Green Bean Salad Recipe with Mustard Vinaigrette
Published Jun 09, 2024
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Here’s a simple, rustic vegetable salad with French country flair that’s the perfect side dish with whatever you’re grilling this summer! Green Bean Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette and crunchy walnuts is easy to make and comes together quickly! Serve warm or room temperature and great on the side with Chicken Couscous Salad.
Why This Recipe is a Keeper!
With just a quick steam for the green beans and an easy vinaigrette made with ingredients you may already have, this simple, rustic salad with French country flair can be on your table.
Low labor and high flavor make this Green Bean Salad with Mustard – Vinaigrette, and crunchy walnuts the perfect easy early summer salad when fresh green beans are at their best.
This green bean salad recipe is:
- Quick! Can be pulled together in about 30 minutes.
- Perfect for everyone! It is dairy-free, gluten-free, and can be made vegan, so everyone at your get-together can enjoy it.
- Great with so many things! Pairs perfectly with grilled fish, chicken, or meat.
How to Make Green Bean Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette:
Recipe Ingredients:
Here’s everything you’ll need to make this green bean salad recipe. See the recipe card below for the exact quantities.
Ingredient Notes and Substitutions:
- Green Beans: You’ll need approximately one pound. Young, tender green beans (haricot verts) are preferable in this green bean recipe so you don’t have to break them into pieces. However, you can certainly use regular green beans and do that.
- Shallots: Shallots are an onion family member used extensively in French cooking. They grow in clusters (heads), similar to garlic, but without the quantity. They have a mild oniony flavor with a hint of garlic.
- Olive Oil: Use a good quality extra-virgin olive oil, but it doesn’t have to be the best.
- Dijon Mustard: Use a good Dijon mustard. I’ve tried numerous brands, but you can’t go wrong with the widely available Grey Poupon. Maille is also good, but it’s pricey. You can also use whole-grain mustard if you prefer.
- Honey: To make this salad vegan, substitute light brown sugar.
- Walnuts: May also use pecans.
Step-By-Step Instructions:
- Gather and prep all the ingredients for the green bean salad recipe.
- Whisk together the first seven ingredients in a bowl.
- Add salt and black pepper to taste.
- Adjust acidity and mustard level as desired. Set aside.
- Place a steamer rack into a large saucepan.
- Fill the saucepan with water up to the bottom of the steamer rack.
- Bring to a boil.
- Place the beans on the steamer rack, cover, and steam for 4 to 5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green.
- Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl and season with a pinch of salt.
- Let cool for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Drizzle the green bean salad with the vinaigrette as desired and toss. (You may not need all of it; reserve the remainder for another use, such as a green salad or a chicken marinade.)
- Transfer to a serving platter.
- Top with walnuts and parsley, and serve immediately.
- Perfect warm or at room temperature!
Chef Tips and Tricks:
- Let’s face it. Trimming green beans is a chore. You can buy bagged, trimmed green beans, but I look them all over anyway, as stems get missed. Here are my tips:
- Starting with the stem end first and working with a handful or so at a time, line the beans up using the edge of your knife or hand.
- With one motion, cut all the tips off at once.
- Repeat with the other side if desired. Turn the beans, line up the tips again, and trim off the other side. Trimming the bottom tip is unnecessary if you don’t want to; it’s completely edible and often done for aesthetic purposes only.
- Cut into desired lengths. In this salad recipe, whole or two inches is a good length.
Money-Saving Tip:
- You’ll pay more if a prep step is added to the produce you’re buying. The stem end is removed with green beans, like young green beans (haricot verts), which are always sold that way. To save money, head to the bulk bin of green beans, hand-select the smaller ones and trim the ends yourself.
Recipe FAQs:
It’s best to avoid raw green beans because of their lectin content, which can cause digestive issues. Cooking neutralizes the lectins and improves their taste, digestibility and antioxidant content.
This green bean salad is best served immediately. However, you can prep the beans (remove the stem ends if not already removed) and make the vinaigrette. When ready to serve, steam the beans and combine the green bean salad. Because the dressing contains acid, the beans will turn bland, army green if made too far in advance.
Yes, you can, but you’ll need to blot them dry and let them dry because they absorb some of the water.
Storage:
- Store any leftovers in the refrigerator. Allow the green bean salad to come to room temperature before serving, or microwave for 30 to 45 seconds to remove the chill.
Serve this green bean salad with:
More vegetable recipes you’ll love!
- Sicilian Cauliflower Salad
- Middle Eastern Chopped Vegetable Salad
- Tunisian Salad Platter
- Greek Village Salad with Marinated Feta Cheese
Get all my side salad recipes at Side Salad Recipes – From A Chef’s Kitchen.
Green Bean Salad Recipe with Mustard Vinaigrette
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or more to taste
- 2 teaspoons honey
- Salt, to taste
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 pound young green beans, (haricot verts)
- 1/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, lightly toasted if desired
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped parsley
Instructions
- Whisk together the first 7 ingredients in a bowl. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Adjust acidity and mustard level as desired.
- Place a steamer rack into a large saucepan. Fill the saucepan with water up to the bottom of the steamer rack. Bring to a boil.
- Place the beans on the steamer rack, cover, and steam for 4-5 minutes or until crisp-tender and still bright green.
- Transfer the beans to a mixing bowl and season with a pinch of salt. Let cool for 4-5 minutes.
- Drizzle with the vinaigrette as desired and toss. (You may not need all of it; reserve the remainder for another use, such as a green salad or a chicken marinade.)
- Transfer to a serving platter. Top with walnuts and parsley. Serve immediately.
Notes
- To make this salad vegan, substitute light brown sugar.
- May also use pecans.
- This green bean salad is best served immediately. However, you can prep the beans (remove the stem ends if not already removed) and make the vinaigrette. When ready to serve, steam the beans and combine the green bean salad. Because the dressing contains acid, the beans will turn bland army green if made too far in advance.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
Carol, when I read the dressing ingredients I knew immediately that the proportions were exactly the way I like them acid/mustard. I will be passing this recipe to the local sous chef for her to prepare for tonight’s Father’s Day meal!
Hi, Chef Jim, Thanks so much and always love hearing from you! Happy Father’s Day and hope you enjoy!
Wow!! Love these ingredients and flavor combo! Another winner – thanks for sharing 🙂
Hi, Traci, Thanks so very much and glad you enjoyed!!