An Easy Green Bean Salad with Quinoa – A quick and easy green bean salad recipe with Quinoa, chick peas and onions. Drizzle with an easy homemade Greek salad dressing.
I am one of those people who loves raw green beans!
If you put a bowl of raw green beans in front of me with no seasoning, no oil, no flavoring, I would eat the whole bowl.
Do you eat raw green beans?
Pros of eating raw green beans
– Green beans are packed with nutrition like Vitamins C, A, and Magnesium
– Just like most vegetables, cooking green beans tends to make them lose some of their nutrition
– Green beans are very rich in fiber which makes them very useful for the digestion process. It loses some of its fiber nutrients when you cook them
– Raw green beans have about 30 calories (in 1 Cup)
– Green beans have a natural fluoride in them that helps fight tooth decay
Source: LiveStrong.com
Cons of eating raw beans
- Raw green beans contain lectins – this is a plant’s defense mechanism against being eaten! Consume raw green beans in low quantities at a time.
- When eaten raw, they are known to cause bloating.
- If you are on blood thinners, please consult a medical professional before consuming raw green beans.
Tips for raw green beans
- Always, always wash them thoroughly before eating raw
- Store them in a cool, dry place
- In the refrigerator, put them in the vegetable rack
- I wrap them in paper towel and place in a Ziploc bag
- To freeze them, place them in the ziploc bag (without washing). Thaw and wash before using
- You can always use Amaranth grains instead of quinoa in this salad.
Why I love this salad
My favorite reason is that this green bean salad recipe is super easy to prepare. I normally have quinoa cooked and ready to go into any recipe.
So, I just have to mix in the other ingredients and I have a delicious quinoa salad recipe in 10 minutes. Quinoa also takes minutes to prepare. All I have to do is add about 3 cups of water and quinoa into a pan. Boil for about 12 minutes on high heat and it’s ready!
If you are not a fan of raw green beans, that’s fine too. Add something like this Lebanese braised green beans or roasted green beans.
I also like this salad because it’s the perfect meal prep recipe. I can make one big batch and enjoy it all week. Stops me from eating pizza or donuts for lunch.
If you love this quinoa salad recipe, you should try my vegan quinoa paella or my rustic quinoa salad.
Best salad dressing for it
In the past, I have used my orange salad dressing in this recipe. However, this time, I made a slightly different version of the dressing.
– I added juice from 1/2 of an orange and kept the pulp in it.
– To the juice, I added extra virgin olive oil that I used in my pumpkin olive oil bread
– For the seasoning, I put in homemade Greek seasoning which I made a couple weeks ago. This seasoning is so easy to make and you can store it for months
– You can also use my dijon lemon vinaigrette instead which is just as easy to make.
Or, get creative and make your own dressing. I would love to see what you made, so, feel free to tell me how you made the dressing
Don’t forget sun-dried tomatoes in this recipe. They completely change the flavor of the salad and for the better.
Green Bean Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Quinoa
- 1 cup quinoa uncooked
- 3 cup water
For the Salad
- 1 cup green beans Ends cut off, cut into small pieces
- 1 can chickpeas drained
- 1/4 cup red onion finely diced
- 1/4 cup artichokes finely diced
- 1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes marinated in oil
- 1/4 cup feta cheese
- 1/2 tsp salt
For the Dressing
- 1/2 orange juiced
- 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 Tbsp Greek seasoning
Instructions
For the quinoa
- Add the quinoa and water to a pan
- Cook for about 15 minutes
- Drain any excess water and set the quinoa aside
For the salad dressing
- In a small mason jar, add the Greek seasoning and other ingredients for the dressing
- Close the lid and shake it well
- Transfer to smaller containers (for meal prep) and set aside
Assemble the salad
- In a large bowl, add the cooked quinoa
- Add all the ingredients for the salad
- Only add the dressing if you are going to consume it immediately
- Transfer the salad to meal-prep containers and add one small container of the dressing
- Refrigerate the meal prep containers and consume within a week
Notes
Nutrition
Version 1 of this recipe
The version of this recipe was posted on November 15th, 2015 on my blog. I had used apples, roasted green beans, walnuts and yogurt in it.
I have changed that recipe slowly over time and it has evolved into a completely different recipe. I haven’t made the Version 1 again, so, I figured its time to update the recipe.
My photography skills have also evolved a little since then. I loved the recipe, but, I can’t say the same about the image.
What a fantastic salad!
Thank you, Kellie.
I love finding new unique ways to use green beans!
Thank you, Lauren
Green beans are a perfect vegetable side! Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you, Sabrina
This is so incredibly creative. I really want to add bacon to it, but I will resist the urge.
Thank you, Michelle. Go ahead and add bacon to it, just don’t tell me about it. 🙂
Green Bean Salad is a family favorite of ours–my nana used to use yogurt in her recipes, too! Thanks for sharing! I’ll have to give yours a try 😀
Thank you so much, Cathy. I am so happy to hear that your Nana used to use yogurt.
This looks mouthwatering amazing! Love how you used Chobani to jazz up this green bean salad! 🙂 client
Cathy
Thank you so much, Cathy. I am so happy to hear that you like it.
I adore green beans! I usually eat them raw, however my kids love them cooked. I’ll be trying out this recipe next time we cook some. It looks so good. 🙂
Thank you, Kadie.
Love this unique idea for sauce. Roasting veggies is my favorite way to eat them too!
Thank you, Matt. I think I always roast veggies from now on.
This looks so tasty and I’m so excited you used yogurt! This is definitely going on my dinner list. Such a great healthy option.
Thank you, Meagan.
These green beans sound absolutely amazing!! My dad has requested green beans for Thanksgiving and I am definitely going to try them this way!!
Thank you, Rebecca. I think he will like this tangy take on the green bean salad
Looks amazing and so easy to make! I could have that alone in a dinner! Yummm
XOXO
Thank you, Cami. It makes a great meal by itself
When the photo came up I immediately went, “Yum!” I love this type of salad because once the weather turns cold I lose interest in lettuce. It’s perfect!
Thank you, Lydia.
This sounds like an amazing combination! Delicious!
Thank you, Debra.
I’m not hosting Thanksgiving this year, but I would have to make this is I were!It looks delicious!
Thank you, Melanie. It is fun not to be the host once in a while.
This looks delicious. I’ve never done more with roasted green beans than just eaten them – they’re my favorite!
Thank you, Melissa