Green Bean Salad – A Couple Cooks

This green bean salad recipe is packed with flavor, starring tomatoes, feta and a zingy dressing. Ideal as a side or for summer potlucks!

What’s more quintessential summer than the crunch of biting into a green bean? Here’s a salad that captures that essence: this homey Green Bean Salad! Imagine: tender blanched green beans covered in a zingy dressing, paired with tomatoes, baby arugula and the salty pop of feta crumbles. This one is ideal for pairing with a grilled meal, a trio of salads or dish for a summer potluck or pitch-in. We’ve made this one many times already: we hope you’ll love it much as we do!

Ingredients in this green bean salad recipe

This green bean salad recipe is basic, but combines just the right flavors to make the beans irresistibly tasty. The tender vegetables are mixed with a red wine vinegar and Dijon vinaigrette, which adds a hefty dose of tangy flavor to the entire dish. The basic idea? Blanch the beans, cut veggies, make the dressing, and mix it all together! Here’s what you’ll need:

• Green beans
• Red wine vinegar
• Dijon mustard
• Honey
• Garlic powder
• Olive oil
• Cherry tomatoes
• Shallot
• Baby arugula
• Feta cheese
• Salt

How to blanch green beans

The only part of this green bean salad that takes a bit of skill? Blanching the beans. Blanching is a cooking method that involves boiling vegetables until they’re crisp tender, then plunging them into ice water to stop the cooking process. The ice water helps to keep the veggies colorful by locking in a beautifully bright green color. Blanching is quick and easy; here’s what to do:

• Prepare the water: Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Prepare a large bowl of ice water.
• Boil the beans: Add the beans to the boiling water and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until just tender but still bright green (taste a bean to assess doneness).
• Place in the ice bath. Right when the beans are tender, remove them from the boiling water with tongs and transfer them to the bowl of ice water. After 2 minutes, remove the beans to a colander to drain.
• Blot the beans dry! This is very important: otherwise you’ll end up with a watery salad! (Trust us, we forgot this once and we won’t again.)

Tips for serving and storage

Once you make this green bean salad, you can eat it immediately. Or, you can refrigerate it until serving, allowing the flavors to permeate the beans even more. To us, it’s just as delicious both ways! Here are a few things to note:

• Toss the salad well before serving. The tomatoes and feta can sometimes fall to the bottom, especially if it’s in a large bowl. Also, make sure the dressing is evenly tossed through the veggies.
• A shallow platter can be better for serving than a large bowl. This way you can make sure all the goodies are evenly dispersed.
• Refrigerate leftovers for 3 to 4 days. We like this salad best the day of or the next day. But it can last up to 4 days refrigerated.

That’s it! Let us know what you think in the comments below.

More green bean recipes

Capitalize on green beans while they’re in season! Here are some green bean recipes you’ll love: