Green Bean Salad

This bright green bean salad combines crisp, perfectly cooked beans with crumbled feta cheese tossed in a zesty mustard vinaigrette.

It’s a crowd-pleasing side dish that is excellent for your Thanksgiving table or a vegetable addition to a weeknight dinner.

Our favorite way of serving this salad is next to mushroom Wellington, lentil loaf, or stuffed butternut squash.

If you want a fresh twist on Thanksgiving green beans, this is your next vegetable side dish.

These green beans are perfectly coated in a thick, creamy mustard dressing that clings to each bean.

The result is a salad recipe with tangy flavors that stand up beautifully next to your stuffing and protein main dish.

The method is simple: quickly boil fresh green beans in salted water for 6 minutes, shock them in ice water, and then toss with the creamy dressing.

Add crumbled feta, halved cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil leaves.

In just 20 minutes, this colorful side dish offers a lighter counterpoint to rich dishes like mashed potatoes and gravy.

Plus, it can be made ahead, giving you more time to focus on that perfect pumpkin pie.

Ingredients for green bean salad

Find the complete recipe with ingredients and instructions in the recipe box at the bottom of the page.

Green beans

Fresh green beans (also known as snap beans, string beans, French beans, or haricot verts) are the main ingredient in this recipe.

Ensure you get the freshest you can find so they’ll stay nice and crisp once cooked. The freshest green beans snap easily as you bend them.

To save time when making this recipe, you can buy already-trimmed beans. They are available in most supermarkets but often cost a little more.

We usually trim the beans ourselves. If you follow our method on a cutting board with a knife, it only takes 5 minutes. We’ll explain it later.

If you want to make this recipe in winter, you can use frozen or canned green beans, although they will be less crisp.

Small tomatoes

We add cherry tomatoes for color, juiciness, and sweetness.

Substitute plum tomatoes, vine tomatoes, other small tomatoes, or diced red bell peppers for cherry tomatoes.

Feta Cheese

Feta cheese adds flavor and creaminess to the dish.

You could substitute mozzarella pearls or parmesan cheese, but feta is more suitable for this recipe because it adds creaminess and sticks to the green beans.

Alternatively, you can substitute Kalamata olives, chopped sun-dried tomatoes in oil, or marinated artichoke hearts for the feta.

If you are vegan, you can easily substitute with vegan feta cheese, such as Violife, Follow Your Heart, or Trader Joe’s.

Fresh Basil

Fresh basil is the cherry on top. It tastes delicious with the beans and the dressing.

Substitute fresh herbs like mint, parsley, or dill for fresh basil.

Mustard dressing

Thicker, creamier, bolder, tangier, and tastier than your usual mustard dressing, it holds onto the beans. To make it, you’ll need:

• Mustard: you can use yellow mustard or Dijon mustard.
  
• Vinegar: you can use red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar, or apple cider vinegar.
  
  We don’t recommend balsamic vinegar for the dressing; it’s not acidic enough. However, the variation chapter below has a green bean salad recipe with balsamic vinegar.
  
• Olive oil: extra virgin olive oil is best, but regular olive oil works too.
  
• Shallots: Chopped shallots add extra tanginess to the dressing and are delicious with green beans. You can substitute red or green onions for the shallots.
  
• Red pepper flakes are optional, but add them if you like some heat.
  
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper: to add taste.

By the way, this dressing is also delicious with asparagus.

Optional Garnish

For special occasions, we like to sprinkle the green bean salad with toasted nuts, such as toasted slivered almonds, chopped walnuts, pecans, pine nuts, or hazelnuts.

They add a nice crunch and nutty flavor that is excellent with the beans’ natural sweetness.

Cook the green beans

Take a handful of green beans, align them on a cutting board, and chop their tip off with a chef’s knife. Then, turn them around, realign them, and cut the end off.

Another method is to hold a bunch of green beans in one hand and cut off the tip with scissors.

Rinse them with water, then boil them for 4 to 6 minutes in a large pot of salted water.

Drain them and plunge them into a large bowl with iced water.

Alternatively, you can cool them under cold running water.

Note: blanching will keep the green beans tender-crisp and bright green. If you like softer green beans, boil them for longer. However, they’ll lose their bright green color and become dull dark green.

Make the mustard dressing

Add mustard, red wine vinegar, olive oil, salt, black pepper, finely chopped shallots, and red pepper flakes to a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.

Note: the dressing should look thicker than a standard mustard vinaigrette.

Drain the green beans, shake the water off, and add them to the bowl with the dressing.

Add halved cherry tomatoes and chopped basil and toss well until the beans are fully coated in the dressing.

Optionally, you can crumble in half of the feta cheese and give it another quick toss.

Arrange on a serving platter and sprinkle with the remaining feta.

This green bean salad is a great side dish for multiple occasions.

For example, you can serve it as a side dish for a summer dinner with:

• Rosemary focaccia, Pita bread, Crostini, or Bruschetta
• Hummus or Eggplant dip
• Zucchini fritters or zucchini boats
• Stuffed eggplant or eggplant parmigiana

They are also great as a side dish for Thanksgiving or other celebrations with:

• Mushroom Wellington with mushroom gravy.
• Sweet potato gnocchi or mashed sweet potatoes.
• Cauliflower mashed potatoes or roasted potatoes.
• Roasted Brussels sprouts or roasted cauliflower.

Vegan green bean salad

To make a vegan green bean salad, omit the feta and add toasted pine nuts or almonds, about 2 to 3 tablespoons.

The toasted pine nuts add flavor and crunch to the salad, making it super yummy.

Balsamic green bean salad

Italian green bean salad is a simple, light side dish with boiled green beans seasoned in crushed garlic, mint, and balsamic vinegar.

To make it, boil trimmed fresh green beans in salted water for 13 minutes or until soft.

Drain them and transfer them onto a mixing bowl.

Add two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1-2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, a crushed garlic clove, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, a few twists of freshly ground black pepper, and a handful of fresh chopped mint (or mentuccia) leaves.

Toss them around and let them sit at room temperature for 15 – 30 minutes before serving. You can optionally add a squeeze of lemon juice and some grated lemon zest.

The warm green beans absorb the garlic and mint flavors, making this a delicious Italian green bean salad.

Note: Italians like their green beans soft, not tender-crisp. If you don’t like soft green beans, follow the blanching method described in our recipe to get a crisp-tender texture.

Make ahead: you can make this recipe up to 4 hours ahead, after which the green beans soften due to the dressing.

Refrigerator: store green bean salad leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. The next day, their texture will change slightly and be less crisp.

Freezer: this recipe is not suitable for freezing.

For many more side dish ideas, check out our sides category page.