Green Bean Red Onion Salad

By
Molly Watson
Molly Watson
An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients.
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Updated on 03/8/22
Green Bean Red Onion Salad

Molly Watson

Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 5 mins
Total: 15 mins
Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Simply steamed green beans and thinly sliced red onions make a delicious and beyond easy summer salad. It almost seems too simple, doesn't it? And yet this is one of those combinations where the whole is greater than the sum of its humble parts. Is it the pungent onion against the humble beans? The bright dressing? Or just the snap of bright summer flavors coming together? All of the above, I'm sure.

Since the beans just get better, in my opinion, as they wilt into the dressing, this is an excellent dish to file away for summer potlucks, barbecues, picnics, and other gatherings where you want food that can hang around a bit and stay delicious.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound green beans

  • 1/4 cup water

  • Fine sea salt, to taste

  • 1 small red onion

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, or white wine vinegar

  • 1/2 teaspoon mustard

  • Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

  2. Trim the green beans.

  3. Bring 1/4 cup of water to a boil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the beans, sprinkle with salt, cover, and cook until the beans are crisp-tender and the water is evaporated, about 3 minutes.

  4. Rinse the beans with cold water, pat them thoroughly dry, and set them aside.

  5. Meanwhile, peel and halve the onion. Slice it into thin half-moons and set aside. (Rinse the slices with cold water to minimize the strong flavor of raw onion, if you like, just be sure to pat them thoroughly dry before you add them to the salad.)

  6. In a large bowl (large enough to toss all the vegetables), whisk together the oil, vinegar, and mustard. Add salt and pepper to taste.

  7. Put the cooked beans and the sliced onions in the bowl with the dressing and toss to coat the beans and onions thoroughly.

  8. You can serve right away or let everything sit and marinate a bit before serving (if you're going to hold it more than about an hour, cover and chill).

Tips

  • How much you trim beans is a combination of the type of bean at hand and personal choice. Old-fashioned string beans need that string pulled off; even though many beans have had the strings bred out of them, I still like to snap the ends off, even though some may see it as a waste of time.
  • The best way to taste a salad dressing is to dip an element that will go into the salad (in this case a green bean) into it and take a bite—it gives you the best context for assessing the final flavor.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
92 Calories
7g Fat
7g Carbs
2g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 4 to 6
Amount per serving
Calories 92
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 7g 9%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 103mg 4%
Total Carbohydrate 7g 3%
Dietary Fiber 3g 9%
Total Sugars 3g
Protein 2g
Vitamin C 8mg 39%
Calcium 37mg 3%
Iron 1mg 3%
Potassium 130mg 3%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)