This easy cold green bean salad is the essence of summer. With tender green beans, sweet cherry tomatoes, golden corn and salty feta, it's colorful, flavorful, and easily made ahead. Dress at serving time with a classic Dijon vinaigrette. Cold green bean salad is like a sigh of relief on a hot summer day. It's terrific with grilled steak, chicken and ribs and an excellent way to showcase summer's fresh ingredients.
I had a friend whose idea of an easy green bean salad meant draining canned green beans and dousing them in bottled Italian salad dressing for an Italian green bean salad. The memory of those drab, soggy beans as a green bean salad still makes me grimace. When summer vegetables are at their best, make a fresh green bean salad.
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Why You'll Like This Recipe
- It's colorful and crunchy using season produce.
- Gets lots of veggies into your meal.
- Can be easily be made ahead then dressed at serving time.
- Serve cold green bean salad chilled or at room temperature.
- If you're looking for a string bean salad, it goes by that name too.
Since most of us eat green beans year round, try these 12 ways to dress up green beans to keep thing interesting.
Recipe Ingredients
Salad
- Green beans: For a cold green bean salad I prefer the tender baby green beans called by their French name, haricot verts. Blue Lake green beans are a favorite too. Get the freshest green beans at the market, bright green, no spots. Take time to really pick out good ones from a bin or look at the packaged options. If the beans are very long, you can cut them in 2-3 pieces for the salad.
- Tomatoes: Choose sweet grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes and get a variety of colors for more eye appeal.
- Corn kernels: Get fresh corn on the cob or buy the frozen roasted corn kernels and thaw them.
- Onion: Slice slivers of red onion or thinly slice shallots into rings.
- Feta cheese: Buy either a block and cube or get the already crumbled to save time. See cheese options below. For vegan or dairy-free diners, skip the cheese or serve it on the side.
- Herbs: Herbs are optional. Mint is a nice twist or use fresh oregano or parsley.
French Vinaigrette
- Extra virgin olive oil: For the easy tangy vinaigrette dressing.
- Vinegar: Use red wine vinegar, apple cider vinegar, or white wine vinegar. Lemon juice is great too.
- Garlic: Fresh is best. Grate it on a microplane zester so it disappears into the dressing (optional).
- Mustard: For the vinaigrette, creamy Dijon is the best. Provides great flavor and emulsifies the dressing.
Please see the recipe card for measurements and seasoning.
For another terrific vegetable medley, try this colorful vegetable mix with zucchini, sweet bell peppers, corn, herbs and garlic.
Chef's Tip: how to tame red onions. Red onions are nice in a salad but they can be really pungent and bitey. How to tame them? Slice, then soak them in cold water for about 10 minutes (or longer) then drain, dry and add to your salad. The cold soak takes away the sharp bite of a red onion. In a hurry, at least rinse them well in cold water.
Substitutions and Variations
Try these options to change up cold green bean salad for your family's flavor preferences. Get creative!
- Change out the cheese from feta to goat cheese, blue cheese or gorgonzola.
- Add pitted Kalamata black olives.
- Add chopped nuts: walnuts, sliced almonds or pine nuts.
- Try a flavored olive oil for the vinaigrette, such as lemon, basil, or rosemary.
- Use Balsamic vinegar to make a homemade Balsamic vinaigrette. Another option, make a homemade Balsamic glaze (it's delicious and so versatile).
- Grill your corn! Here are directions for how make corn on the cob on the grill.
- For the vinaigrette, use your favorite salad dressing or try my homemade Italian dressing. It's beats the bottles and is great with leafy green salads.
- Swap sun dried tomatoes for fresh tomatoes. Use the oil packed ones and cut them into strips if whole.
Recipe Instructions
While a large pot of water is coming to a boil over high heat, set up a a large bowl of ice water. Trim the green beans if needed and make the homemade dressing. Either whisk it together in a small bowl or shake it in a jar. For a creamy dressing, make it in the blender as the Dijon mustard emulsifies it.
Serving Suggestions
Cold green bean salad is a terrific side dish for barbecued meat, ribs, poultry and fish. It’s easy and healthy for picnics, summer cookouts, and tailgating.
For an extra flourish, scatter fresh chopped mint or chives over the top before serving and pass extra vinaigrette if desired. Use any extra vinaigrette for green salads or try it as a marinade for grilled chicken breasts or shrimp.
Leftover green bean salad lasts in an airtight container for 3-4 days even with dressing as its a pretty hearty salad.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, they are one in the same. Green beans come in two main varieties: bush beans and runner beans (also called pole beans). They can also be called snap beans. Most modern green bean varieties don't have strings. There are hundreds of delicious varieties; buy what is best in your market area. Bush beans grow low to the ground in bushes, and runner or pole beans are vining and sprawling.
For crisp-tender green beans, blanching is the best method for a salad. The green beans stay bright green and you can cook them ahead of time. To blanch green beans, drop beans into salted boiling water (1 tablespoon of kosher salt per quart of water) for about 5 minutes.
While they are cooking, make an ice bath with a large bowl half filled with ice and cold water. Remove the cooked green beans immediately to the ice water to "shock" them, stop the cooking process, and retain the bright green color. Use right away or drain, dry, and store in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Adding cheese and nuts to a green bean salad makes for creative variations and is a terrific idea. Cheese and nuts add flavor, color, and interest. Whether cubed or crumbled, try feta cheese, a blue-veined cheese, goat cheese, Parmesan cheese, haloumi cheese, or pearl-sized mozzarella balls.
For nut options, try chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, pine nuts, and sliced almonds. If you are using both cheese and nuts, be sure the flavors pair well.
In short, yes. If good fresh green beans are not available, use frozen green beans. Cook them according to package directions and shock in a bowl of cold water and ice (called an ice bath) immediately after cooking. This stops the cooking process and green beans retain their bright green color. Drain and dry the green beans before proceeding with the recipe.
More Summer Veggie Side Dish Recipes
For another complimentary salad, try this Mediterranean potato salad with lemon, capers and herbs.
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📖 Recipe
Cold Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes and Corn
Equipment
- Large pot 5-6 quarts
Ingredients
Classic Vinaigrette
- 9 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil ½ cup + 1 tablespoon
- 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- 1 large garlic clove finely chopped and smeared, or zested
- ½ teaspoon honey optional but tames the tartness
- ⅛ teaspoon sea salt
- ⅛ teaspoon ground black pepper
Green Bean Salad
- 16 ounces baby green beans or regular green beans haricot vert
- 8 ounces sweet grape or cherry tomatoes in mixed colors
- 4-6 ounces feta cheese crumbled or cubes
- 2 ears corn on the cob or 9 ounces of corn kernels, 1 ¾ cups
- ¼ red onion
- Fresh chopped mint, chives or herbs optional garnish
- 4 tablespoons kosher salt for blanching
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Instructions
Cook beans and corn
- Put a big pot of cold water on to boil, adding 1 tablespoon of kosher salt per quart of water for blanching. This seasons the vegetables (and you don't consume all that salt so don't worry.) Ready a large bowl filled with half ice and half cold water to shock the green beans after cooking. This stops the cooking process and keeps the beans bright green.
- While water is coming to a boil, halve the tomatoes and thinly slice the red onion. Add the red onion to a small bowl of cold water and soak for 10-15 minutes. Drain and dry on a paper towel.
- When water is boiling, cook corn first for 3 minutes. Remove the cobs, drain and cool, the slice the kernels off of the cobs. Keep water boiling.Next cook the green beans in the same pot for 5 minutes, then remove immediately to the ice water. Drain and dry. If beans are long, cut them in 2-3 pieces.
Make vinaigrette
- Add oil, vinegar, Dijon, honey, garlic, salt and pepper to a jar and shake well ir add to a bowl and whisk until smooth. Garlic tip: Use a microplane zester to get it really fine so you have no bit of raw garlic in your dressing. Alternatively chop fine and smear into a paste with the back of your chef's knife.
- When ready to serve, add the green, tomatoes, corn, onion, and feta to a large bowl. Toss with a few tablespoons of the vinaigrette. Add nuts and herbs is using. Pass extra dressing at the table.
Notes
- Swap sun dried tomatoes for fresh
- Use a Balsamic vinaigrette or Balsamic glaze
- Add nuts: walnuts, almonds, pine nuts
Nutrition
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Wendy says
I really enjoyed this salad and will definitely make it again. I didn’t have red onion so
I used chopped shallots …delicious! As suggested, I added some finely chopped walnuts at the end for a little crunch. Bright colourful side dish…will be serving this for company at our next bbq…I love dishes that can be prepped ahead of time !
Sally Cameron says
Love to hear that you enjoyed it and will be serving it for guests! Thanks for your comment Wendy. Much appreciated!
catherine ebeling says
Your green bean salad picture is beautiful! I am putting together a recipe book and cannot find another stock photo of green bean salad. Would you let me use yours--with full credit of course!
Thank you!
Ang says
I just posted a green bean salad a couple days ago. Your's looks so flavorful. Feta and tomatoes.....Yum!!!
Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) says
Wow. Love the mint in the dressing - great combo with the feta. And that corn is SO pretty!
Marla says
Hey there Sally....we all have grilling on the brain. Beautiful recipe 🙂
Aimee @ Simple Bites says
Beautiful colors in this salad, Sally! I'm loving the flavor profile, too. Can't wait for corn to be in season around here; we love grilling it.