This green bean salad recipe gets a pop of sweetness from tomatoes and a salty bite from feta cheese. It is just the ticket if you're looking for easy summer salads you can make in a hurry. Served cold and ready in about 10 minutes.
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Summer means spontaneity. And that can mean putting together a side dish on short notice with whatever you have in the fridge. It happened to me. I had French green beans, tomatoes, and feta. I know...a nice cold green bean salad!
And listen, it's summer and we have NO time for blanching green beans, we're eating them raw. We've got to put two dishes together and assemble a picnic basket of nibbles in less than an hour. So there.
We're going to sneak some feta into the salad dressing, as well as crumble it on top, so we have that salty, creamy goodness coating all the green beans. Yum!
Still craving green beans? Try this Ottolenghi Green Bean Salad that's loaded with herbs, capers and garlic!
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Ingredients you'll need
You only need 7 ingredients—including the dressing!—for this refreshing cold green bean salad recipe. You'll get so much flavor from the feta and tomatoes, you don't need much else!
- Fresh green beans: I used haricots verts, otherwise known as the skinny French green beans. I think this salad would work fine with regular raw green beans, (string beans) but you would probably want to cut them into smaller pieces.
- Feta: Sheep's milk or cow's milk will both work fine.
- Tomatoes: Use cherry tomatoes of any color or grape tomatoes. Larger tomatoes are too juicy.
- Fresh mint: I love love love fresh mint in a salad. If you don't like it so much, you can substitute basil.
- Olive oil, white balsamic vinegar, kosher salt: That's all you need for the dressing. If you don't have white balsamic, sub white wine vinegar.
- Freshly ground black pepper: Because is it even a salad without freshly ground pepper on top?
How to make this cold green bean salad
Step 1: Slice the raw green beans
Cut the French green beans into 1-inch pieces. (Smaller if using string beans.)
Step 2: Slice the tomatoes
Slice tomatoes in half or quarters depending upon size.
Step 3: Make the feta salad dressing
To make the dressing, mix olive oil, vinegar, a little bit of the feta, and a pinch of kosher salt and cracked black pepper. (I like to put this in a small container with a lid and just shake the dickens out of it to combine.)
Step 4: Assemble the salad and chill
Pour the feta dressing over the green beans and toss to combine. Chill in the refrigerator for about ½ hour to let the green beans absorb the flavor of the dressing if you have time. If not, just dress and go!
Remove the cold green bean salad from fridge, add more feta, the tomatoes, and the mint and toss to combine. Garnish with additional fresh mint leaves and serve.
What to serve with a green bean salad
A cold green bean salad is a great side dish with grilled meats.
- These Grilled Beef Short Ribs with Quick Pickles cook super fast and have a bit of spice.
- Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Chimichurri Sauce will bring the flavors of South America to your table.
- This salad would be the perfect side dish with Turkey Burgers or Slow Cooker Pulled Pork.
Variations and substitutions
There is an endless amount of possibilities for ingredient swaps and add-ins when making a cold salad like this. The green beans are a blank canvas for your ideas! Make it Italian, make it Mediterranean or Greek. Choose your own adventure to suit your mood and the ingredients you have on hand!
- If you don't like mint, you can substitute basil, parsley, dill, tarragon, or any soft herb that you like.
- Can't find haricots verts? Use regular green beans, just cut them smaller.
- White wine or red wine vinegar, or even lemon juice can be substituted in the salad dressing in place of white balsamic.
- Feel free to throw in some black olives or chickpeas.
- Substitute goat cheese for the feta.
- Swap the tomatoes for roasted red peppers.
- Throw in some red onion if you like.
FAQs
No you can't. The frozen green beans will release too much water once thawed, and make the salad watery. You can find French green beans in the produce section year round, so you should still be able to make this salad any time of year.
You can prep all of the ingredients a day ahead, like slicing the green beans and tomatoes, and making the salad dressing. Wait until 30 to 60 minutes before serving to toss all of the ingredients in the dressing for the best flavor.
Haricots verts are thinner and more delicate than the typical American green bean. They don't need all the snapping and trimming. They are more tender, so they lend themselves well to quick cooking methods. They also have more of that good green flavor.
Expert tips and tricks
- If you want a less crunchy texture, you can absolutely blanch the green beans before making the salad. Be sure to shock them in a large bowl of ice water to stop the cooking.
- French green beans may not snap as well as string beans because they are more tender and delicate, so you'll need to chop them with a knife.
Storage
This salad is best eaten the day it's made. The more delicate French green beans will start to break down once the dressing is added. If you have some leftovers, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1 day.
More summer salad recipes
- This Strawberry Arugula Salad with Basil and Mint is like summer on a plate.
- Keep showcasing that tomato-mint combo by making a Nectarine Salad with Tomatoes and Herbs.
- A light and bright Shrimp Salad with Romaine, Cherry Peppers, and Lemon-Garlic Vinaigrette is perfect as a lighter main course.
This cold green bean salad recipe is a quick and flavorful side dish!
- Only 7 ingredients!
- NO BLANCHING! NO COOKING! We're using raw French green beans to give the salad extra freshness and crunch!
- Tomatoes love feta and feta loves tomatoes! That combo gives our salad a big punch of flavor!
- Ready in 10 minutes!
- It's gluten free and vegetarian!
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Recipe
Green Bean Salad Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans preferably French-style haricots verts
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes any small, sweet summer tomatoes will work
- ⅔ cup feta cheese
- 2 tablespoon fresh mint
- 1 ½ tablespoon olive oil
- 2 ½ tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
- kosher salt to taste
- cracked black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Cut green beans into 1-inch pieces, and slice tomatoes into halves or quarters, depending on size.
- To make the dressing, mix olive oil, vinegar and a pinch of kosher salt and cracked black pepper. (I like to put this in a small plastic container with a lid and just shake the dickens out of it to combine. But whisking works too.)
- Pour dressing over beans and toss to combine. Store in fridge for about ½ hour to let beans absorb the flavor of the dressing.
- Remove from fridge, add tomatoes, feta and mint and toss to combine. Garnish with fresh mint leaves and serve.
Notes
- For this no-cook cold green bean salad recipe, I used haricots verts, the skinny, French-style green beans. You could probably also use regular green beans, but you'll need to cut them into smaller pieces.
- I always make my salad dressings at home. To emulsify them, I usually shake them up in an airtight container with a lid. Oddly - for me anyway because I do not have kids - glass baby food storage jars with lids work well for this task.
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