It officially reached the hundreds last week!! Summer is in full swing after a beautifully cool month this past May. Once the temps are over 100, I do prefer to eat as many foods as I can raw to help cool me down. I had been wanting to create a green bean salad since last summer and finally got around to it! (There are only so many hours in a day…and season.) I decided to go a more traditional route and was not disappointed. This traditional green bean salad is so easy and refreshing, plus incredibly beneficial.
Green beans are surprising full of amazing health benefits. Just one cup of raw greenbeans provides us with
- Just 44 calories
- 16% of our daily need of fiber
- folate
- B vitamins
- calcium, magnesium, and phosporus to support our bone health
- and a surprising amount of antioxidants including a wide variety of carotenoids and flavonoids. (source)
This salad provides us with a significant amount of vitamin C thanks to the greenbeans, lemon and tomatoes. We also help boost our immune system with the red onion, keep our fiber intake high and a dose of healthy fats thanks to almonds and extra virgin olive oil. A little salt and pepper to taste and we have a delicious, super healthy salad to enjoy with our grassfed steaks.
With this salad, you can leave the green beans raw but the extra step of blanching goes a long way towards texture and flavor. It also tastes great as leftovers. I have definitely added this into my weekly meal planning menu rotation.
This recipe is raw, vegan, vegetarian, paleo, and of course, gluten free.
Traditional Green Bean Salad
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb fresh green beans
- 1 cup grape tomatoes
- 1/3 cup almond slivers
- 1/8 cup diced red onion optional
- 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil and make a large bowl of ice water.
- While waiting for the water to boil, cut off both ends of your green beans and also cut in half.
- Place into boiling water for 1-3 minutes.
- After the allotted time, place greenbeans directly into ice water to stop the cooking process.
- Slice grape tomatoes in half and dice red onion.
- Pat dry the green beans and place in a dish. Add tomatoes, onions (if you want them), and almonds. Then squeeze the juice of your one lemon, add the extra virgin olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix will.
- You can eat it right away but for best flavor, place in fridge for 30 minutes.
4 thoughts on “Traditional Green Bean Salad”
What a fun spin on salads! Eating lighter, cooler foods during the summer is a great way to enjoy the warmer weather. Great information on green beans too. They are so often overlooked. Thanks for sharing!
Great! I think I have all the ingredients in my frig. I love a nice bean salad in the summer, reminds of me growing up in the Midwest. Lots of picnics and family gatherings in farm country. Your picture makes it look so inviting too.
So simple and lite! I love this green bean salad recipe and look forward to trying it! Like you, I also crave raw, cold, & quick meals in the summer and this is perfect! Thanks!
oh wow- this looks amazing. I forget about green beans too- such a find addition to a salad- thanks!!