Green Bean and Beet Salad
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One of my favorite ways to enjoy green beans– in this Green Bean and Beet salad! The delicious flavors of these perfectly roasted beets and blanched green beans, topped with a zesty lemon dressing and crunchy pecans makes it the most perfect side dish anytime of the year, especially the Holiday season!
Green Bean and Beet Salad- Holiday Salad
This Green Bean and Beet salad is tender, crisp and irresistible! The light tangy lemon garlic dressing brings it all together. This salad, y’all… has to go on your Turkey Day menu this year! Not only does it make a delectable Thanksgiving salad this month, you should also go ahead and just plan on making it as a Christmas salad next month!
Green Bean and Beet Salad Ingredients:
Beets– The beets are roasted whole wrapped in a tin foil in the oven before being sliced and added to the salad. Roasting makes them tender and enhances their natural flavors. You can use canned beets to save time as well.
Fresh green beans– Trim the ends. They will only need a few minutes of cooking to become just perfect for this salad!
Nuts– Add a nice earthy and nutty flavor that compliment the beets and add a crunchy texture. Pecans, walnuts, or even almonds would be yummy. I highly recommend toasting your nuts for maximum flavor.
Lemon dressing: You can whisk this up in no time!
HOW TO BLANCH GREEN BEANS
When making green bean salad, or anytime you want your green beans stay green, blanching them is key!
What does it mean to blanch? To blanch vegetables, boil them in salted water until tender and then immediately dunk them in an ice bath to stop the cooking process. It keeps the green beans crisp and bright green. I use the same method for asparagus when making my Asparagus Salad with Lemon Dressing.
How to Make Green Bean and Beet Salad:
- Start by roasting the beets:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Wrap the each beet in foil separately and place on a baking sheet tray. Bake for 40-50 minutes or until beets are fork tender. Let cool completely before slicing.
- Blanch the green beans:
- Start with a large pot of salted water, brought to a boil.
- Add the green beans and blanch for 8-10 or until tender-crisp.
- While the green beans are cooking, prep a large bowl of water with ice (this is called an ice bath). Which will help stop the cooking process and avoids overcooking the greens.
- Use tongs to remove green beans from the boiling water and transfer immediately into the ice bath.
- Let the green beans chill in the ice water for a few minutes while you prepare the dressing.
- Pat dry the beans with paper towels before assembling the salad.
- Make the dressing. In a small bowl, mix crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Whisking well until emulsified.
- Peel and slice the roasted beets. Once beets are cool enough to handle, wear gloves and use a paper towel to rub the skins off. Discard the skins and slices the beets into ½ inch thick slices. Then cut each slice into stripes.
- Assemble the salad. In a large bowl, add cooked green beans, topped with cooked beets and pecans. Drizzle with dressing and gently toss with tongs.
- Serve. You can serve immediately, but I think this salad is even better after it sits for for 30 minutes in the refrigerator. The flavors all hangout and become friends:)
Tips for Roasting Beets:
- Don’t peel beets before you roast. Once cooked and cooled, beets are incredibly easy to peel – their skins will slide right off! I like to slip them off under running water.
- Wrap the beets in foil when you roast them. This helps them to steam and cook through, and the skins will be easier to remove.
- Rub the skin to easily remove them. Don’t bother peeling the beets before roasting. Once roasted and cooled, you just need to rub them and the skins will come off easily. It they are tricky to remove, they need to be roasted for longer.
- Let them cool completely before slicing. If they’re still warm when you assemble everything, they’ll wilt the greens, and the salad won’t keep well if you’re saving leftovers for day 2.
What to Serve with Green Bean and Beet Salad:
This salad goes well with so many different delicious main dishes! Here are some of our favorites!
If you make this Green Bean Salad or any other recipe on the Salt and Sweet Kitchen, Let me know how it turns out for you in the comments! I love hearing from you.
Craving more colorful, healthy salads? Here are a few more options on the blog:
Steak Salad with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Roasted Chickpea Salad with Tahini Dressing
Green Bean and Beet Salad
Green Bean and Beet Salad- The delicious flavors of these perfectly roasted beets and blanched green beans, topped with a zesty lemon dressing and crunchy pecans! it’s the most perfect side dish anytime of the year, but especially for the Holiday season!
Ingredients
- 2 small beets
- 1 lb fresh green beans- ends trimmed
- 1 garlic clove- crushed
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- salt- to taste
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 4 tablespoons crushed pecans- Toasted
Instructions
Start by roasting the beets:
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Wrap the each beet in foil separately and place on a baking sheet tray.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes or until beets are fork tender.
- Let cool completely before slicing.
Blanch the green beans:
- Start with a large pot of salted water, brought to a boil.
- Add the green beans and blanch for 8-10 or until tender-crisp.
- While the green beans are cooking, prep a large bowl of water with ice (this is called an ice bath). This will help stop the cooking process and avoids overcooking the greens.
- Use tongs to remove green beans from the boiling water and transfer immediately into the ice bath.
- Let the green beans chill in the ice water for a few minutes while you prepare the dressing.
- Pat dry the beans with paper towels before assembling the salad.
Make the lemon dressing:
In a small bowl, mix crushed garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Whisking well until emulsified.
Peel and cut the roasted beets:
Once beets are cool enough to handle, wear gloves and use a paper towel to rub the skins off. Discard the skins and slices the beets into ½ inch thick slices. Then cut each slice into stripes.
Assemble the salad:
- In a large bowl, add cooked green beans, topped with cooked beets and pecans.
- Drizzle the salad with the dressing and gently toss it with tongs.
- You can serve immediately, but I think this salad is even better after it sits for for 30 minutes in the refrigerator.
- Enjoy, everyone!
Recommended Products
The recommended products below are affiliate links to products I use and love!
My husband doesn’t really like green beans so we hardly eat them, but I’m a huge fan. I tried this recipe and he said “you need to print this one! I’ll eat green beans if they’re like this”. And my three kids (ages five and under) liked it too! Thank you!
It makes my day to hear a feedback like this. Thank you for trying my green bean and beet salad and for taking the time to leave a review. Glad your family enjoyed it too! 🙂
On the menu this Christmas! it looks delicious!
YES! Hope you love it!
What a beautiful green bean and beet salad! You’re presentations are on another level!
Aww you’re so sweet! 🙂
I never blanch green beans and I can say this salad is so freaking delicious.
Blanching green beans is so easy! Glad you enjoyed my green bean and beet salad!
Loved the different textures and flavors on this Bean and beet salad!
So glad to hear! Thank you for trying my recipe 🙂
Beautiful looking dish! Love the colors!
Thank you 🙂