This fresh and tasty Green Bean Pesto and Tomato Salad is the perfect way to make the most of sweet and snappy green beans and juicy tomatoes. It's easy to make and makes a great refreshing salad to eat on a hot day! Perfect to serve up at a BBQ, or just as a lively cold side or appetizer for Summer eating.
In Mid-Summer juicy cherry tomatoes, crisp French beans and basil are all ready to pick and are at their very best. Make a batch of Vegan Basil Pesto with the basil, then use all those lovely green beans and little tomatoes to assemble the salad.
Serve with your favourite Vegan Seitan Burgers like these ones, for a BBQ grill out, or just serve up as a tasty cold and refreshing way to serve green bean salad!
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🍅Ingredients
- French Beans- Fresh green French beans. Make sure they are fresh as they will taste the sweetest and best. They should 'snap' when you break one in half.
- Cherry Tomatoes- Choose lovely ripe tomatoes. Extra bonus if there are a few different varieties or colours.
- Parsley- Optional: You can also use extra basil or rocket/arugula.
- Basil Pesto- I like to make my own pesto, as it's the tastiest and perfect for using up lots of basil you might be growing. You can also use jarred or fresh supermarket pesto.
- Lemon Juice- Freshly squeezed lemon juice will create a little bit of tang and balance the dressing flavour.
- Extra Virgin Olive Oil- A little extra EVOO helps thin out the pesto to create the delicious pesto dressing.
- Flakey Sea Salt or Kosher salt- A sprinkle of salt enhances the sweetness of the tomatoes and the green beans.
👩🍳Instructions
This Green Bean Pesto and Tomato Salad is super easy to make, just follow along with this handy step by step guide.
- First, prep the beans by cutting off their tops and removing any strings (this might not be necessary if they are young and fresh)
2. Bring some water to the boil, and immerse the beans in it for 2 minutes, or until they become an even brighter green.
3. Drain the beans, and refresh in iced water. This stops the cooking process and keeps them bouncy and fresh.
4. Chop the cherry tomatoes in half.
5. Whisk together the pesto, lemon juice, olive oil and a sprinkle of salt until well combined. Taste and adjust if necessary.
5. Toss the drained beans, and chopped tomatoes with the herbs and pesto dressing. Serve.
🌶Variations & Substitutions
This deliciously easy fresh green bean and tomato salad recipe can be adjusted to your own tastes.
- Other types of pesto: Choose your favourite pesto; classic basil is delicious, but you could also use Parsley Pesto.
- Add arugula (rocket) or other baby salad leaves. Either put as a base and layer the salad on top, or toss together.
- Add chopped bell peppers or baby corn. Both pair beautifully with pesto.
🥫Storage
This Green Bean Pesto and Tomato Salad is best served on the day it is made. If you want to get ahead if you're preparing for a party or pot luck, you can prepare the beans and tomatoes, and prep the pesto dressing separately. Toss together just before serving.
If you do have leftovers, store in an airtight container in the fridge and use within 2 days.
❓FAQ
Tomatoes, basil and tangy flavours such as lemons go very well with green beans.
Yes you can eat raw green beans, however, they often taste nicer if you blanch them in hot water and refresh in an ice bath.
🥗More Salads
If you love the idea of this green bean pesto salad, you might also like these...
📖 Recipe
Green Bean Pesto and Tomato Salad
Ingredients Note:
For accuracy, I measure all ingredients in metric as standard, then convert and test the recipe for American cup measurements etc.
(Heads up Aussie and UK readers- your measurements in cups are sometimes different, so please use metric or check you have the correct cup and spoon type!!)
Ingredients
- 400 grams (⅞ lb) Green French Beans
- 250 grams (½ lb) Cherry Tomatoes
- 50 g (¾ cups) Flat leaf Parsley (or other herbs)
Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil (extra virgin)
- 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- 2 tablespoon pesto (Choose to make your own, or use shop bought. )
- pinch salt
Instructions
- Bring a big pan of water to the boil. Meanwhile top and tail the beans and chop in half.400 grams Green French Beans
- Add the beans to the boiling water and boil for 2 mins
- Refresh the beans by dunking in an ice bath. Drain.
- Chop the tomatoes in half and roughly chop the herbs if using.250 grams Cherry Tomatoes, 50 g Flat leaf Parsley
- Mix the pesto, olive oil, lemon juice and salt together to make a dressing.2 tablespoon Olive Oil, 2 tablespoon pesto, pinch salt, 2 tablespoon Lemon Juice
- Toss the green beans and tomatoes together with the pesto. Add the herbs if using. Serve.
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