Ultimate Green Bean Salad Recipe

A divine Green Bean Salad Recipe with buttery hazelnuts and orange make a perfect side dish, that goes with just about everything and ideal for any occasion – from weekday dinners to elegant dinner parties.

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This Green Bean Salad recipe is easy, delicious, and nutritious and is simply made by sautéing the beans then adding roasted hazelnuts for some crunch and perfuming it all with some sweet orange. 

Can I use other beans?

Any green beans or even pea varieties are great for this recipe so feel free to replace your green beans with any bean or pea that takes your fancy.

• Snow peas which are flat with small peas inside and crunchy texture with a mild flavour
• Sugar snap peas are round with crunchy texture and very sweet flavour.
• Flat green beans/romano/Italian beans are long, tender, and flat they are crunchy when raw and tender when cooked.
• French green beans (also known as haricot vert) are very skinny and available in yellow and purple as well as green and have a sweet flavour and delicate texture. 
• Chinese long beans (also known as snake beans or yard-long beans) are popular in Asian cuisines, they are slim so are easy to cook.

SOME SERVING IDEAS

Partners well with barbecued steak, chicken, turkey, seafood or even pasta dishes and is packable which means it is ideal to take to a barbecue or pot luck.

Try it with Texas Barbecue Brisket, with Roast Turkey or a Pork Belly Roast.

YoU Will Need

HOW TO ROAST HAZELNUTS

1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC (350ºF).
2. Line a baking tray with baking paper and arrange your nuts on top so they spread out evenly and are not touching.
3. Place the tray with the nuts in the middle of your oven and roast for 10-15 minutes until the skins have blistered. Stirring occasionally so that they brown evenly, your nuts should be golden brown and fragrant.
4. Remove them from the oven, then wrap your nuts in a clean kitchen towel and let them steam for one minute.
5. Rub them in the towel until most of the skins peel off and allow them to cool completely.

STEPS TO MAKING THIS SALAD

1WASH & TRIM BEANS
Wash your green beans, top, tail them and remove the strings if necessary (most beans nowadays are stringless). Then cut them in half.

2COOK YOUR BEANS
Heat a large heavy-based pan to medium-high heat, add your oil and beans then season. Sauté the green beans until browned, (approximately 10 minutes) add the orange zest and stir until mixed through and aromatic.

3ADD JUICES & HAZELNUTS
Add the orange and lemon juice, allow to sizzle and steam for 1-2 minutes so that beans can absorb the flavour. Then add the roasted hazelnuts and stir through the beans.
Taste and adjust seasonings according to your liking. Arrange in a salad bowl, scatter with the reserved hazelnuts and serve while still warm.

Can I Make it Ahead?

That depends if you would like to serve it as a hot side dish or as a cold salad. Some time saving tips on the day.

• Roast your hazelnuts up to one month in advance and keep in a sealed container in your pantry until you are ready to use. In fact, because roasting hazelnuts can get a bit messy, I always by 1-2 kilos, roast and peel them and keep them in a sealed container in my pantry (during the winter) and in my fridge (during the summer).
• You can prepare the beans 1-2 days in advance, make sure that they are completely dry before you store them in the crisper section of your fridge as they may get a bit slimy.
• Zest and juice your orange 1-2 days ahead.
• To serve it hot, sauté your beans, and assemble your salad 15 minutes just before you are ready to serve.

Looking for more Bean Salad Recipes?

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