If there's one thing I love about summer, it's all of the delicious fresh produce. I feel like a kid in a candy store walking through the farmers market this time of year. Smelling the sweet scent of berries and seeing the beautiful rainbow of colors is enough to inspire me for weeks in the kitchen.
I admit the heat might not always be the most enjoyable part of the season but on the bright side, it puts me in the mood for light and healthy salads. Before I eat my ice cream sandwich, of course.
This green bean salad is one of my favorite things to make in the summertime. It's bursting with refreshing flavor from garden fresh herbs, zucchini, sweet corn and juicy tomatoes.
It's actually based off a similar recipe that I posted on my blog way back in the day. I've tweaked it slightly over the years and I would consider this the perfected version. The green beans and zucchini are lightly steamed, just until tender, then combined with chickpeas, corn, tomatoes and green onion. Then all of that gets tossed in a simple dressing made from fresh herbs, olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar.
Outside of trimming the green beans, it comes together fairly quick. If you prep the dressing while the vegetables are steaming, then you can have it ready in just 30 minutes.
I like to serve it as a side item with my favorite lentil veggie burgers but honestly, between the protein and the fiber in the chickpeas and veggies, it's filling enough to enjoy all on it's own. Which also makes it a great side item to bring to a barbecue. As a vegetarian, sometimes I can find the veg-friendly options at parties to be somewhat limited. It always helps to have something to offer guests with a little plant protein!
Ingredients
For the Salad
- 1 ½ pounds fresh green beans trimmed and halved
- 2 medium zucchini diced
- 1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup corn kernels
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes halved
- 6 green onions thinly sliced (optional)
For the Fresh Herb Dressing
- ½ cup fresh basil
- ¼ cup parsley
- ¼ cup lemon juice from about 2 lemons
- ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
- ¼ cup olive oil
- 1 clove garlic
- Pinch of salt
Instructions
- Place the green beans and zucchini in a large pot and lightly steam (for 10-15 minutes) or boil (for 5-7 minutes) until tender but still somewhat firm. Remove from heat, strain and rinse the vegetables with ice cold water, then set aside.
- Meanwhile, make the dressing by combining all of the ingredients in a food processor and blending until the herbs are finely chopped.
- In a large bowl, combine the drained chickpeas, corn, tomatoes and green onion. Add the blanched green beans and zucchini, then pour the dressing on top. Stir together until everything is well-coated. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Julia @ Sprinkles & Saturdays says
I'm honestly not the biggest fan of green beans but you make them look so amazing here I think I'll have to give them another shot!
http://www.sprinklesandsaturdays.com
Sarah Cook says
Thanks Julia! I hope you it changes your mind about green beans!
Susan says
This salad sounds fabulous. I'm not a vegetarian, although I do very much enjoy vegetarian meals, but I would probably serve this as a side just because I like a lot of protein in my meals. Looking forward to making this.
Sarah Cook says
I hope you enjoy it, Susan! Thanks for the comment!
Proud Vegetarian says
I could definitely see myself cooking this in the future without the corn, I love green beans and chick peas.
Sarah Cook says
Thank you! I hope you enjoy it!
Scotty j says
I substituted black beans for corn it was fantastic. Next time thinking of adding avocado.
Els says
Thanks for posting this on my birthday :). Really like the recipe, made it tonight and will be on our inspiration list for the whole summer probably!
Thank you!
Els
Sarah Cook says
Thank you, Els! I'm so glad you enjoyed the recipe and I hope you had a wonderful birthday! 🙂
Kylie says
How tasty does this recipe look! Definitely going to make this for one of my lunches this week! Thanks for the share, what a great healthy recipe to try.
Sue says
I made this last night and it was really tasty. However I didn't like the dressing - it was very tart with lemon juice and vinegar so needed something sweet to balance it. Also thought the dressing was too thin so didn't really coat the salad. Would make again with a different dressing
Margie says
Sue I was thinking the same thing about how sour that dressing probably is. Did you use another dressing and if so, what was it and how did it taste on this salad?
Denise says
How do you select the corn? Frozen?
Jeannie Hubbard says
Not seeing number of servings which would be helpful as well as the nutritional information