Italian Marinated Green Bean Salad

A refreshing marinated green bean salad with red onions, chickpeas, and homemade Italian dressing! This vegan side dish is loaded with nutrition and great for summer potlucks and cookouts.

As I write this post, the windows are open and the sun is pouring into my office. Summer, I see you!

And what’s better than a refreshing, veggie-loaded dish like this cold green bean salad on a hot day?! Nothing, I tell you. Nothing. Well, maybe a glass of white wine to go with it. But I digress…

The inspiration for this Italian Marinated Green Bean Salad was the upcoming Memorial Day weekend, a.k.a. the start of cookout season.

This year, we’ll be traveling over Memorial Day to visit my family in Colorado, so we won’t be making this salad. But believe me, this recipe will be on repeat all summer long in the Streit house!

Turns out that crunchy green beans, thinly sliced red onion, chickpeas, and a flavorful Italian dressing is a pretty amazing combination.

And the best part? Green bean salad is a great make-ahead dish for you to keep in the fridge and grab on your way out to a BBQ.

How to Make Marinated Green Bean Salad

Here’s my biggest tip for making the perfect green bean salad: don’t cook the green beans too long! You want them to be equal parts soft and crunchy.

To accomplish this, bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and drop the green beans in to cook for JUST 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat immediately, drain them in the sink in a colander, and rinse with cold water ASAP.

Although I haven’t done it, I think you could also use canned green beans if you’re in a pinch. But, I personally prefer fresh green beans over canned.

While the green beans are cooking, thinly slice 1/2 of a red onion and drain a can of chickpeas. Whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, and dried oregano, parsley, garlic powder, rosemary, and basil.

Put everything together in a bowl, and mix it up. Done. Serve right away, or store it in the fridge for a while (even a whole day) before you serve it…so it’s nice and marinated and cold! Yum.

You can serve green bean salad with burgers, fish, chicken, you name it. Slice up some fruit, and you’ve got yourself a delicious summer meal.

PS- if you’re looking for some other cookout and potluck dishes, check out:

Italian Marinated Green Bean Salad

Cold green bean salad with Italian dressing.

Author Lizzie Streit, MS, RDN

Ingredients

• 1 pound green beans trimmed and long ones sliced in half, about 3 cups
• 1/2 red onion thinly sliced into half-moons
• 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas drained and rinsed

For the dressing:

• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried parsley
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Instructions

1. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil. Trim the green beans, and slice any long ones in half, then drop them into the boiling water for just 2-3 minutes. Remove the pot from heat and drain the green beans in a colander in the sink. Rinse with cold water.

2. While the green beans are cooking, thinly slice the red onion and drain the chickpeas. Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, parsley, garlic powder, rosemary, basil, and salt.

3. Combine the green beans, red onion, chickpeas, and dressing in a large bowl. Mix until well combined.

4. Serve right away, or transfer the salad to an airtight container in the fridge to serve later. Enjoy!

Recipe Notes

I prefer to serve this salad after it’s been in the fridge for a while, so that it marinates in the dressing and gets cold. But it can be served immediately. This will last in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Remember to pin this salad, so you can save it for later!

Have a great weekend,

Lizzie