Mediterranean Green Bean Salad

This Mediterranean-style green bean salad is the perfect side dish to whip up and enjoy this summer.

Packing in the goodness of green beans and lots of other fresh ingredients, this delicious dish is super healthy and flavorful.

Best of all, it comes together in minutes!

What I Love About the Recipe

My favorite part about this salad is the fact that it is a great way to get lots of veggies on your plate.

With a delicious, savory dressing, you’ll be able to jazz up simple ingredients, and transform them into this wickedly delicious marinated green bean salad that you’ll love every bite of.

Plus, the salad is super versatile, which means you can pair it with almost any of your favorite foods.

Ingredients For the Green Bean Salad Recipe

To make this fiber and flavor packed green bean salad, here’s what you’ll need.

String beans: I used a nice bunch of fresh green beans for this salad.

Zucchini: This one’s another great summer produce that you can add to the salad to bulk it up!

Tomato: Fresh tomatoes add a nice bit of juiciness and flavor to the salad. And of course, that pop of red color too!

Dill: Chopped fresh dill can help brighten up the salad. You can also use fresh basil or any herbs of your choice.

Mushrooms: Mushrooms bring some protein into the salad, and also add that delicious umami flavor.

Coriander: In addition to the dill, I used some cilantro for extra freshness because I had it at hand.

Parsley: Some fresh parsley can also make a world of difference to how the salad turns out! You can skip this if you don’t have it at hand.

Allspice: Allspice lends the green bean salad recipe a delicious flavor. You can use almost any other seasoning of your choice.

Lemon juice: Lemon juice brings some tanginess to the salad and add to its flavor.

Bay leaf: I added a bay leaf into the salted water to blanch the green beans.

Olive oil: I used olive oil to sauté the zucchini and just add some extra richness and healthy fats to the salad.

Garlic: Fresh garlic just elevates the flavor of this salad. If you don’t have it, just use some garlic powder instead.

Seasonings: I seasoned the salad with just a bit of salt, but you can also add some freshly ground black pepper into the mix.

How to Make the Green Bean Salad

Once you have all your ingredients ready, here’s what you’ll need to do to make the green bean salad.

Step 1: Prep the Veggies

Cut the zucchini into half slices. Chop the mushrooms into slices.

Step 2: Cook Zucchini and Mushrooms

Grease a grill pan with oil. Arrange the zucchini slices. Cook until lightly charred. Fry the mushroom slices and cool.

Step 3: Blanch the Green Beans

Cut off the tips of the green beans. Cut into small pieces. Boil water in a large pot, add salt and bay leaf. Add the green beans to the boiling water and cook for about 5-7 minutes. Rinse the beans in a colander and immediately pour ice water or cold water over them.

Step 4: Chop Tomatoes

Remove the sepals and seeds from the tomato. Cut it into medium cubes. Chop the greens.

Step 5: Combine and Toss.

Mix all the ingredients together and place on a plate to serve. For the dressing, mix the dressing with olive oil, lemon juice, salt, spices and garlic in a small bowl. Dress the salad. 

Tips & Tricks to Nail the Green Bean Salad Recipe

While making the green bean salad is super easy, you might want to have these little tips and tricks handy too.

• If you don’t have the lemon juice that the recipe calls for, you can use some vinegar instead. Vinegar helps bring some tanginess and flavor to the salad. Balsamic vinegar is a great choice since it brings a nice bit of umami flavor too.
• The easiest way to get the perfect crisp tender green beans and have that bright green color for this recipe is to use fresh green beans and then blanch them, just like I did.
• If you’re blanching the fresh green beans, remember to pat dry before you use them in this recipe.
• You can also use frozen green beans and stir fry them on high heat with a dash of olive oil in a hot pan. This will help you get the crisp green beans you’re looking for.
• I’ve added lots of fresh herbs to this salad- you can use what you have at hand. I would highly recommend adding chopped fresh basil too, if you can get your hands on it.

What Can I Use Instead of Fresh Green Beans?

If you don’t want to cook green beans, you can also choose to use canned green beans for this recipe.

Just remember to drain off the extra liquid before you use them for the recipe. I would also suggest seasoning the beans with some salt and pepper and then using them to make a nice marinated green bean salad.

What Else Can I Add to the Salad?

In addition to everything I’ve added, you can also add in other ingredients to customize the salad.

Roasted cauliflower, halved cherry tomatoes, sliced red onion, and chopped green onions are all great choices.

If you want the salad to have an extra crunch factor, you can also add some toasted almonds or pine nuts into the mix.

To make this salad protein rich, you can add some grilled chicken or hard boiled eggs into it towards the end.

If you’re looking for a vegetarian protein instead, cannellini beans and garbanzo beans could be great options to consider.

Kalamata olives can bring a nice bit of salty flavor and deliciousness to the salad.

You can also top the salad with a nice salty cheese like goat cheese or feta cheese to enhance its flavor.

How Do I Store the Leftover Green Bean Salad?

If you have any leftover salad, you can move it to an airtight container and refrigerate it for up to 2 days.

Since this salad is made using fresh ingredients, it tastes best when you serve immediately.

If you’re planning to meal prep this salad, you may want to prepare the dressing separately and then put the green bean salad together in a large bowl when you want to serve it.

Storing the salad with the dressing added in can actually cause the fresh beans and the other ingredients to start to release water.

More Easy Recipe Ideas

If you enjoyed making this easy recipe, and are inspired to check out some more such interesting recipes, here are a few you might want to check out.

• Butternut Squash Mac And Cheese
• Healthy Thanksgiving Side Dishes
• Breakfast Tacos With Harissa Lime Sour Cream