Green Bean Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette is full of flavor and texture while being simple to put together. Its components are evocative of a French Niçoise salad, minus the tuna and the anchovies. It's great as an easy lunch, a weeknight veggie side dish, or an elegant holiday dinner.
Crisp green beans, perfectly tender potatoes, and briny olives are tossed in a sweet and tangy shallot vinaigrette. Hard-boiled eggs add protein making this a nice light salad for lunch or a bright veggie side dish for dinner. Do you want to make this salad vegan? Add chickpeas, cannellini beans, or tofu instead of the eggs.
Table of contents
Why You'll Love This Green Bean Salad Recipe
This salad takes only a few minutes to toss together, and many elements can be prepared in advance. See our make ahead tips below! It's a bright dish that will add a pop of color to your dinner table. The mix of veggies and protein will add tons of nutrition and vitamins to your meal. While the sweet and tangy shallot vinaigrette pulls all the taste together. Everyone needs an easy shallot vinaigrette recipe on hand and you'll be eager to use this one on more salads.
Ingredients
Green Bean Salad Ingredients
- Fresh green beans. Washed and trimmed
- Small potatoes. Any type you like.
- Grape or cherry tomatoes.
- Hard-boiled eggs.
- Red bell pepper. Thinly sliced
- Olives. Any type you like
Shallot Vinaigrette Ingredients
- Shallot. Finely minced
- Red wine vinegar.
- Extra virgin olive oil.
- Dijon mustard.
- Dried oregano.
- Salt.
- Black pepper.
How to Make Green Bean Salad
- Step 1: Blanch the green beans, and boil the eggs and potatoes. Mix the dressing ingredients in a jar and shake to combine.
- Step 2: Transfer the green beans to a serving platter and top with tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggs, and olives. Pour the dressing on the salad right before serving.
Substitutions
- Dressing. Swap out the shallot dressing for a balsamic dressing, tahini dressing, or pomegranate vinaigrette.
- Potatoes. Small potatoes work best because of their waxy nature so they hold up well to boiling and dressing. Use any type you prefer, or any type you can find at your local market.
- Tomatoes. Grape or cherry tomatoes are the best because they're easy to slice and bite-sized. You can substitute your favorite variety of tomatoes, but it will be juicier, and add more juice to the salad.
- Olives. These add a distinct brininess to the salad. Use your favorite type of olive.
- Add Cheese. If you don't need to keep this recipe vegan, you can add feta cheese or goat cheese for an added zing.
- Add Veggies. Add any bright seasonal veggies to the green bean salad.
Recipe tips
- Look for green beans that are bright green, firm, and have no bruises.
- Trim the ends with a pairing knife or simply snap them off with your fingers.
- You can leave them long or cut them into smaller pieces.
- During the colder months, grape or cherry tomatoes are more flavorful than larger tomatoes
- You can use jarred roasted red peppers or homemade roasted red peppers
Serving Suggestions
Serve this fresh salad on its own as a light lunch or with your favorite protein for dinner.
Add this recipe to your holiday menu along with Mashed Butternut Squash, Cauliflower Stuffing, Lentil Meatballs, and Creamy Pumpkin Mousse.
Storage, Reheating and Make Ahead Tips
- Green Bean Salad is best served fresh and dressed right before serving. You can toss it with its dressing, but leave out the eggs, and store it in an airtight container in the fridge for several hours. The flavors will meld together more this way. If you keep it dressed for much longer than that, the veggies will begin to get soggy.
- Make the dressing in a mason jar with a tight fitting lid and store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Just shake to recombine before using.
- Eggs can be boiled and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator peeled or unpeeled for up to 1 week.
- Green beans and red bell peppers can be washed, dried thoroughly and sliced then stored in an airtight container in the fridge for 1-2 days. Green beans can be blanched, then plunge into a large bowl of ice water, dry and store in the fridge 1-2 days.
More Green Bean Recipes
Other Holiday Favorites
Green Bean Salad
- Total Time: 35 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Green Bean Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette is full of flavor and texture while being simple to put together. Its components are evocative of a French Niçoise salad, minus the tuna and the anchovies. It's great as an easy lunch, a weeknight veggie side dish, or an elegant holiday dinner.
Ingredients
Green Bean Salad Ingredients
- 1 lb fresh green beans, trimmed and washed
- 5 small potatoes, any type
- 1 pint grape of cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 2 eggs
- 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- ½ cup olives, any type you like
Shallot Vinaigrette Ingredients
- 1 tbsp shallot, finely minced
- 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- ½ tsp dry oregano
- ⅛ tsp salt
- ⅛ tsp black pepper
Instructions
- Blanch the green beans by boiling them for 3 minutes and then placing them in a bowl of cold of ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Boil the potatoes until tender, peel and quarter them.
- Boil the eggs and cut them in half.
- Put all the salad dressing ingredients in a jar for which you have a tight lid, close the lid, and shake until well combined.
- Transfer the green beans to a serving platter and top with tomatoes, potatoes, peppers, eggs, and olives.
- Pour the dressing on the salad right before serving.
Notes
- To make ahead, prepare all the ingredients and keep them separately. Assemble and dress the salad before serving.
- You can use roasted red peppers instead of fresh red bell peppers.
- Add any seasonal vegetables you have on hand.
- Add capers and pickled onions for an extra punch of flavor
- Do you want to make this salad vegan? Add chickpeas, cannellini beans, or tofu instead of the eggs.
- Prep Time: 15
- Cook Time: 20
- Category: salad
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: International
Nutrition
- Serving Size: ¼ of the salad
- Calories: 250
- Sugar: 8.6 g
- Sodium: 309.3 mg
- Fat: 11 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 31.7 g
- Fiber: 7.7 g
- Protein: 8.2 g
- Cholesterol: 93 mg
Linda
Refreshing and satisfying! Love this!
Vicky and Ruth
It is! Thank you so much!