Cold Green Bean Salad

This Cold Green Bean Salad is packed with summer flavor. Tender beans and tomatoes are tossed with olive oil, garlic, basil, balsamic and parmesan.

In my opinion, Green Beans are one of the most versatile vegetables and one of my favorite vegetable side dishes to serve. But most green bean dishes that I’ve come across have been hot. Not anymore, friends! This Cold Green Bean Salad just might be my new favorite way to prepare them.

Especially in the summer when the green bean, tomato and basil bounty is plentiful.

What is in a green bean salad?

I wanted to keep things minimal when I made this salad and that means that every ingredient gets a chance to shine. The key to this salad, as with most salads, is fresh fresh FRESH!

• GREEN BEANS: Trim them and cut them into 2 – 3 inch pieces. It makes eating the salad a bit easier.
• CHERRY TOMATOES: I had a blend of sun gold and cherry tomatoes on hand and they worked perfect in this recipe giving lots of color.
• EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL: Whenever I make a salad dressing with olive oil, I always use Extra Virgin since the flavor will stand out.
• GARLIC: Use a garlic press or mince it very fine.
• BASIL: You can cut the basil into ribbons easily by stacking them together, rolling them and then cutting them crosswise into ribbons. If you need to see it done, here is a quick video on how to chiffonade basil.
• PARMESAN CHEESE: Freshly grate the cheese, no powdered stuff here! It will taste better, trust me.
• BALSAMIC VINEGAR: I learned from my trusty Flavor Bible that balsamic pairs well with green beans, and it’s totally true!

DES’ TIP: The acidity in the vinegar can cause the beans to lose their bright color. You can offset this issue by coating the beans in the olive oil first. And then drizzle the balsamic over the top.

How do you make Green Bean Salad?

• STEP #1: The only cooking that you’ll have to do is to blanch the beans. That may sound like some fancy technique but it’s not. It simply means to cook the beans in salted boiling water for about 2 minutes. Then immediately dunk them in ice water. This stops the cooking process leaving you with tender, yet crisp green beans.
• STEP #2: After you’ve drained and dried the beans combine them with the tomatoes, olive oil, and garlic in a bowl. Toss until the beans are coated in the olive oil.
• STEP #3: Add in the parmesan, basil and balsamic vinegar. Toss once more to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. At this point you can chill the salad until ready to eat or eat immediately.

Not gonna lie, eat immediately was my choice. I’m totally going to have to double the batch next time so that I can snack on this Cold Green Bean Salad all week long for lunch.

Storing leftovers:

This salad is even better when made a little while in advance. Just keep it covered in the fridge until ready to use.

Want to make it a meal? Here are some main dish recipes to serve with this salad:

• Fried Cod
• Lemon Caper Salmon
• Lemon Pepper Chicken
• Steak with Peppercorn Sauce

Want more green bean recipes? I’ve got a few more for you!

• Southern Style Green Beans with Bacon
• Dill Green Beans
• Summer Savory Green Bean Recipes