This recipe for Marinated Green Bean Salad is perfect for when you’re looking are looking for super-quick meals that won’t heat up your house. You can serve this as a side dish (perfect for home or potlucks) or you can add a couple of grilled chicken breasts and make it an easy one-dish dinner!
Ingredients Needed
- Fresh or frozen green beans
- Mushroom
- Zucchini or summer squash
- Fresh mozzarella – look for the mini pearls, but if you can’t find them, cut a ball into 1/2″ cubes
- Pepperoni slices
- Red onion
- Bell pepper – yellow, orange, or red
- High quality Italian dressing – or make your own Italian Dressing
- Grilled chicken breasts – optional
How to Make Marinated Green Bean Salad
- Cook some fresh or frozen green beans until tender-crisp (you can use the microwave or the stovetop–the directions are below in the recipe). Place in a large serving bowl. Add all other ingredients except for dressing: some sliced mushrooms, halved and sliced zucchini and/or summer squash, fresh mozzarella, quartered pepperoni slices, sliced red onion, and some seeded and sliced bell peppers. Toss everything together.
- If you’d like to make this an easy one-dish dinner, add 2-3 cooled, grilled chicken breasts. Add 1 cup of Italian salad dressing and toss to combine. Add more dressing as necessary. Cover and allow to stand at least 1 hour before serving.
Storing and Other Tips
- Store finished salad in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3 days for best results.
- Dressing can sometimes get absorbed over time. If you are eating this salad the next day, add a fresh splash of dressing right before serving.
Frequently Asked Questions
You eat the zucchini raw? Isn’t zucchini supposed to be cooked?
Although less common in most recipes, zucchini and summer squash are perfectly safe and delicious when eaten raw. In this salad, they do a great job of soaking up that Italian dressing! Look for young zucchini or squash, as these have the most mild flavor and tender bite. If allowed to grow too large, they can sometimes be bitter when eaten raw.
Marinated Green Bean Salad
This cool and refreshing Marinated Green Bean Salad is packed with summer veggies. If you want to make this a one-dish dinner, add 2-3 chopped, grilled chicken breasts.
Servings servings
Ingredients
- 16-20 ounces fresh or frozen green beans
- 4 ounces mushrooms, sliced half of an 8 ounce package
- 2 small zucchini or summer squash or 1 medium/large, halved and sliced
- 8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls, or a ball cut into ½" pieces
- 2-3 ounces pepperoni quartered, optional
- 1 small red onion halved and sliced
- 1 yellow, red, or orange bell pepper seeded and sliced
- 2 – 3 chicken breasts, grilled optional
- 8-12 ounces high-quality Italian dressing make your own or use something like Newman’s Own; if you don’t use chicken, 8 ounces should be plenty
Instructions
- Cook the beans until tender-crisp. Choose one of the following methods:Microwave: If using frozen beans, cook according to package directionsIf using fresh green beans, place in a covered microwave-safe dish with 2-3 tablespoons water. Cover and cook for 4 minutes. Remove from microwave and test doneness; if necessary, cook a little longer (1-2 minutes at a time) until desired doneness is reached.Stovetop: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When boiling, add beans and cook for 2-3 minutes. Drain and immediately rinse in cool water.You don't want to overcook these beans–they should be bright green and still crisp.
- Place beans in a large serving bowl. Add all other ingredients except for dressing and toss. If you'd like to make this an easy one-dish dinner, add 2-3 cooled, grilled chicken breasts. Add 1 cup of salad dressing and stir to combine. Add more dressing as necessary.
- Cover and allow to stand at least 1 hour before serving.
Notes
- Nutritional information was calculated including 2 grilled chicken breasts.
- Store finished salad in an airtight container in the fridge and consume within 3 days for best results.
- Dressing can sometimes get absorbed over time. If you are eating this salad the next day, add a fresh splash of dressing right before serving.
Nutrition
Calories: 569kcal, Carbohydrates: 22g, Protein: 43g, Fat: 35g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g, Monounsaturated Fat: 11g, Trans Fat: 0.3g, Cholesterol: 131mg, Sodium: 1288mg, Potassium: 1108mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 14g, Vitamin A: 1339IU, Vitamin C: 28mg, Calcium: 365mg, Iron: 3mg
Calories: 569kcal
Cost: $5
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Questions & Reviews
I made this recipe for a cookout today — what a hit! The salad was fresh and summery without being full of mayonnaise. I will be pulling out this recipe for summer parties!!
This salad is so delicious, I’ve made it twice now in one week! It’s bright, colorful, and is full of different flavors and textures. I used your homemade Italian dressing recipe and it is perfect for this. A wonderful recipe for my fresh vegetable loving family.
I’m so so happy to hear this! So glad you loved it!!
This reminds me of a salad that my grandma used to make a lot in the summer! We’ll have to try it soon!
Paige
http://thehappyflammily.com