarian

Reader Interactions

Comments

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    Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

  1. Lamaba

    January 06, 2022 at 9:48 pm

    Delicious, easy under the broiler too; a great treat mid-winter!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  2. Angela

    November 15, 2021 at 9:04 pm

    Ah-mazing! My whole family loves these. You know it’s a winner when my 5 and 8 year olds just can’t eat green beans fast enough.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Lisa

      November 15, 2021 at 9:16 pm

      Hi Angela, Such awesome news! I especially love that your kids are devouring the green beans! Thank you for coming back to leave a comment.

      Reply
  3. dave G

    December 30, 2019 at 2:22 pm

    What a fun green bean recipe! So unique

    ★★★★★

    Reply
  4. Amy jo FENTON

    October 22, 2017 at 4:30 pm

    Could you do these in an oven or grill pan on stove top, to enjoy all year?

    Reply
    • Lisa

      October 23, 2017 at 3:28 am

      Great idea because they are so good, why just have them in the summer?! Yes, you can get great results cooking the beans in a large cast iron skillet. Get it nice and hot and make sure your vent is on 'high' because there will be some smoke. Toss the beans in the hot dry skillet and let them get lightly charred. To ensure that they cook through, you can add a bit of water (carefully, it will sputter) and cover the pot for a few minutes to steam the beans. I hope that helps - enjoy!

      Reply
  5. Lynne

    January 28, 2015 at 5:50 am

    Made these last night - they were delicious. Great recipe.
    Question: I used chili I bought from an Indian spice store that is really hot (although there is no indication on the packaging). I used 1 t. instead of 1 T. and it was still really spicy. What kind (brand?) of chili are you calling for? Thanks!

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      January 28, 2015 at 6:31 am

      Good question! I use the type of chili powder you'd use for making chili - in the grocery store it's just called "chili powder." In specialty stores you could look for "New Mexican chili powder." Chipotle or ancho would probably be good with the green beans too.

      Reply
      • Lynne

        January 28, 2015 at 7:03 pm

        Good to know - thanks!

  6. merryn@merrynsmenu

    December 21, 2014 at 7:29 pm

    I love this twist for green beans. Wonderful flavours and interesting cooking method. Sounds fantastic, I will cook this tonight, thank you 😀

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      December 22, 2014 at 11:22 am

      Thanks! 🙂

      Reply
  7. Ingrid

    September 16, 2013 at 12:25 pm

    Lisa, my garden is overrun with green beans the way some are overrun with zucchini- so great to have another way to serve them. We love this recipe, and have since used the spice mixture on flank steak with the aioli- terrific! my repertoire of your recipes for go-to cooking is growing! xo, Ingrid

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      September 16, 2013 at 5:00 pm

      Thanks Ingrid! I'm happy to hear that the recipes are working for you and I love hearing about what's growing out of control in your garden. 🙂

      Reply
  8. Mary

    September 07, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    Love this recipe! The aioli is fantastic too

    Reply
  9. Charlie Slack

    September 03, 2013 at 12:09 pm

    Hey Lisa -- This looks fantastic. Quick question, does it make a difference whether you use American or French beans? I prefer the thinner French ones if we're just blanching or simmering them but maybe on the grill it doesn't matter, or maybe for dipping as an appetizer the thicker American beans even work better? Can't wait to try this. Just pressed "print!"

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      September 03, 2013 at 12:18 pm

      Hi charlie - the recipe is designed for the regular, thick American string beans. I'm sure it can be adapted to the the thinner haricots vert but you'd definitely have to shorten the grilling time. I would suggest checking them and tossing them every 3 or 4 minutes on the grill until they look about 20% browned. Also, I'm not sure you'd be able to dip them. But you could serve them with the aioli drizzled on top and eat them with a fork. If you do try the French beans, I'd love to know how they turn out.

      Reply
      • Charlie Slack

        September 03, 2013 at 8:48 pm

        I'm going to do it your way first. Thanks!

  10. madscar

    September 03, 2013 at 5:24 am

    Uau this is amazing..Love it! Thanks for recipe 🙂

    Reply
  11. Stephen Conley

    September 02, 2013 at 11:10 pm

    Great meeting you last night! Loved the beans and the dip. Truly!

    Reply
    • Lisa Goldfinger

      September 03, 2013 at 7:43 am

      Thanks! Great meeting you too. I look forward to visiting Conley's!

      Reply

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