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Green Bean Salad (Easy Italian Recipe - Served Cold or Hot)
4.8 from 82 votes

Green Bean Salad (Easy Italian Recipe - Served Cold or Hot)

This Green Bean Salad features fresh or frozen green beans cooked to tender-crisp doneness, then dressed with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, and optional red wine vinegar. The salad can be served warm or chilled, highlighting the beans’ natural flavor balanced with the bright acidity from vinegar or pungency of garlic. It is a simple, flexible Italian-inspired dish.

Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
8 mins
Additional Time
5 mins
Total Time
18 mins
Servings: 4
Calories: 74 kcal
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Italian

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:
    Cup of Yum
  1. 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.
  2. 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).
  3. 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:
  1. 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).
  2. 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

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%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 4 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 74

% 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.