Green Bean Salad (Easy Italian Recipe - Served Cold or Hot)
User Reviews
4.8
Green Bean Salad (Easy Italian Recipe - Served Cold or Hot)
Description
Green beans, fresh or frozen, are trimmed and cooked briefly in boiling salted water until tender but still slightly firm. They are either drained and rinsed under cold water to chill or kept warm after cooking, depending on serving preference.
The beans are then tossed with thinly sliced garlic or red wine vinegar, drizzled with good quality extra virgin olive oil, and seasoned with salt. Italian tradition often pairs either garlic or vinegar for our salad’s flavor, but not both simultaneously.
The salad offers a bright, clean taste with vibrant textures—crisp-tender beans with the subtle heat of garlic or the tang from vinegar, mellowed by the smooth richness of olive oil.
Quantities are flexible, allowing adjustments to oil, vinegar, and salt levels to match taste.
Ingredients
- 12 oz Green bean or use frozen, fresh
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 clove garlic (medium sized, optional)
- 1 ½ Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar (optional)
Instructions
Cook the Green Beans:
- Snap off the end(s) of the green beans and wash well (if they are fresh). If the beans are really long, you can cut/snap them in half. Frozen bean will be ready to use.
- Heat enough water in a pot to just cover the beans and bring to a boil. When boiling, toss in the beans. Cover and simmer for 5 minutes then add about ½ tsp of salt. Check to see if they are ready, but you may need to continue cooking for another 1 to 5 minutes. The size of the beans will determine how long they need to cook (mine were ready in about 8 mins).
- If you want to cool them quickly, or you might have cooked them longer than you wanted to, run them under cold water. If not, just drain and put into a bowl.
Dress and Toss the Salad:
- Add the sliced garlic (if using). If not using garlic, you can add a strong wine vinegar. In Italy, it's either with garlic or vinegar, but not both (according to my mother). Drizzle the extra virgin olive oil over the beans. Add the red wine vinegar if you didn't add garlic, and finally, salt if necessary (it will almost definitely need more salt).
- Toss and mix well and either serve immediately, or refrigerate if serving cold.
Notes
- Use good quality extra virgin olive oil for best flavor in the salad.
- Cook green beans until tender but still slightly firm; test by tasting.
- Adjust oil and vinegar quantities freely to suit preference; more oil than vinegar is common.
- The salad can be served warm or cold depending on preference.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 4Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 74 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Serving | 1 | |
| Calories | 74kcal | 4% |
| Carbohydrates | 6g | 2% |
| Protein | 2g | 4% |
| Fat | 5g | 8% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 1g | 6% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 4g | 20% |
| Sodium | 587mg | 24% |
| Potassium | 183mg | 4% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 3g | 6% |
| Vitamin A | 587IU | 12% |
| Vitamin C | 11mg | 12% |
| Calcium | 33mg | 3% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.8
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