This no-cook green bean and tomato salad recipe is just the ticket when you need an easy summer side dish idea in a hurry. Crisp green beans, sweet little tomatoes, and the refreshing fresh mint will keep you cool, and you won’t even have to break a sweat while you’re making it.
Ah summer. Summer means spontaneity. You have to be acutely aware of every moment and soak it in before you find yourself on the couch again in your snuggie watching the snow come down. So the other day, during our morning toothbrushing ritual, as we were noticing the unseasonably tolerable weather for July, we decided to go to a concert at the botanical garden that very evening. Great! Leaving the house at 6:30! Get home at 5:30! No time to cook or shop – what will our picnic consist of? I had to get some easy summer recipe ideas from whatever was in the fridge – green beans and feta – and the garden – tomatoes and mint.
When I started looking online for green bean salad recipe ideas, everything was: blanch green beans… blanch green beans… blanch green beans… I have NO time for blanching green beans! I’ve got to put two dishes together and assemble a picnic basket of nibbles in less than an hour. Green beans can certainly be eaten raw. So there. That’s what I did.
Am I weird that I think it’s okay to eat the green beans raw? Isn’t having raw veggies kind of the point of salad? And isn’t the point of salad to not have to cook?
This is a fantastic green bean salad recipe to take to that barbecue you just got invited to. It’ll take you about 10 minutes to make. So say yes. Be spontaneous. Embrace the summer.
Related recipes: For more easy summer recipe ideas try Firecracker Turkey Burgers.
Green Bean Salad Recipe with Tomatoes, Feta, and Mint
1 lb green beans*
1 pint (2-3 handfulls) of tiny tomatoes – cherry, sweet 100’s, Juliets – whatever you have around
2/3 cup feta
2 tbsp torn fresh mint
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
2 1/2 tbsp white balsamic vinegar
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper
*For this green bean salad recipe, I used haricots verts, otherwise known as the skinny French green beans. I think it would work fine with regular raw green beans, but you would probably want to cut them into smaller pieces.
Cut green beans into 1-inch pieces
Slice tomatoes in half or quarters depending upon size.
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.)
Pour dressing over beans and toss to combine. Store in fridge for about 1/2 hour to let beans absorb the flavor of the dressing.
Remove from fridge, add tomatoes, feta and mint and toss to combine. Garnish with additional fresh mint leaves and serve.
Ingredients
- 1 lb green beans preferably French-style haricots verts
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes any small, sweet summer tomatoes will work
- 2/3 cup feta cheese
- 2 tbsp fresh mint
- 1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 1/2 tbsp 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 1/2 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.
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