Italian Green Bean Salad
Italian green bean salad is the perfect side dish to serve during summer cookouts, family gatherings, or holiday meals. It’s flavorful, vibrant, and tossed with a delicious, tangy balsamic vinaigrette dressing.
The best part about this easy green bean salad is the simple fresh ingredients that are in season during the summer months. Blanching the green beans gives them a crisp-tender texture while still retaining their vibrant green color.
You can easily customize this cold green bean salad by adding more fresh vegetables or switching out the dressing with my homemade Italian dressing or another simple vinaigrette.
Ingredients
- Green beans – for this recipe, I recommend using fresh over frozen or canned green beans for the best texture.
- Cherry tomatoes – you can also use another small tomato variety such as grape tomatoes, but they tend to be not as juicy or sweet as cherry tomatoes.
- Slivered almonds – toasting them adds another layer of flavor and adds a nice crunch.
- Balsamic vinaigrette – a mix of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, honey, lemon juice, dijon mustard, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, salt, and black pepper.
- Fresh herbs – I love adding torn, fresh basil leaves just before serving as it compliments the tomatoes and the other flavors really well.
How to Make Italian Green Bean Salad
Step 1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes.
Step 2. Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the cooked green beans to an ice bath (a large bowl with ice and ice-cold water). Let chill for 3 minutes, then drain, getting rid of as much excess water on the green beans as you can.
Step 3. Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well emulsified.
Step 4. Toss the green beans and cherry tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Add the toasted almonds and fresh basil leaves just before serving.
Make It Your Way: Substitutions & Variations
Please remember that recipes are just a starting point.
How can you make this Italian green bean salad using what you already have? Here are some ideas…
- No fresh green beans? – If you can’t find them, a great substitute for green beans is wax greens. Otherwise, you can use frozen green beans that have been thawed, but the texture won’t be quite as crisp.
- No almonds? – use another type of nut such as pine nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, etc.
- Make it vegan – use maple syrup instead of honey in the dressing.
- Add-ins – red pepper flakes, flat-leaf parsley, red onion or shallot, white beans, bell pepper, cucumber, cooked baby potatoes, etc.
How to Store
This salad is best the day you make it, but you can store any leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge and consume them the following day.
More Italian Inspired Recipes
- Italian Artichoke Salad
- Peach Panzanella Salad
- Creamy Lemon Pasta (Spaghetti Al Limone)
- Zucchini Pesto
- Spaghetti Alla Nerano
Italian Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
Salad
- 1 pound green beans ends trimmed
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes halved
- 3 tablespoons slivered almonds toasted
- fresh basil leaves
Italian Balsamic Vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- 1 teaspoon raw honey
- 1 teaspoon dijon mustard
- ¼ teaspoon garlic powder
- kosher salt, to taste
- black pepper, to taste
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the green beans and cook for 3 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and use a slotted spoon or tongs to transfer the cooked green beans to an ice bath (a large bowl with ice and ice-cold water). Let chill for 3 minutes, then drain, getting rid of as much excess water on the green beans as you can.
- Whisk the dressing ingredients in a small bowl until well emulsified.
- Toss the green beans and cherry tomatoes with the vinaigrette. Add the toasted almonds and fresh basil leaves just before serving.
Awesome new ideas for summer meals. Thank you for keeping me on your list.
Susie