Air fryer fried green beans with parmesan are a great snack or side dish with any meal. Crispy and crunchy vegetables covered in Panko bread crumbs and seasoning.
Made a batch of these yourself before? We made these with parmesan breading the other day and boy were they amazing! Talk about a healthy snack with a TON of flavor, just like a copycat The Habit side dish. Try this easy air fryer recipe this week. (affiliate links present)
The way these are made is way less fat than our fried green beans recipe we typically fry in hot oil.
Yes you could make plain old air fryer frozen green beans as a side dish for dinner but those are boring with a capital B. This one brings fried vegetables to a whole new level. Tons of crispy flavor without the fat.
If you love extra crispy food and quick recipes, here are some resources to start with:
- My Favorite models are this Cosori or for a dual machine, the Foodi.
- You can find more Ninja Foodi recipes here as well; bookmark them both!
- It is best practice to put food into a hot basket. this is how to preheat air fryer first.
- Here’s a printable free air fryer cooking time chart here for your fridge.
Any brand will do really, just some are smaller and will need multiple batches so they turn out nice and crispy. We used to make fried green beans with tempura batter, and I will admit we still love them that way! BUT if you’re looking for a healthier way to make these, try this recipe!
Tips
Tips when making anything coated in this machine; you always want them to be in a single layer, especially with a coating. The magic happens when the hot air is able to rotate around each piece, overlapped this can’t happen.
Another thing is when you air fry green beans or something else coated you must spray the basket first. It would be like cracking an egg into a cast iron pan, it would stick awful right? Well word to the wise, make sure you don’t skip that step or disaster will occur. 😉
Also, you will definitely want some non stick cooking spray in the air fryer basket and on top to crisp well, olive oil spray works too. If you don’t the breading will stick to the grate or tray and pull it right off. You will be sad as ever and you won’t get the texture or taste you ultimately want.
Ingredient Notes
In this case I want super light and crispy so I go for Panko breadcrumbs which are gluten free. You could use traditional Italian bread crumbs but those are heavier and just have a different look and flavor profile.
Eggs whisked will help the coating to stick well. If you have an allergy you can brush mayonnaise on instead or even greek yogurt will work the same way.
All purpose flour or gluten free flour could be used for the other step to coat the outsides. You can season with garlic powder or garlic salt, salt and pepper or whatever your favorite flavors are. Old Bay is surprisingly great too.
Fresh green beans raw, not cooked are used here. Parmesan cheese is optional but adds a lot of flavor into the breading.
You will also need 3 small plates with lips so you can dredge, dip, and coat the outsides of your air fryer vegetables. Bowls could be used I guess but I left the beans long and thought it was easier this way.
If you are using a multi cooker with multiple functions you need to use the one for air crisp, attached. They are different from Ninja Foodi green beans since those don’t get crispy at all and aren’t breaded.
Steps for Breading Vegetables
This part is a bit time consuming as you’ll need to coat each piece with flour, then dredge into the egg, and lastly press the bread crumbs before cooking. Same way we make air fried okra really. You can prep them all and set on a baking sheet or do so in batches.
I made about 1/2 lb. of these and it took about 15 minutes to prep. Since I was using my large air fryer I was able to cook them all at once which was nice. If you have a traditional size with a drawer you’d need to make a few batches. They’re best to enjoy fresh so take that into consideration.
Air Fryer Fried Green Beans Recipe
Equipment
- 1 air fryer
- 3 shallow bowls
Ingredients
- 3/4 lb green beans, fresh, ends cut off, rinsed
- 2 eggs, whisked
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 1/2 tsp garlic salt
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 3/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
Instructions
- Wash and trim ends off green beans. On one plate mix together flour, garlic salt, salt and pepper.
- On a 2nd plate mix together Panko and parmesan cheese. On a 3rd plate with a lip whisk together your eggs.
- One by one dip rinsed (a bit wet on the outside still) green beans into flour mixture to coat. Shake off excess, then dip into egg mixture, and then cover with Panko mixture well. Press down on bean so last coating sticks well.
- Place coated beans into air fryer basket or racks.
- Once full and beans are NOT overlapping set to 400 degrees for 6-9 minutes. Timing will vary depending on whether you have multiple racks going or have a smaller basket. Get nice and brown on outside and then allow them to sit inside air fryer for 3-5 minutes to continue to soften bean a bit once they're as crispy as you'd like them.
- Remove that batch and start with another in your air fryer.
- Serve with ranch dressing for dipping sauce.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can you eat green beans raw?
Some people say yes, they are safe to eat raw. Others say that they can be toxic. Truth is, string beans are indeed safe to eat raw, fresh or frozen after you have properly washed them. I will say that air frying will not leave them raw, but rather firmer than Instant Pot green beans.
You can call it al dente I suppose, but since it is hot air cooking them they will not get as soft as they are canned or boiled. Personally I like the texture this way. By the time the parmesan breading is nice and brown the inside will still be a bit on the crunchy side. If you’ve had The Habit fried green beans, these are different because those are submerged and fried in hot oil thus they’re softer inside.
What should you serve these with?
With the combination of shredded parmesan cheese and lots of seasonings, there’s NO lack of flavor. I do love these with dipping sauces though!
Bbq sauce is on the top of the list, but probably not great for these. Ranch dressing is perfect for these! Ketchup might be a fave for some, mainly kids. Garlic aioli I love on just about everything. Fry sauce is served with EVERYTHING around here.
These are definitely more fun to eat than sheet pan green beans. If you have picky eaters at home, try these with your kids! You might be surprised.
Other air fryer finger foods you’ll love
You can jump to recipe and get started today! But if you want to learn how to air fry everything? Here are a few to try next. After you’re done enjoying these, try air fryer carrot fries. We serve these air fryer chicken wings a great duo for dinner. Our air fryer zucchini fries are similar to this but with a different veggie
My kids loved how crispy these turned out!
Yay!
Yum! I was looking for an easy snack that my kids would like and these were so easy.
I was curious if you ever considered using flour, egg and dehydrated parmesan and skipping the bread crumbs.
I haven’t but give it a whirl and let us know how that works!