Garden Herb White and Green Bean Salad

A cold green bean salad made with white cannellini beans tossed in a light dressing vinaigrette made with fresh garden herbs.

I have always been a huge fan of green beans so this year when Lou build me a garden they were one of the veggies at the top of my list to plant.

I think we overplanted because my garden is a jungle and I now understand what they were talking about in the story Jack and the Beanstalk when the bean plant grows and grows. My beans have grown to almost 10 feet tall. It is crazy!

The best part about overplanting is that I have more than a tonne of beans so far and still little flowers blooming which means more to come! So expect a few more bean recipes coming your way!

Green beans are most often served warm but have you ever eaten them cold?

Neither had I until I met my husband and his mom makes a salad very similar to this minus the cannellini beans. I like the addition of the beans because it makes a much more filling salad that works as a great side dish to chicken, fish, or pork.

recipes that pair well with this Cold green bean salad

• Salmon Croquettes
• Fall-Off-The-Bone Baby Back Ribs
• Grilled Kofta Kebabs
• Lemon Parmesan Chicken Burgers
• Calamari Fritti
• Flaky Oven-Baked Salmon
• Honey Sriracha Chicken Thighs

what are cannellini beans?

Cannellini beans are one of the most commonly used beans often found in soups, salads, dips and many Italian or Mediterranean dishes. They are often referred to as White Kidney Beans because of their shape and creamy white colour.

They are tender much like a kidney bean with a nutty earthy flavour and are meatier than the smaller navy bean which is also quite popular as beans go.

Ingredients you will need:

All of the herbs used in this recipe are fresh and finely minced except for the oregano. I never seem to have fresh oregano around but if you are lucky enough to have it use 1 tbsp of fresh oregano.

In reverse. If you don’t have fresh herbs on hand simply just use 1/2 tsp of the dried herbs. Typically the conversion between fresh and dried herbs is 1 tsp of dried herbs equals 3 tsp or 1 tablespoon of fresh herbs. But because we are only using small amounts of fresh herbs in this recipe 1/2 tsp of dried will work just fine.

Making this White & Green Bean Salad Recipe:

expert tip!

Green beans are best when they are fresh. Older green beans tend to get tougher as they age… know anyone like that? Just kidding.

The tougher they are the longer they take to cook and here’s the thing… beans that are cooked over 7 or so minutes tend to turn an icky moss green colour when exposed to lemon juice or vinegar in the vinaigrette used to dress them turning a nice green salad into a bland ho-hum looking sad salad.

To avoid this find the freshest beans you can. Steam them quickly until softer but still with a little snap. Remove from the heat and immediately drown them in a cold bath. This will keep them crispy, bright and happy looking.

how long will this salad keep?

Beans have a pretty long shelf life which makes this another reason why this salad is so great. You can make this ahead of time and it will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days.

What other beans can I use?

Cannellini beans are my favourite but if you can’t find them or are not a fan you can replace them with any of the following suggestions or you can leave them out and just eat this salad with the green beans only.

• canned navy beans
• great northern beans
• baby Lima beans

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