Green Bean Salad with Tomatoes & Olives

4.80 from 5 votes

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Green beans are the only greens you need in your next salad. With tomatoes and olives, this easy green bean salad is dressed with Italian vinaigrette. It also has shaved Parmesan, scallions and fresh herbs. And you can make it just 10 minutes. Because it doesn’t have any lettuce, you can serve it as a spring or summer side dish or a salad.

Tomato, olive, green bean salad on a plate.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

This salad is quick & easy. The green beans cook in a few minutes before you dunk them in a bowl of cold water. Then you just have to whisk the dressing and drizzle it into the salad.

It doesn’t have any leafy greens. Of course there isn’t anything wrong with lettuce, but you don’t need it for every salad. The great thing about these kinds of salads is that they’re a salad and a side dish in one recipe.

This combination of ingredients is wonderful together. Blanching green beans brings out their flavor, but they are still mild. That’s why they’re so good with salty olives, juicy tomatoes and vinaigrette.

How to Buy the Best Green Beans

Even though you can buy green beans at the grocery year round, the season technically runs from about May to October. You will always find the best veggies at the farmer’s market. If you have access to one, I encourage you to shop there.

Green beans that are fresh will snap when you bend them. They shouldn’t have any brown spots on them either.

The Ingredients

Ingredients including green beans, tomatoes, olives, parmesan, red wine vinegar, mustard, garlic and scallions.

This is what you need:

  • Green beans: I prefer using French green beans, also known as haricots verts. They are delicate and thinner than standard green beans or wax beans.
  • Tomatoes: The recipe calls for a pint of grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes, sliced in half. They can be red or a mix of red, orange and yellow. What’s most important is that they are ripe.
  • Olives: A half-cup of roughly chopped pitted Kalamata olives give the salad bites that are a little bit briny and salty.
  • Scallions: Sliced, these green onions are mild and crisp. You can swap them for thinly sliced red onions.
  • Parmesan: To get those thin shavings, I use my vegetable peeler on a block of Parmesan cheese. Pecorino would be a great substitute or even crumbled feta cheese. If you want to keep the salad vegan, skip the cheese.
  • Parsley: I stir in chopped parsley, and if you happen to have fresh basil in your kitchen, tear some and add that too.

For the dressing you need:

  • Garlic: Just one minced clove.
  • Mustard: Whole grain Dijon mustard helps to emulsify the dressing and hold it together. It also adds flavor.
  • Red wine vinegar gives the vinaigrette acidity. You could also use white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
  • Honey adds a touch of sweetness to offset the acidity. You can use maple syrup instead, so the vinaigrette is vegan.
  • Olive oil: Use high-quality extra virgin olive oil for the best flavor.
  • Dried oregano, red pepper flakes, salt & pepper season the vinaigrette

Optional Additions

If you are looking to add something else to the salad, these are all great options:

  • Chopped hard-boiled eggs
  • Nuts such as walnut, pine nuts or almonds
  • Cooked grains such as quinoa, rice, farro or barley

How To Make this Green Bean Salad

1. Cook the green beans. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the green beans. Simmer them for just a few minutes until they are crisp-tender and still have some bite. Then use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a large bowl of ice water to shock them and stop the cooking. The salt in the water keeps them bright green.

2. Combine the salad ingredients. Pat the green beans dry with a towel and put them in a big bowl with the tomatoes, olives, scallions, Parmesan and parsley.

Green beans in a bowl of ice water. Salad ingredients in a large bowl.

3. Make the vinaigrette. In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil.

4. Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad, tossing to coat.

Italian vinaigrette in a bowl. Vinaigrette drizzled into salad.

Serving

You can think of this salad as a side dish too, especially with spring and summer dinners like roasted Mediterranean vegetables and halloumigrilled tofu shawarma or barbecue veggie tofu skewers. This is also a fantastic lunch salad on its own.

Leftovers & Storage

You can make the vinaigrette 3 days in advance. Just store it in a mason jar in the fridge. The olive oil will likely become solid because it will be chilled. If you put the dressing on your kitchen counter and stir it, it will warm up and become liquid again.

Since this salad doesn’t involve lettuce, it’s great for leftovers and won’t get so soggy. Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container up to 2 days. I do like to let it sit out at room temperature for about 10 minutes before serving, so it’s not as cold as it would be straight from the fridge.

You can also stretch what you have left into another meal by combining it with cooked grains such as brown rice, quinoa, farro or Italian barley.

FAQs

Can you substitute with canned green beans in this salad?

You need to use fresh green beans for the best flavor and texture. Even though recipe calls for cooking the green beans, they end up tender crisp. Canned green beans will be too soft and lack the freshness that’s essential for a great salad.

Why do French green beans taste better?

They are harvested earlier than regular green beans, so they have a more flavor and a more delicate texture.

More Salads Without Lettuce

Asparagus Cannellini Bean Salad
Moroccan Carrot Salad
Zucchini Ribbon Salad
Fresh Corn Tomato Salad
Quinoa Black Bean Salad
Mango Avocado Salad
Watermelon Radish Cucumber Salad
Carrot Salad with Lemon Tahini Vinaigrette
White Bean Salad
Roasted Cauliflower Lentil Salad
Asian Cucumber Salad
Cucumber Tomato Feta Salad

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Green Bean Salad

4.80 from 5 votes
Prep: 7 minutes
Cook: 3 minutes
Total: 10 minutes
Servings: 4
Ready in 10 minutes, this green bean salad with tomatoes, olives, Parmesan and scallions is fresh and crisp. It can be served as a side, too.

Ingredients 

For salad

  • 1 pound French green beans, (haricot verts), trimmed
  • 1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped pitted Kalamata olives,
  • 2 scallions, thinly sliced
  • 1/2 ounce shaved Parmesan, about 1/4 cup
  • 2 tablespoons chopped parsley

For vinaigrette

  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
  • 1 teaspoon honey
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 pinch red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup olive oil

Instructions 

  • Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the green beans. Simmer them for 2-3 minutes until they are crisp-tender. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them immediately to a large bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking. Drain them and pat the green beans dry with a towel.
  • Combine the green beans, tomatoes, olives, scallions, Parmesan and parsley in a large bowl.
  • To make the vinaigrette, whisk the garlic, mustard, honey, oregano, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and olive oil.
  • Drizzle the vinaigrette into the salad. Toss them around, so they are lightly dressed in the vinaigrette.

Video

Notes

You can make the vinaigrette 3 days in advance. Store it in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
Leftover salad can be stored in an airtight container up to 2 days.
To make the salad vegan, omit the cheese, and use maple syrup instead of honey in the vinaigrette.
You can add chopped hard-boiled eggs, walnuts, pine nuts or almonds to the salad. You can also stir in cooked grains such as quinoa, rice, farro or barley.

Nutrition

Calories: 229kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 681mg | Potassium: 558mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 1702IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 112mg | Iron: 3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Salad
Cuisine: Italian
Did you make this recipe?Mention @lastingredient on Instagram and tag it #lastingredient!

Recipe originally published August 20, 2020. Updated: May 15, 2023


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Hi, I'm Paige.

Welcome to Last Ingredient where you will find simple seasonal recipes with plenty of fruits and vegetables, all for the home cook.

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