Marinated Green Bean Salad
With fresh ingredients and a delicious homemade dressing, this Marinated Green Bean Salad is the perfect side dish to any summertime meal!
A FRESH, SUMMER GREEN BEAN SALAD
If you’ve never tried a green bean salad, then now is the time! This marinated Green Bean Salad is a fresh and light side dish. I honestly could eat it as a meal it is so good! A lot of people think to make pasta salads but I think this green bean salad is so unique that people are often surprised how much they love it. I always come home with an empty bowl! The marinade dressing really takes this recipe over the top.
The family loved this. The dressing is amazing! I’ve made this recipe a few times and I decided to add some diced avocados this time. It was a great addition to a wonderful recipe.
– Mitzi
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes. Frozen green beans bring too much water with them and the texture would not be the same. In addition, canned green beans don’t offer that bright green color and crunchy texture we’re looking for with this salad.
You will want to chill this for at least 4 hours so that the flavors of the marinade and vegetables can marry and combine nicely.
Absolutely! It doesn’t have to be green beans. You could use this other vegetables like cooked asparagus, bell peppers and corn.
Some other good mix-ins to this salad that would be garbanzo beans, sliced almonds, hard-boiled eggs, bacon, chopped fresh basil, chopped fresh oregano, or mozzarella pearls.
This can be stored in an airtight container or covered in the refrigerator where it will keep for up to 4 days. I do not recommend freezing.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- trimmed fresh green beans – this is meant to be a fresh summer recipe so it must be made with fresh green beans only. For more information on that, see my Frequently Asked Questions above.
- olive oil – use your favorite oil here. Avocado oil works well too.
- red wine vinegar – don’t have red wine vinegar? You could use rice vinegar or just regular white vinegar.
- garlic – you really should use fresh garlic here, not the jarred stuff. You will get the absolutely best flavor with fresh garlic.
- dijon mustard – I don’t think you should substitute with regular mustard here. It would end up a bit too strong a flavor and too vinegary. You could use a stone ground mustard though.
- salt and pepper – this is totally up to your tastes. If you need to cut back on salt, you could use a salt substitute.
- red onion – if you find red onions to be too pungent of a flavor, try soaking the sliced red onions in a bath of ice water for a few minutes then pat them dry with a paper towel. This will really help the onion from having an over powering flavor.
- cherry tomatoes – you can use any tomato you like. I tend to go with cherry tomatoes for this recipe because they don’t release a bunch of tomato juice into the salad.
- parmesan cheese – don’t like parmesan cheese? Just leave it out or use another cheese of your choice.
HOW TO MAKE MARINATED GREEN BEAN SALAD:
Place the green beans in a large stock pot. Cover the green beans with water 2 inches above the beans. Place on the stove over high heat, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, garlic, dijon, salt, and pepper.
Add the warm green beans and onion, toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or longer if you can.
Before serving add the tomatoes and cheese.
Toss to combine.
Serve immediately.
WANT MORE DELICIOUS RECIPES?
Originally published: July 2022
Updated and republished: June 2025
Marinated Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 2 pounds trimmed fresh green beans
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- ¼ teaspoon black pepper
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Place 2 pounds trimmed fresh green beans in a large stock pot. Cover the green beans with water 2 inches above the beans. Place on the stove over high heat, and bring to a boil. Once at a boil, lower the heat to medium and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain and set aside.
- In a large bowl whisk together ⅓ cup olive oil, 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar, 4 cloves garlic, minced, 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard, 2 ½ teaspoons kosher salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.
- Add the warm green beans and 1 small red onion, thinly sliced, toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator to chill for 4 hours or longer if you can.
- Before serving add 1 pint cherry tomatoes, cut in half and ¼ cup grated parmesan cheese.
- Toss to combine, and serve immediately.
Notes
- This salad is great cold or at room temperature.
- Other ingredients can be added to this, see suggestions above.
- You will want to make sure to chill for 4 hours so the the flavors can marry.
- This is a great make ahead salad for gatherings.
- Freezing is not recommended.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
salad was amazing! followed instructions exactly, but instead of Parmesan, I used crumbled feta. Will definitely keep this recipe in my summer lists !
Oh my – this was absolutely fabulous! Huge hit at our BBQ!
This is a great recipe, everyone loved it, I’ll make it often. Thank you for sharing
The family loved this. The dressing is amazing! I’ve made this recipe a few times and I decided to add some diced avocados this time. It was a great addition to a wonderful recipe.
Delicious! Especially the dressing, wow. I’ll make the dressing alone for salads etc also.